PYRENEES, HAUTES. 



PYRENEES, HAUTES. 



250 



the 13th Military Division, of which Bayonne is head-quarters. It 

 returns three members to the Legislative Chamber of the French 

 empire. 



(tXctimautin de la France; Annvaire pour FAn 1853; Annuaire 

 d* Commerce ; Qftcial Paper*.) 



PYRENEES, HAUTES, a department in the south of France, lies 

 between 42 39' and 43 34' \. lat, 30' E. and 20' W. long., 

 and U bounded N. by the department of Gers, E. by Haute-Garonne, 

 S. by Spain, and W. by Basnes-Pyrenees. Its greatest length is about 

 70 miles, and its greatest breadth about 45 miles. The area is 1748'4 

 square miles; the population in 1841 was 244,1 96; in 1851 it amounted 

 to 250,934, which gives 143'522 to the square mile, being 31'062 below 

 the average per square mile for all France. 



The department U formed out of the districts of BIGOBBE and 

 Quatm-Vallees, and a portion of X<?bouzan. The Quatre- ValUef, or 

 Four Valleys of Aure, Baronsse, Magnoac, and Veste formed part of 

 the county of Armagnar, a subdivision of Gascogne. Castelnau-de- 

 Magnoac was the chief place of the Quatre- Vailden, which now form 

 the south-east of the department of Hautes-Pyren&s and the south- 

 west of Haute-Garonne. 



The department takes its name from the Pyrenees, which attain 

 their greatest height on the southern boundary, where Monte-Mala- 

 delta, Mont-Perdu, and the highest peak of the Vignemale group, 

 reach respectively 10,863, 10,991, and 10,817 feet above the sea-level. 

 Stretching northward from this great mountain barrier, the depart- 

 ment presents a surface diversified by plains, hills, forests, valleys, 

 gorges, high mountains, torrents, and waterfalls. Two lateral offsets 

 of the Pyrenees extend northward and terminate in the two ranges 

 of hills that inclose between them the fine plain of Bigorre. Between 

 this plain and the main range of the Pyrenees occur a great number 

 of picturesque valleys, where the scenery comprises within little 

 compass the quiet well-sheltered village, the snow-clad mountain, with 

 rocky precipitous side*, or with slopes shaded by dark forests, and the 

 whole echoing with the noise of waterfalls, or animated by the 

 cheerful babble of the furiously -running 'gave.' Among the most 

 noted of these valleys is that of Cauteretz, celebrated for its hot 

 springs. In most instances, the valleys, which in their higher parts 

 contract at intervals to mere gorges wide enough to afford a passage 

 for the troubled waters of the gave, terminate in vale-heads that take 

 the form of an amphitheatre. Of these vale-heads that called the 

 Cinpu-dt-Garantie must be specified. The road or path to this vale- 

 bead from the vil 



village of O6drm 



some savage mountain scenery, 



and among a chaos of massive blocks of stone, many of them large 

 enough to afford singly sufficient material for building a cathedral. 

 On reaching the vale-head on* sees a vast semicircle of precipitous 

 rocks, about 1040 feet high, broken into three stags* or steps, on one 

 of which a glacier rest*, forming part of the ioe-firld of the Mont- 

 Perlu group. From a lake among the glaciers on this lofty mountain, 

 the Gavwle-Gavarnie, the head-water of the Gave-de-I'au leaps down 

 the savage side of the Cirque 838 bet at a single bound, and striking 

 against one of the step* or ledges above mentioned is dashed into 

 spray, which, struck by the rays of the sun, forms an infinite number 

 of rainbows, some of a completely circular form. The broken waters 

 from this point form several cascades (the** again divide into a greater 

 number on striking the next ledge), and at length, uniting at the 

 bottom, after a total fall of above 1400 feet, roar in a torrent stream 

 through a hollow vault worn oat under the rock strewn floor of the 

 Cirque of Oavamie. Excursions are mad* over rooks, snow, and 

 glaciers, from Oavarnia to the Tours-du-Marbore', and to the pass 

 called Brtckrdt- Roland, a colossal gap in the mountain-wall 330 feet 

 wide, and nearly 8000 feet abov* the sea, which Roland, of the famous 

 sword, is feUed to have mad* for his followers, and which is now 

 frequented only by smugglers and adventurous tourists. There are 

 many more practicabU paiMs however than the Breche-de-Roland. at 

 a height of 0000 to 7000 feet, but all of them are subject to tre- 

 mendous hurricanes, and such is tb* danger in threading them, that 

 it is a received axiom that among these stormy heights " the son must 

 not wait for the father, nor the father for the son." 



The Pic-durMidi-de-Biffom, which stands in front of the main mass 

 of UM Pyrenees, at tb* south of the plain of Bigorre, rise* to the 

 height of MM fs*t abov* the sea-level. It is ascended not without 

 difficulty by tb* valley of Barege* and the gorge of Grip. In clear 

 weather tb* view from it* summit is truly magnificent : to the south- 

 ward the Pyrenean range extends in a vast crescent mass, surmounted 

 at different distances by tremendous peaked or rounded heights, whose 

 slopes an covered with enow heap* or with ice-fields that contrast 

 strongly with the sombre hue of the dsrk brown rocks near them. 

 T'> the northward, all inequalities of surface seem annihilated, and a 

 vast plain spreads itself out before the eye, comprising the depart- 

 ments of Baeees- Pyrenees, Gers, and Haute-Garonne. 



