Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 226, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 September 1913 — A PYRENEAN PROVINCE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A PYRENEAN PROVINCE

By FREDERICK PICKAIRING

Mil WO sentiments, says the “little history of the province, which a wise gfl educational committee has provided for the children’s use in old French Catalonia, two sentiments are native to the heart of every good Catalan — An love of his country and the love of liberty. An ardent Independence, as VQ* the same authority explains, and a distinguishing capacity > for pursuing serenely their . self-appointed way have always marked this hardy people. Hence; it is that to this day the Catalan retains his racial characteristics, cherishes his old traditions and —Catalan to Catalan —speaks in the ancient tongue. Again and again his country has changed hands. The seaboard plains-and the lofty highlands upon the eastern Spanish frontier known to the mediaeval world as Catalonia, have shared the usual fate of border territories. Peoples from the north and peoples from the south —Romans, Visigoths, Moors, Franks, counts of Roussillon, kings of Arragon and of Majorca, rulers of France, rulers of Spain—in turn have conquered or possesed the land. But the Catalan has never ceased to feel himself a Catalan or lost his mastering sense of race. The name Catalonia is usually taken to imply merely the Spanish province, and to mention the Catalans is to call up disturbing visions of industrial strikes, evoking memories of anarchist activity and desperate Barcelona riots. The picture, it may, par parenthese, be said, is perhaps hardly fair to the men whose energy has created the largest, most flourishlfig seaport of Spain, who, all said and done are certainly the most progressive, most intelligent, most resourceful of King Alfonso’s subjects. In any case, the Catalans on the French side of the border are un-

known to newspaper fame, nor does the traveling public know very much as yet of the beautiful and varied land which they are so proud to inhabit. It is the Frenchman’s boast that samples of the world’s best scenery and the range of all its desirable climates are found within the boundaries of his native country. In these respects French Catalonia —which (with a portion of old Languedoc) is defined urfbn the modern map as the department Pyrenees Orientates —may be described as France in miniature. Mont Canlgou, admittedly one of the most majestic, most impressive of the Pyrenean peaks, is 9,500 feet high; Puig Mat, a less conspicuous neighbor, stands a trifle higher; and, clustered close, are other splendid heights. The scenery among these giants is of the kind we usually term “Alpine,’’ but: from the snow-slopes of the Canlgou you may look down upbn. the sun-burnt shores of Spain and the blue, gleaming floor of the far-stretched Mediterranean. Or, deserting the heights, and starting, say, from Mont Louis, loftiest of the fortified towns of France, and a new center for winter sports, you descend the winding valley of the Tet, and In an hour or so you find yourself among the olive orchards. Soon magnolias, the pointed aloe, even palms, are seen among the vineyards and in the roadside gardens, while If It be springtime, mimosas flaunt their feathery plumes, and near and far under the sunny sky stretch fields of pink peach blossom. "To this favored land,” said "Dagonet,” writing in the Referee, “Nature has been more than kind; she has been effusive.” But a sun-filled, spafkllng air and the striking contrasts of the natural scene are not (he only charms of Catalonia. For the historian, the antiquarian or the archaeolot gist the country abounds in interest. Its successive conquerors failed appreciably to mold the temper or to Change the habits of its people; inevitably they left behind them concrete vestiges of occupation. Local tradition makes much of les Arabes shd the curious tall towers upon the mountain spurs, of which the Tour de Goa, near Vernet-les-Balns, 'is a conspicuous example, are popularly ascribed to the vigilance of the Saracen rulers. Obviously, however, these watch towers are of far* later construction, and, like many other so-called Moorish remains, date from the Arragon dominion, or—more probably—from the ienancy of the Majorcan kings. It was the kings ©f Majorca who made Perpignan, now the chief town of the department, a royal capital. The architecture of Perpignan catbodral —as. Indeed,

of most Catalan churches —shows marked trace of Spanish Influence. A little below Perpignan is the small town of Fine with the ruins of an abbaye and some beautiful, richly-ornamented clpisters. The Visigoths made Fine the seat of an important bishopric. ZJGII Roman times the little r town, which then stood actually upon the coast, was known as Helena, so called in compliment to the mother of the “good” Emperor Constantine. Collioure, tiny but extremely picturesque, also owes Its name to the Romans. Port Vendres, another fishing port, still nearer

the frontier, was built upon the site of a temple dedicated to the goddess Venus, and was originally “Portus Venerua.” ... The Romans were 500 years in Catalonia, and besides the building of .numerous roads, they naturally found time to exploit some of the many mineral springs. The insignificant townlet, Prades, still possesses the remains of baths which were constructed by the Romans; local chroniclers assert that they also discovered the healing waters at Vernet-les-Bains. Vernet, which stands among the foothills of Mont Canlgou, is a veritable "beauty spot” of the Pyrenees. For centuries it has been frequented by Frenchmen and Spaniards; latterly it has leaped into

favor with the English as a winter spa. The old village of Vernet, which faces the luxurious grounds of the modern etabllssement, is a typical Catalan village, and, t owing to its situation, Is strangely, picturesque. The red roofs of the crumbling houses cover both man and beast, and the narrow, twisting streets follow th© outline of the hillock in the manner usual with southern mountain hamlets, but they are crowned by a mediaeval church and chateau, and framed by distant blue and purple heights. Near at hand Mont Canlgou erects his snowy head. For the Catalans Mont Canigou is the “delectable mountain,” an object of admiring wonder, almost a legendary god. Another spa, made fashionable by the Romans, is Amelie-les-Bains, a trim, Spanish-looking town close on the frontier, whose warm climate attracts the French consumptive. Not far from Amelie is the pass across which Hannfbal led his legions on the historic march to Italy. The Romans had previously sent ambassadors to beg the Catalans not to allow the Carthaginian mercenaries to traverse their territory, but to turn them back. Hannibal, however, contrived to flatter the owners of the soil: Catalans and Carthaglnians made friends, and the soldiers were allowed free passage. The Col de Perthuis —Hannibal’s route —and another Catalonian col are the only two passes across the Pyrenees which ar© practicable throughout the year; they offered a Convenient means of egress or retreat to Moorish and Spanish invaders. Had there been no good passage through the great chain the history of the Catalans must have been less chequered and the Catalonian seaboard might not have formed a fairway for the restless warrior peoples of mediaeval Europe.

CHURCH AND CHATEAU OLD VERNET VILLAGE

PART OF THE ARCARDE

CATALANS AT HOME

A HOUSE IN OLD VERNET