 Pre-history
Traces of man date back a very long time on the Vercors.
100,000 years BP Neanderthals lived and hunted in the Val de Lans. As
far as our communes are concerned, the rock shelter at Bobache excavated
in 1912 produced a number of flint objects dating back to the Azilian
period at the end of the last glaciation (10,000BP). In a steppe-like
environment with a covering of scattered trees, nomadic hunters pursued
marmots for their meat and fur. Later during the Mesolithic period between
6250BP and 4,500BP, the development of the forest and its density affected
the movement of men and the success of their hunting. During the summer,
groups of nomadic hunters sought out the high plateaux of the Vercors,
which were sparsely wooded and teeming with wildlife. Traces of their
annual migrations have been discovered in a rock shelter near to Pas
de la Charmate where they paused near a water supply annually for a
few days at the most, but did so for several millennia. They hunted
mountain goats for the most part, but did not ignore chamois, deer or
wild boar. They made tiny flint tips for spears and arrows and probably
used bows.
From
Gaul to France
Les Voconces, peuplade celto-ligure, occupaient les
montagnes entre l'Isère et le Ventoux. Un de leurs dix-neuf districts
était habité par les Vertacomicori qui donnèrent
leur nom au massif. D'après l'historien romain Pline l'Ancien,
ce peuple serait allé en Italie fonder la ville de Novare au
VIème siècle avant Jésus-Christ.
L'époque Romaine n'a guère laissé de traces dans
nos deux communes, sinon quelques sarcophages trouvés à
Picot près de Saint Julien et autour de l'église de cette
commune.
Au XIème siècle, le Vercors est chrétien et organisé
en paroisses desservies par les chanoines de Sainte Croix-en-Dois jusqu'en
1 289, par les religieux de Saint Antoine ensuite.
Middle
Ages and Modern Times
From 1235, the five communes of the Drôme part
of the Vercors were under the suzerainty of the Bishop of Die who argued
over the revenues with the monks of St Antoine until 1305. The vassals
of the Bishop included various local lords and ladies who levied taxes
on the inhabitants. The Chateau of Ravel at St Julien is an authentic
feudal castle. It commanded the entry to the Vercors from the north
west via Choranche and the north via Rencurel. The remaining section
of wall contains a fine example of the construction methods, which the
middle ages had inherited from antiquity: two parallel walls of finely
— dressed masonry were constructed and the cavity was filled with
other material. Bishop and nobility blithely extracted tax in cash and
kind from the inhabitants. Only 1/24th of the ecclesiastical
tax, the tithe, was applied for the relief of poverty…… Later
the bishop appointed "leaseholders", who acted as tax collectors,
over whom there was no control. They remitted an agreed sum to the bishop
annually and kept the rest for themselves. For example, in 1749 Monsignor
des Augiers rented out the tithes and seigniorial rights (less those
of pasturage, hunting, fishing and forestry) of St Julien to Etienne
Faure for the sum of 850 livres per year (at mid - 18th century
prices)
In 1767, the communes of St Julien, St Martin, La
Chapelle and St Agnan had to defend before the courts their rights of
commons in the forest. It was at all times accepted that the inhabitants
had the privilege of cutting wood (origin of the current right to cut
firewood from communal woods) and to graze their animals. The bishop
and nobility wished to restrict this right in order to increase the
profits derived from exploitation of the woods, because as well as owning
the sawmills, at the same time they were renting out the mountains expensively
to the cattlemen of Provence, whose 40,000 head of cattle, amounting
to 4 — 5 times the livestock total of the four communes, contributed
to a degradation of the woods. It had always been the custom to lead
animals to graze in the woods. The Administration of Waters and Woods,
founded under Louis XIV did not have the power to insist on adherence
to bans, which ran contrary to the customs of millennia. Good land was
reserved for cultivation.
It is interesting to discover as an inheritance from
the former nobility, names still used by families or as place names:
Faure, Malsand, Sibeud, Penchinat, Algo(ud), etc. The name of Jean Abicel,
who died about 1550, owning a considerable fortune at St Martin, is
applied to a property: Les Abisseaux, (plural of Abicel). Madame de
la Blanchette also gave her name to an area where she had her property
around 1746.
In 1662, at St Martin, Louis Gauthier de la Tour,
squire of Larénier caused a fine residence flanked by a tower
to be built. It was called the Chateau de Larénier or l’Arénier.
The name l’Arénier has nothing to do with insects, instead
it refers to a sandy area (c.f. arena in Latin). In 1673, another squire
Jacques de Lamorte owned the estate or Chateau des Algouds at St Martin,
which brought him "300 pounds of tournois (money of the period),
50 pounds (weight) of hemp, 6 capons, 1 pot of melted butter, 100 eggs,
peas and lentils."
Calamities
and Wars of Religion
The year 1508 was marked by the appearance of the
plague, which decimated the populations of St Martin and St Julien.
There were numerous poverty stricken people in the 16th century
and some pious persons willed them their property. During the 18th
century, there was an "Estate of the Poor" in St Julien. It
was located at Janisand and the income from it was applied to the relief
of the unfortunates. Later an "Office of Charity", supported
by generous donors and run on similar lines, operated within the two
communes.
