The weekly Shasta courier., 1873-10-18
ArcachOn.
BY IDA GREELEY.

This IS favorite watering place for the
French in summer, and in winter is much
resorted to by invalids from the British
Isles. Doctors consider the resinous exha-
lations from the pines wonderfully healing in
lung and bronchial difficulties.
Arcachon is the patOis word for resin.
The peasants live mostly by making turpen-
tine; and for miles around the village the
trees are gashed, and an earthen vessel fas-
tened on to receive the gum as it oozes from
the wood.
There was settlement here in very an
cient times called La Teste de Buch, from
the head or chief of the tribe of Boians, that
at one time inhabited this part of the country
Three times it was overwhelmed by the sand,
and afterward rebuilt In the time of the
first Napoleon, who, it would seem, found
time to attend everything small as well as
great, an engineer called Bremontier was
sent by the emperor to plant these sandy
dunes with pine-trees, in order to keep off
the inroads of the sea. So successful was
he, that we now have an extensive and beau
tiful forest and fourishing town. A mon
ument to Bremontier is to be seen in the
midst of the forest, and the finest chalet in
the town is called after him.
The principal building one sees on leaving
the depot is the huge Casino, an imitation
Of the Moorish Alhambra. 1t struck me as
rather caricature of it, as it is painted in
such gorgeous colors as to look like house
built of cards. face-side out. However, the
inhabitants view it with great pride. 1t
contains a fine theatre, ballroom, reading
rooms, and library.
1t is situated in the forest, and is the cen
tire of the Winter-town, or Vile Hiver, as
is called the collection of pretty, romantic
looking Swiss chalets, which are dotted in
among the odorous pine All these houses
are owned by a company in Paris, whose
agent lives in one Of them, and attends to
letting them, collecting rent, etc.
In the Casino garden the flowers bloom
and the grass is green all winter, although
snow and ice are not quite unknown in the
sunny south of France. In fact, one has a
winter of six weeks that is sufficiently disa-
greeable and quite cold enough to make one
wish for New York furnaces but, once
that is past, the weather is quite heavenly.
and February as balmy as May in these lat
itudes. Looking down from the Casino,
you see, at the base of the hills, the Vile
d'Ete, or summer town, which runs for a
couple miles along the sea. The private
residences are very elegant, and front on
the ocean or basin of Arcachon, as the inlet
is called; their gardens opening on the
main street in the rear. Many French no.
blemen have country houses here, the Bar
on Talleyrand for one. The rest of the viii
lage is made up of such queer little houses,
not old and quaint, but all looking like Chi
nese pagodas, and painted pink blue, or
yellow as the fancy of the owner has sug-
gested, and finished off with red-tiled roofs
/ One owner of eccentric tastes had spent, |
was told, ten thousand francs for three enor-
nous gold balls that surmounted his house.
In his absence it was rented to an English
lady, a friend of mine, who was always
known in the village rs Madame of the
Golden Balls" English names were never
attempted by the good people, who thought
it quite enough to call you by the name Of the
house you occupied. The company, in nam
ing the chalets, seem to have been anxious
to conciliate all nations, as we saw there
Villas Humboldt, Franklin, Shakespeare,
and so on al Hbit,tne. The cheapest and
most solitary cottage on the list was appro-
priately called Villa Robinson Crusoe.
There was still, | recollect. however, one
that surpassed Robinson IN cheapness. 1t
consisted Of one room, had no windows at
all, and was rightly named Villa Solitaire
1t was quite good enough dare say, for any
one so crusty as to wish to live quite alone.
Arcachon is famous Tor its oysters, fish,
and game, which are every day shipped to
Paris in large quantities. The basin is
connected by narrow inlet with the Bay
of Bscay, the roar of whose waters is dis
tinctly heard from the village. The strip of
land which lies between the inlet and the
turbulent Atlantic is called the Isle des
OiseauX, from the great number of Wild
ducks which make it their resort. The
lighthouse is situated on its EXTREMIST
point. One day we went down to it in
yacht, and then, crossing the narrow tongue
of sand, stood on the shore of the Bay of
Biscay. How the wind roared and the
great waves came tumbling in, and the shore
was strewed. not with the bright-colored
shells we had hope1 to find, but with cuttle-
fish bones, and ugly bits of wreck. At the
sea-ward end of the village there is erected
on the shore, huge iron cross. Tradition
will have it that monk, walking on the
shore in prayerful meditation, found there
a statue of the Virgin Mary. and erected
this cross to commemorate what he consid-
cred miracle. Once every year, on the
feast of ST. Peter, the bay presents lively
scene, of which this spot is the centre. Hun
dreds OF fishermen come from far and near !;
the shore is lined with boats, whose gay
pennaDts stream in the wind AT a signal
all kneel, and. from the foot of the cross, a
blessing is pronounced by the cure upon
them, their wives and children, their boats
and their nets.
Our boatman's name was Denis and, ever
since he was married, twenty years ago, his
wife Marie had gone out with him, fair
weather or foul, and done mans work.
She could pull an oar, or reef a sail, with
any man on that coast. She once won in
race of six yachts from the ducks to the
! light house, distance of abou. three miles
The visitors were as much pleased as amaz
ed, as hers was the only boat managed by a
woman.
The peasants are quite handsome in this
part of France. The women have soft, dark
eyes, and beautifully formed and very small
hands and feet They are vivacious and
agreeable but it is quite entertaining and
almost incredible to see how little they
know of what is going on in the world. We
had very pretty and charming little bonnie,
and showed her picture of Theirs, think
ing it might interest her; but dear me |!
Jeanne had never heard OF the man.
Why, who do you suppose rules over
France?"
e Is it not. then. the good emperor and
empress was Jeanne bewildered reply.
went one day to the principal school,
to see about sending nv yonnper sister