The hilly region which extends over a great portion of the depart- 

 ment north of the Pic-Hu-sfidi-de-Bigorr*, is furrowed by numerous 

 streams flowing through lateral valleys of great beauty, and emptying 

 theiosslve* into tb* Adonr or the Garonne. The fine plain of Bigorre, 

 in the centre of which utamU the town of Tarbes, inclines gradually 

 toward* the north. The ranges that inclose it on the east and west 

 are covered with woods throughout their entire length ; the Adour 

 aad it* feeders drain it ; good high mads, diverging from Tarbes, and 



several other branch roads, traverse its surface, which is strewed with 

 towns, villages, and hamlets in all directions. 



The principal rivers are the ADOUR, which runs through the depart- 

 ment from south to north : the GARONNE and its feeder the Neate, 

 which drain the south-eastern districts ; the Gave-de-Pau, which flows 

 through the beautiful valleys of Cauteretz and Argel6a in the south- 

 west, on its way to join the Adour ; the GERS and the Baige, feeders 

 of the Garonne ; and the Larros, a tributary of the Adour, which drain 

 the north-east of the department. The Alario Canal serves for the 

 irrigation of the plain on the right bank of the Adour ; it ia about 

 30 miles in length, and turns above 60 mills. It commences below 

 Bagneres, passes a little east of Tarbes, through Rabastens, and enters 

 the Adour below Maubourguet This canal was opened in A.D. 507. 



The climate is in general good and healthy, the temperature in the 

 plains of Bigorre is mild ; but, as may be expected from the nature of 

 the surface of the department, different temperatures may be obtained 

 by varying the elevation. All the atmospheric phenomena succeed 

 each other in the highlands with remarkable rapidity and inconstancy. 

 The prevailing wind blows from the south-west, and it is attended 

 very frequently with violent rains. The spring is mild, but sometimes 

 late frosts are destructive to the young vegetation ; summer is dry and 

 windy ; the autumn is invariably fine and clear; the winter foggy. 



The common corn products of the department are insufficient for 

 the consumption ; buck-wheat, maize, potatoes, figs, mulberries, &c., 

 are also grown. About 6,000,000 gallons of good white and red 

 wines are made annually. Horned cattle and sheep are very numer- 

 ous ; good butter and cheese are made ; mules, asses, and horses are 

 reared, and also pigs and large numbers of poultry, especially geese, 

 the legs of which are salted for export Bees are carefully tended, 

 and honey and wax are abundant. 



The loftiest parts of the Pyrenees in this department are composed 

 of granitic rocks, which are also found in the upper part of the valley 

 of Lavedan, between Gedre and Gavarnie, in the valley of H<5as, in 

 the upper part of the valley of Aura, near the village of Plan, and in 

 detached portions in one or two other places. The Pic-du-Midi-de- 

 liigorre, and the surrounding district between Arreau in the valley of 

 the Neate, and Cauterets, are occupied by mica-slate. The great 

 mass of the Pyrenees however is composed of transition rocks, namely, 

 clay-slate and grauwacke, in the neighbourhood of the primitive for- 

 mations, and limestone toward the foot of the chain and the plains at 

 it* base. The red-sandstone, or red-marl formation, is found in one 

 or two places, chiefly on the east side of the department. A narrow 

 district extending eastward from Bagueres-de-Bigorro to Haute- 

 Garonne, is occupied by Alpine limestone. The north of the depart- 

 ment is occupied by the tertiary formations. Iron, copper, zinc, lead, 

 manganese, nickel, and cobalt, are found, but no mines are worked ; 

 marble of different colours, building-stone, slate, granite, amianth, 

 kaolin, marl, fullers' -earth, aud potters' -clay are raised. Mineral and 

 hot-springs abound. 



The commerce of the department is limited to cattle, corn, mules 

 and horses for Spain, timber, oak-staves, hoops, the agricultural pro- 

 ducts before named, some linen, cotton- and woollen-stuffs, cutlery, 

 nails, hides, 4c. About 80 (airs are held. 



The department contains 1,118,983 acres. Of the whole aroaabout 

 238,000 acres are under tho plough; 110,000 acres consist of grass- 

 land ; 34,000 acres are planted with vines ; 256,000 acres are covered 

 with woods and forests; 430,000 acres consist of heath, moor, or 

 mountain pasture ; and about 20,000 acres are occupied as orchards, 

 gardens, nurseries, Ac. 



The department is divided into three arrondiasements, which, with 

 their subdivisions and population, are as follows : 



1. Of the first arrondissement, and of the whole department, the 

 chief town is Tarbtt, which is prettily situated on the left bank of the 

 Adour, in 43* 13' 58' N. lat, 4' 41' E. long., 1022 feet above the 

 level of the sea, at a distance of 24 miles E. by S. from Pau, and has 

 12,663 inhabitants in the commune. The streets are wide, regular, 

 and clean, the waters of the Adour being distributed by canals through 

 all part* of the town ; the houses are low, built of marble, boulders, 

 and bricks, and covered in with slates. There are three handsome 

 squares, and outaide the town a beautiful walk called the Prado. Of 

 the old ramparts there is no longer a trace ; but the ancient castle of 

 the counts of Bigorre still stands, and is now used as a prison. The 

 other remarkable buildings are the prefect's residence, formerly the 

 bishop's palace; the hospital ; the theological and communal colleges; 

 the Ursuline barracks, once a convent ; the normal school ; the baths ; 

 tho bridge over the Adour ; and the theatre. There are also a hand- 

 some cathedral and two churches in the town, which has manufactures 

 of paper and leather, and a good trade in wine, iron, hides, cattle, 

 agricultural produce, Ac. The view of the Pyrenees from this place 



