The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1873-11-21
ARCACHON.
BY IDA GREELEY.

This is favorite watering place for
the French in simmer, and in winter
is much resorted to by invaGds from
the British Isles. Doctors consider
the resinous exhalations from the pines
wonderfully healing in lung and bron-
chial difficulties.
Arcacbon is the patois word for
resin. The peasants live mostly by
making turpentine; and for miles
around the village the trees are CASH
ed, and an earthen vessel fastened on
to receive the gum as it oozes from
the wood.
There was a settlement herein very
ancient 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 there 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 beauti-
ful forest and a flourishing town. A
monument 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 carcature of
1t, as it is painted in such gorgeous
colors as to look like house built of
cards, faceside out. However, the
inhabitants view it with great pride.
1t contains fine theatre, ballroom,
reading-rooms, and library.
1t is situated in the forest, and is
the centre of the Winter-town, or
Vile d Hiver, as is called the collec-
ton of pretty, romantic-looking Swiss
chalets, which are dotted in among
the odorous pine. All these houses
are owned by company in Paris,
whose agent lives in one of them, and
attends to letting them, collectingrent,
etc.
In the Casino garden the flowers
bloom and the grass is green all win
ter, although snow and ice are not
quite unknown in the sunny south Of
France. In fact, one has winter of
six weeks that is sufficiently disagreea-
BILE and quite cold enough to make
one wish for New Y York furnaces; but,
once that is past the weather is quite
heavenly, and February as balmy as
May in these attitudes. Looking down
from the Casino, you see, at the base
of the hills, the Vile d'Ete, or sum
mer-town, which runs for a couple
miles along the sea. The private res
licences 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 nobemen have contry houses
here, the Baron Talleyrand for one.
The rest of the village in'made up of
such queer little houses, not old and
quaint, but all looking like Chinese
pagodas, and painted pink, blue, or
yellow, as the fancy Of the owner has
suggested, and finished off with red
tiled roofs. One owner of eccentric
tastes had spent, was told, ten thou
sand francs for three enormous gold
balls that surmounted his house. In
his absence it was rented to an En-
gIish lady, a friend of mine, who was
always known in the village as "Mad-
anne 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 naming the chalets, seem to have
been anxious to conciliate all nations,
as we saw there Villas Humboldt,
H5itmna The cheapest and most soli-
tary cottage on the list was appropri-
ateiv called villa Robinson Crusoe.
There was still, ! recollect, however,
one that surpassed Robinson in cheap
ness. 1t consisted of one room, had
no windows at all, and was rightly
named villa Solitaire. 1t was quite
GOOD enough | dare saw, for any
one SO crusty as to wish TO live quite
alone
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