STILTS AND STILT-WALKING. 467 



I tliiuk that what has been said in regard to New York, Phila- 

 delphia, and Boston, and of the city of London, would prove true 

 of any large commercial or manufacturing center. The encourage- 

 ment to be drawn from this state of facts is great indeed, and 

 should relieve the popular mind of the constant fear of the in- 

 crease of the slums of our great cities. I wish that an investiga- 

 tion might be made that would show the exact number, character, 

 and condition of the j^eople living in the slums, and whether the 

 geographical territory inhabited by the slums is being enlarged, 

 or whether the actual number on restricted territory is being in- 

 creased. Such an investigation, whatever it might show, would 

 be of immense value in the study of urban population. 



STILTS AND STILT-WALKING. 



By M. GUYOT-DAUBES. 



SYLVAIN DORNON, a stilt-walker of the Landes, left Paris 

 on the 12th of March, 1891, for Moscow, and reached the end 

 of his journey after fifty-eight days of w^alking. This long walk 

 on stilts was a subject of wonder, not to the Russians only, to 

 whom this method of locomotion was unknown, but to Dornon's 

 own countrymen as well. 



Walking on stilts, which was common some twenty years ago 

 in certain parts of France, is gradually going out of use. In the 

 Landes of Gascony it was formerly a means of locomotion well 

 suited to the nature of the country. The Landes were large con- 

 tinuous plains, covered with scrub bushes and scanty heaths ; and, 

 in consequence of the impermeability of the subsoil, all the hol- 

 lows were transformed after a light rain into marshes. There was 

 no road or path. The population, of sheep-farmers, was greatly 

 scattered. The shepherds evidently conceived and adopted stilts 

 in order to be able to move about under these peculiar conditions. 

 The stilts of the Landes are called there tchangnes, a word in 

 the patois of the country meaning long legs, and the persons who 

 use them are called ichangues, or long-legged. They are long 

 sticks, which have at the mean height of about five feet from the 

 ground a stirrup to support the foot. The upper part of the stick 

 is shaved flat and supported against the leg, where it is held in 

 place by a strong strap. The lower part, which stands on the 

 ground, is expanded, and is sometimes re-enforced by a sheep-bone. 

 The stiltsman is assisted by a third stick, which serves him for a 

 variety of uses. It supports him in mounting his stilts, and can 

 be used for a crook in driving his sheep ; or, with the addition of 

 a piece of board, it forms a comfortable seat fitted to the height 



