CAMARGUE, COWBOY COUNTRY OF SOUTHERN FRANCE 



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PLAYING BESIDE THE PLYMOUTH ROCK OF CAMARGUE) 



In the Place Mistral, in Les Saintes Maries de la Mer, there is an antique cross which 

 commemorates the landing of the mystic pilgrims who came hither from Calvary (see text, 

 page 32). 



that after the death of Christ the Jews 

 seized Lazarus, Mary Magdalene, Mary 

 Jacobee, the mother of St. James the 

 Less, and Mary Salome, the mother of 

 James and John. They were left in the 

 care of an Egyptian servant and cast 

 adrift in a disabled boat, from which they 

 were shipwrecked on the sands of Ca- 

 margue. 



The spot at which the holy women 

 landed became the site of the village of 

 Les Saintes Maries, and it is said that 

 they proceeded from this place to evan- 

 gelize the southern part of Gaul, whence 

 they eventually returned to die. 



AN UNKNOWN PRINCE BUILT THE) FORTI- 

 FIED CATHEDRAL 



Many years later an unknown prince 

 built on the same spot a fortified cathe- 

 dral in honor of the sacred visitation and 

 provided therein a receptacle for the safe 

 keeping of the sacred relics. This ca- 

 thedral was the scene of many fierce at- 

 tacks during the invasion of Gaul by the 

 Saracens. 



At the time of the annual pilgrimage 



the reliquaries, which have been kept in 

 the high chapel above the church floor, 

 arc lowered to the chancel. The follow- 

 ing day, along the beach, a procession 

 may be seen with pilgrims bearing at its 

 head a flowered stretcher on which rests 

 a miniature boat containing statues of the 

 three Marys. Then from a fishing-boat 

 the priest blesses the blue sea which gave 

 them to Camargue. 



THE MYSTERIOUS GITANOS ARRIVE IN MAY 



In the month of May one meets at 

 Saintes Maries de la Mer nomad tribes, 

 often erroneously called Bohemians. In 

 Austria they are called Tziganes ; in Ger- 

 many, Zigeunern ; in Italy, Zingari ; in 

 England, Gypsies ; in Spain, Gitanos ; in 

 the south of France, Caraques or Carai. 

 They call themselves the Gitanos and 

 speak a language crammed with strange 

 words which are not connected with any 

 other known tongue. They have nothing 

 in common with ordinary tramps. 



The Gitanos are tall and broad-shoul- 

 dered, with sunburnt complexions, curly 

 hair, and soft black eyes. The women 



