STILT-WALKERS OF THE) LANDES : ARCACHON, FRANCE 



The home of stilt-walking at the present day is in the Department of Landes, in Gascony, 

 where, owing to the impermeability of the subsoil, all low-lying districts are converted into 

 marshes, compelling the shepherds, farmers, and marketmen to spend the greater part of 

 their lives on stilts. These are strapped to the leg below the knee, the foot resting m a 

 stirrup about five feet above the ground. Their wearers carry long staves with which they 

 prop themselves up when resting. Silvain Dornon. a Landes baker, walked from Pans to 

 Moscow in stilts in 58 days in 1891. Another Landes stilt-walker made 304 miles m less 

 than 104 hours. 



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