CAMARGUE, COWBOY COUNTRY OF SOUTHERN FRANCE 



9 



the freedom-loving gardians, or herdsmen, 

 impress upon themselves the mark of 

 Provence while they brand their cattle 

 with the initial or heraldic emblem which 

 distinguishes their live stock. 



The women have not been neglected in 

 this plan to unite the people of Provence 

 into a happy family of families. Their 

 lovely dress has been revived and the 

 fashion dictates of Paris repudiated in 

 favor of a costume which was not only 

 the costume of their mothers but which 

 is beautiful in its own right. 



the "mas," the: home of the people 



Before inspecting the ferrade, the 

 abrivado, and the fight for the cockade, 

 let us visit the mas, the farmhouse home 

 of the Provencal herdsman. His interest 

 is in his ranch and herds, but home 

 means the more to him for all that. Nor 

 is he ashamed to live under the same roof 

 with his animals or harvest. The flavor 

 of the soil permeates the very home life 

 of the Camargue peasant. 



Near the house one is sure to note the 

 tree or trees which add distinction to the 

 spot. Trees are few and far between in 

 the Camargue. The graceful poplars, 

 which add charm to more sheltered 

 parts of Provence, are seldom found be- 

 tween the two main mouths of the Rhone, 

 for such towering stateliness cannot with- 

 stand the unrelenting blasts of the mis- 

 tral; but a clump of stout, low trees or 

 somber cypresses is fostered by the 

 farmers of the Camargue much as the 

 solitary trees of Palestine are protected 

 by the guardians of the holy tombs of the 

 saints. 



The rude well without a sweep, the 

 creaking grindstone, the clutter of out- 

 worn tools, the peculiar spindle for mak- 

 ing the seden, or horsehair lariat, the 

 rickety ladder, the small stacks of coarse 

 fodder — these are the homely features 

 that surround the mas. 



To an extent that is not common in 

 cities, the mas is the true home of the 

 people. In an inhospitable land, the 

 home is the welcome retreat of host as 

 well as stranger. The warm hearts and 

 hearths of Camargue are ample compen- 

 sation for the desolation of the outer 

 world. 



The welcome is no less sincere because 

 the newcomer is himself an entertainer, 



who, grateful for the cheer which so 

 surrounds him, warms to his happy task 

 as guest and with each draught of wine 

 radiates good will and confirms the host 

 in his cordiality. 



The genial host breathes the very air 

 of hospitality, but his wife has also done 

 her best to add a note of homelike charm 

 to the scene. The plaster walls are hid 

 behind great masses of wisteria or the 

 deep blush of the Judas-tree. As in the 

 windows of Russia's log houses, so here 

 the humble geranium gives its bright 

 touch of velvety color to the dusty scene 

 and sweet-smelling beds of flowers tri- 

 umph over the homely odors of the stable. 



THE HOUSEWIFE'S REALM 



The kitchen is the housewife's realm, 

 a large bare room with the whitewash 

 toned like an old meerschaum and the 

 rough-hewn rafters browned by the smoke 

 from the wood fire which blazes merrily 

 below the large black kettle on its smoky 

 chain. 



The great fireplace fills almost an en- 

 tire side of the room, perhaps with a 

 brick oven on one side and a masonry 

 alcove for the few simple dishes on the 

 other, while from the ceiling hang sprigs 

 of drying herbs. 



Here the humble housewife rules as 

 queen, with a gay shawl about her shoul- 

 ders and her high chignon, bound with 

 black velvet and lace, taking the place of 

 a crown (see page 16). 



Primitive as are the arrangements, the 

 cooking leaves nothing to be desired; for 

 in the Camargue, where every one knows 

 every one else, the virtues and failings 

 of the people are retailed and rehearsed 

 from one horn of the crescent that in- 

 closes the fitang de Vaccares to the other, 

 and lack of culinary skill would be as 

 just a cause for feminine reproach as 

 lack of courage to a man. 



Just as Tartarin de Tarascon, whose 

 delineation by Daudet makes sophisticated 

 outsiders smile at his extravagances and 

 envy him a little for his gruff leadership, 

 so each herdsman has his reputation for 

 skill, for strength, or for endurance, 

 which gives him a justifiable pride of 

 craft, and the culinary excellencies of his 

 wife are equally well known. 



The gardian of Camargue can be lik- 

 ened not only to the American cow- 



