Cut Bank pioneer press. [volume] (Cut Bank, Mont.) 1909-current, 1915-01-01

One must GO there to appreci-
ate the odd costumes and the
quaint language, their queer customs
connected with marriages, burials, par"
ions and "the blessing of the sea;
customs such as one sees nowhere
else, says a writer in Town and Coun-
try. The soul of this race bears the
imprint of the country and origin.
They are dreamy by turns, poetical,
savage, devotedly attached to the ira
ditions of the country and to Its soil.
Almost all families of a village or part
of the country are related to each 9TH
er, hence the expression, Cousins a
la mode de Bretagne." Weddings,
therefore, comprise sometimes hun
dreds, s" thousands of guests.
When these are too numerous, tables
are set in the open for their accommo-
dalton. Their superstitions SAVIOR OF
the Celts, from whence they are de-
scended.
Scenery Is Fine.
The real characteristics of the Brit
tany country are scarcely discernible
before one reaches the north Of
Nantes. French Brittany it is, OF
course, for one has to go way beyond
Vannes to find the first village where
the Armorican dialect is spoken, but it
is Brittany all the same, as is proved
by the rude granite that forms the
structure of the island, by the general
character of the cities and villages, by
the nature of the vegetation, and even
by the color of the sky. Fine scenery
and splendid architecture are found all
through the whole basin of the Viii
aine. along the whole of this country.
Briar bushes and landes, alternately,
give it a sayage,s %grandiose aspect.
Seen from the tower of a church, 1t
looks like a continuous forest. Yet
woods are rare, in spite of the fact
that one side of Brittany is called Ar
coat, which, in the language of the
country, means land of the forest"
in contrast to the other side, Armor,
which is land of the sea-"
The Breton cities seem in perfect
harmony with the savage appearance
u IHClI ldLOSCdpO. luS 6LldlleI DTll-
tany places are charming and the cha.
teaux numerous. Blain, Chateaubri.
and, Wire, Fougeres, Oman, recall to
ones mind, by their ruins and by the
high walls lowered by their fortresses
(some of which are very well pre-
served), the fact that for centuries
France and Brittany were two distinct
countries, sometimes friendly, but
more often on warlike terms, defyine
each other. There Is much romantic
history connected with these interest
ing places. In the somber Manor de
Combourg, Chateaubriand, the re
nowned author of Rene" and a deer
philosopher, lived his pensive and sol
itary youth. In the Chateau des Ro
cheers, Madame de Sevigne came in
vain to seek days of quiet and peace
away from the conventions of court
life. Such is the interior of this side
of Brittany. In the eastern part the
peasant is agriculturally inclined
while neal the coast the children's
dreams are to become sailors, to be
long to the fishing expeditions O.
Nova Scotia or Newfoundland.
The Soul Of Brittany.
The course Of all of B~rittany's riv
ers is divided into two parts, these Ii
some place or other joining the ocean
Such is the Rance, flowing from Saint
Malo to Oman, It is a splendid bi,
river running along a magnifcen
green coast with picturesque rock
and charming parks. Above Oman |
becomes a rivulet of minor impo,
lance. The past has left It's imprin
indelibly on this country. Mont Saint
Michel, built on sand and rocks, |
crowned by superb towers and wei
represents the very soul of Brittany
mystic yet ~warriorlike. A peacefu
convent, a wonderful Norman churc,
with a beautiful Gothic choir, tower
pierced by i~ron-barred windows an
containing prisons, old winding street.
where plain bourgeois, in long pas
years, erected their simple abodes q
the foot of the church, as if wishin
to put themselves under the Lord
protection against the seas invasio
this is Mont Saint-Michel.
Beyond Cancale and Dol, Saint-Mal
proudly emerges from blocks of graz
lite, ~furiously beaten by ocean waves
1t is there that Jacques Cartier, tn
discoverer of Canada, was born. SUI
rounded by immense city walls, wit
its huge, imposing old iron doors,
evokes a past of glory and battle. A,
venturers, noblemen, ~corsairs, seafa
ing traders lived there in the pas
sometimes fra~ternizing, usually figh
Ing each other. Chateaubriand's bur
al place on the-height, o~vertowerin
tho proud old city, seems to prote'