The Shepherds of the Landes

Yan Dargent

1869

Mid-Manhattan Picture Collection

The use of stilts by shepherds in the boggy, brushy country of the Landes dates back to the early 18th century. The stilts helped the shepherds make their way through the brush and vegetation, helped them keep their feet dry, and enabled them to view their flocks of sheep from a distance. Today the Landes is home to a large forest of pine trees planted in the middle of the nineteenth century. The shepherds in this illustration appear to be herding cows.

Checker ---The Comedian
Larry T. Dake
Copyright 2010
My Australian Kelpie x Border Collie dog with Suffolk rams in 1988, while herding sheep in Eastern Oregon.             

Texas Cattledog
"Western Bank Note Company, Chicago"
Copyright 1882

Collies By a Pen
John Sargent Noble, (1848-1896),  British