New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-11-25
4 STRANGE COUNTRY.
THE CAVERNS OF SOUTHERN FRANCE


Paieaus OF Ancient Aqnii1inc uy = ba'hF
could NJ \ illustrated by Hutton ana
- Bedford H. two volum"s Vol PIP Nn'
sN Vol II ~ xii. 3G Dold. Mead n CO..
Mr. Barring Gould has chosen for This book theme
ma, only T. his liking but extremely wide-reaching
IN its s,oue Hardly any other cuuntry on IN"
globe has kept So good a record. take il alto
r.ther. oe the yicissliudes through which IL has
passed ~ southern France In most cases
geal,gicll researches are mad" difficult by ine
soldifv r The Garth But In tn more remark
abb, portions - the region which MI Barring
GQ.Ili ,lescrbcs nature has herself opened hrr
recrssos n not % daylight. ~ least 10 the glare
- torch. and this mot In q cavern or iw' bar
In numerous underground cavities and passages.
and pits that cxposc m" Who'll" interior ~ a vast
chalk formation IN other parts ~ IA" world.
tn. story # primevai man T. TIA IN aiiAy hints
hardly comprehensive. bat In The reighborhooI
~ the River por6or1e. the remains winch ne
left ~ himself u III huts = his caV"-dwcllinGs.
OF the animals which h. KILLED. 4 his weapons.
- his artistic SKIN furnish m" fullest account -
his progress from the Ice Age down - IN" dawn
~ history Tho author has written = tn coun-
FRY In which be- 4 lighted {, wander h'oaus" u
Is only superficial, known. For 700 years j. be-
Iongcd t. England. and SET Engsh'n"n ptacu-
caly know nothing - g. For many centuries
Il has belonged - Franc politically as well 49,
reorraphicallv vet From -huon have neglected it.
Mr. Baring-Gould points out that Michcl"i. Oh
reviewing the divisions Of Franc. in his history.
ignored Pergord. Quercy. The Gcvaudan. and All
but forgot the Rouerguc. other provinces b"
was familiar with bat those 81 South Central
Franc he knew onl, by hearsay He insists
that historical writers and archacologisis omit
ting those who have treated ~ palaoplithic man
on the VHz1re- have lone comparatively litrc
work on the history and antiquities ~ this part
~ ancient Auuiiainc. Yet re believes that no
mart ~ Europe Italy and Greece excepted. Is 80
rich To- extravAgancc in objects ~ interest ana
I'm scenes Of cxiraOrdinary pcturesqucness The
deserts which he describes are not cxpanses ~
sand but Of porous limestone. At IN" bottom ~
the geological series there IL vast granite or
granite layer. spread out and turned ny al IN"
edges I'm places Ike n vast basin. on TINS resi-
first schis,. then Has. then limestone Ana the
limestone can retain no moisture. Every drop
Of rain that falls disappears on the instant. SAID
the author one day 10 a cOuntryman: You i've
on fossil sponge" But the reply was quick.
"Pardon. on "A stone sieve. a sponge absorbs
water and retains It; sieve lets all through and
remains dry" The result Is that not only the
sources ~ rivers but often the rivers themselves.
are far under ground These dry deserts are
called the Causes" and they extend across
France from the Gulf of Lyons to the Bay Of
Bscay. If IT happen anywhere that soil or rock
is Of such consistency as t. retain water. then
what would be "A smiling lake In other regions
Is here a morass Where other countries have
rivers the Causes have only ravincs. For the
use Of man water Is collected artihcially In res
ervoirs lined with clay. These are hlled by
rains. The roofs over them are Of a shape that
has been known in this region from date long
anterior to the reign II history They resemble
the beehive huts Of primitive man. Most OF the
water In them Is collected from the roofs Of
houses but I'm one case-at Les Baux In Prov
ence-the slope Of n hill has been paved for the
nurposc If shedding rain into the tanks for the
supnly Of villagers and their cattle. To
stranger the color odOr and taste Of this water
are sickcning.
The way In which this soft limestone or chalk
has weathered causes the picturesqueness OF the
scenery ON these deserts Of France. II lies in
LAYERS alternately hard and soft and wind ana
rain have worn great burrows in the sides
Almost from the first. man has found these mol
lows adapted 10 his use. The TWO prime re-
quistes Of a habitation were always at hand
ready made. solid floor and nara ROOF usuaIiy
dry Even in time Of storms a little ingenuity
suficed to deal with the water that tricked
through the rock and the inner layer is 50 soft
that man has been able to open passages ald
storerooms and refugees In 1t just to his liking.
The rivers that are open 10 daylight How through
the depths Of precipitous gorges Castles stand
on the Lodges half mbedded in the cliff OFTEN
a river. after flowing over "A comparatively nara
bed suddenly disappears IN the earth. The whole
appearance Of the landscape generally and in de-
tail is fantastic even in its grandeur The sur
face of the plateaus IL Goted with crater-like de-
pressions which sometimes open into caverns be-
low. and oftener form basin. which has been
flied gradually by the scanty soil washed from
the rock above These are the GASES OF the
chalky desert. In the times OF the Dolmen build