, 1890-01-30
AF00T IN SPAIN.
Another Charming Let
ter From Wakeman.
THE SARDINE FISHERS.
And the Strange, Wild Story
One of Them Told.
A VOYAGE IN HIS SCHOONER.
Scenes in tho Bay of Finisterre--
The Landing on Spanish
Soil.
A VOYAGE IN HIS SCHOONER.

Written for the REVIEW, Copyright 1900.
SANTIAGO M tAMrosrELh, Spain, Jan.
&, 1880 One has all sorts OF luck in ad-
venture when wandering among the
lowly of any land. a most unexpected
passage from finistcrre, in Brittany, to
Finisterrc, in Spain, each the widest
aud most romantic portion of their re-
spective countries, resulted from becom-
/ iug acquainted with the Breton peas
antry and fisher folk about Carnac,
Quimperle and Concarneau. Prowling
about brought me among the sardine
/ fishers. There are hosts of the m at Con.
carncau. Thirteen hundred boats are in
use, and the smell of curing and decay
/ ing fish Is at times intolerable. But
among the fishers there was an unusual
excitement, One man, Pierre Flo
quet, formerly of Tregunc. had been
most fortunate for years. 1t was whis-
pcrcd among his fellows that he had
somehow made league with the fairies at
the old Druid stones OF Curnuc at mid
night of Christmas eve long ago. since
when no III luck could befilil him. There
was legend, too, | found, which told
| that he was of another race, a race of
strange, outlawed souls, debarred from
mingling with other human kind be
cause of some old, long-ago physical
curse or taint that had been put upon
/ his ancestors In any event, every haul
Of Pierre Floluets seine was a lucky
1 one. While his fellows dragged along in
necd-whipped poverty Pierre got
rich, at least, rich for a sardne
fisher of Concarneau. The more |
he ard OF the fellow, the more curious
was to know him. This was given added
zcst because of the wild tales told of the
wondrous voyage he was about to make
with his own family in his own new
goelette or schooner, which he had pur-
chased for the. to the envious fisher.
folk, astounding sum of 1000 francs.
The voyage was to Spain. | was gong
to Spain for gypsy sort oftramp across
that land to tho Mediterranean. Why
should not become the companion of
Pierre FloquetP
found the dcvil-lelgued family living
in a hut under the walls of Conoarneau
proper, or Vile Close, which at high
| lido is quite surrounded by the sea- so
near the water out of which their har-
vests had come that twice each day II
stole to the very threshold Of the cabin
and babLlel for AN hour or two with
Pierre's half-dozen children. Then
and litter Of the place saving
them all much labor. Why did
want to know the despised and ostra-
Cised Pierre Floquet? That is what he
bluntly asked me. Because knew the
sardinc.tlshors Of America, and wished
TO learn II their scacraft was like that OF
their brethren in Brittany. AS Pierre
Floquet believed this, after | had twice
helped him with the seincs over the
waters of the Bale de Ia Forest, from
(which Du Gueschin so sayagely can
nOnaded the English garrison holding
the old city for John de Montiort
and as said nothing of my hopes to
iOin him ON his voyage to Spain, we
soon found liking for each
other; aud this, in the confidence
which came, revealed the secret motive
OF the voyage, the SHADOW which had
set grimly between the man aud his iol.
COWS, and finally gave me the snug berth
OF passenger and friend on the Eun.
quota del Mcirl, tho Spanish named
little craft which sailed out under Con.
larnenu's grim walls with all of Pierre
Floluet's earthly possessions, chiefly
converted into cheques on the Bank of
Spain, AtoChn 10, Madrid, for golden
onlas, while I ,O0u Breton fishermen and
their wives looked after in oQen-mouthed
wonderment.
A STRANGE, WILD STORY.
But that was strange, Wild story that
came little by little from Pierre Flo
Iqucts lips; story that u Hugo ora Sue
would have woven into a romance ol
The wcirdest fascination. Among the
PyIonccs, and the Aquitanian mountain
and valley country both sides OF them,
especially IN Spanish Galica, Navarro.
Ilcue.ca, l.rrida and Gerona, in the
French Heutes Pyrenees Gascony,
IGuicnue, Poitou, and sparsely in Brit
tHuy, 1--we a strange race ut men called
ICagots. The name is derived from Cams
lGuthicus, or Gothic dog. For long
timo those people were Conluunded
with the Crctins, those goitvrcd.
r.ukG,y and lcprous dwaris OF North
lcrn spain aud Southern France. But
the Cagots are another folk entirely.
They have large, bony, muscular forms.
Nycll-snaped skulls, almost Grcyian
noses, line, blonde hair blue eyes and
fair, pinky compeNlons with large but
expressive mouths and regular, perfect
teeth. These were the striking charac-
tcristics of Pierre FlOquers form and
face. rs wcil as Of his three huge sons,
Two mnssiyely- -huit daughters, his
hAll-dOZCn youths ana babes and
of his wrinklcd and white
eye.lashcd wife. The CasoIs are be-
licvci to have descended from the Aryan
Goths. Wherever they live away from
the Pyrcnecs, in France and Spain,
these marked and summed people arc
Vuriously callel Callibcrts Cauuins,
CacDas and tdhets. For n thousand
wears they were supcrstitiOusly avoided
by all other Inhabitants near them,
They were despised, persecuted, iual,
treated, regarded socially and legally aS
outcasis, and the superstition of thu
darker times attributed to them all man.
ner of loulnrss, They were be-
lioycd to &c witches; nuyieTos
or raiscrs Of tne storms and temp
c,ts. the Spanish pcasanlry called
them. Every dark deed posi-.
hlr was within their power. They cX-
lencc and cpid.mics. They were com
pan.on> of cat. and owls, and could see
IN the night like them. They were com,
plctely and absolutely ostraclsed, and
compelled to live alone, or In quarters 10y
themselves, aud IN towns and cities
whenever they made their apl carancc
they were obliged to wear a scarlet cloth,
that all Others might avoid them. Down
until the seven, 'enth century II was not
. considered n crime to Kill u CagOt, IL h,
offended. SO Pierre Floluet and las
family were Cagots. His own story /
An hundred years before, his
great great grandfather was
stoned to death in the little hamlet OF
Meira. on the sunny Rivadeo river,
which leaps laughingly from the Sierra
lie Banadciro heights In lii,cay bay.
Donning the garD and assuming the
ways of the Gitani or Gipsics the wife
aud children escaped into France, aud
iiually Settled N Brittany. They
changed their naIe and vocation; be
came fishers at Coucarnelu; others OF
the spanish CagOts came; intermarriage
resulted. Some diel onj some emigrnted