The Wars of Religion ravaged the Vercors. Captured
by Montbrun (protestant), recaptured by De Gordes (catholic), who had
the fortified houses demolished. From 1573 — 1590 the countryside
was traversed ceaselessly by rival gangs, who under the pretext of religion,
robbed, pillaged and extorted money from the inhabitants. At the end
of this sad period, the two communes were crippled with debt, their
churches were partially destroyed and their villages in ruins.
Under the reign of Good King Henry IV, things began
to improve; witness the venerable lime tree of "Sully" which
adorns the square in St Martin. This celebrated minister had brought
about the planting of great quantities of trees, for the most part intended
to shade the roads of the kingdom which he had had repaired, but most
probably in the case of St Martin, intended to provide shade for public
meetings, a common custom in the 16th century. Other lime
trees were planted at the same time, notably at St Jean-en-Royans and
Rochechinard. And the peasants returned courageously to working the
land and grazing their cattle.
The
Communes
The communal movement appeared late on the Vercors.
In 1318, St Julien was under the pastoral control of Rousset, whilst
St Martin belonged to the Antonines of Ste Croix. It seems that the
majority of villages were not organised as such until the 14th
century. It was not until the middle of the 16th century
that the parishes were organised into communes. Each year at Easter,
the inhabitants elected a consul, who administered the commune for a
year. The four consuls of St Julien, St Martin, St Agnan and La Chapelle
were in the habit of supporting one another in their differences with
the bishop and the nobility. Whenever the matters to be dealt with exceeded
their competence, they were assisted by a general assembly composed
of inhabitants of the commune, generally chosen by the consuls of previous
years. The communal budget was far less important than it is currently!
The communal tallage (an ancient form of tax) was applied in a very
egalitarian manner, being levied on all inhabitants, including nobles
and clergy. A tax collector received about 5% of the tax collected to
cover his expenses. The consul was responsible for remitting the accounts
and remaining moneys to the lord of the manor.
Outgoings differed greatly from those with which
we are familiar!
In 1659 payment was a matter of offering some trout
or two pairs of grouse to a powerful person of whom a favour was required,
to defray the cost of a journey to Valence (four days), to buy some
gunpowder, to aid stricken people or to pay for a village watchman,
whose annual salary was less than the price of two pairs of grouse bought
from the hunters at St Martin! A sum of a similar order was used to
pay for the work of the secretariat. There was no question of systematic
road maintenance. That was reduced to its most simple form. Peasants
who owed them a feudal duty carried out the most urgent works at the
demand of the local nobility and there was no apparent payment. It was
in this manner, it is said, that the Carthusian monks were able during
the 18th century to maintain the track over the Pas de l’Allier,
with its beautiful supporting wall, which we are still able to admire
to this day.
Agriculture
Les anciens contrats de fermage et relevés
de dîmes nous donnent une idée de ce que cultivaient nos
ancêtres : le blé, le seigle, le méteil (mélange
des deux précédents), l'orge et l'avoine, les pois et
les lentilles, les raves. Le chanvre servait encore au siècle
dernier à faire d'inusables chemises bien rêches! Chaque
village avait son tisserand auquel les femmes portaient le fil de leur
quenouille ou de leur rouet. Il n'est fait mention ni de légumes
frais, ni de fruits, impossible à conserver à l'époque.
Les herbes sauvages, les champignons et les fruits des bois étaient
largement mis à contribution pour la nouriture: les pissenlits
et crépides (appelés diversement "mouton gras",
"saramiéjos", "repoursons" ), le chénopode,
épinard sauvage fréquent près des lieux habités
et des parcs à bestiaux, l'oseille sauvage, l'ortie, particulièrement
appréciée pour sa saveur et ses vertus. A notre époque
de retour à la nature, on redécouvre de vieilles recettes
où ces humbles plantes des bord de chemins sont remises à
l'honneur.
Les dîmes comportaient aussi des agneaux et chevreaux, des poules,
poulets et chapons, des oeufs des jambons. On élève vaches,
brebis et chèvres. Les transports et tractions agricoles sont
plus souvent assurés par des boeufs, des ânes ou des mules
que par les chevaux. La transhumance existe de tout temps. Les bergers
de Provence paient à l'évêque des sommes considérables.
Enfin , le miel est une denrée appréciée, le sucre
étant pratiquement inconnu avant le XVIIème siècle,
et la cire sert à fabriquer des cierges et des chandelles.
Forestry
Timber, that rich asset of our communes, was unexploitable
for several centuries, due to the difficulties of transporting it before
the road was tunnelled through the route of the Goulets. From time to
time and with enormous effort, some large pine trees, which were sought
after by the navy and for which they paid well, were taken down to the
plains. Sometimes they were cut down during winter, so that their descent
could be aided by snow. When the snow was thick, trees were cut one
metre or more above the ground. Certain stumps went on to push out shoots
in the form of chandeliers, which were called "sarnas". This
name still exists today, being applied to a clearing by the Vialerets
forestry track. The trees were launched down the rivers and cascades.
Many were smashed en route, before they could reach the safety of some
calm river where they could be floated to their destination. But most
frequently items which could be transported easily by mule, such as
wheel rims and barrel staves, were made locally.
The greatest proportion of exploited timber was made
into charcoal, which could be easily transported on the backs of mules.
In the 17th century the metallurgical industry used fabulous
quantities of it. Each day around 100 heavily laden mules descended
via the Pas de l’Allier. The last mule of the caravan carried on
its hindquarters a leather apron to ward off wolf bites and also towed
behind it boxwood faggots, whose jolts were supposed to keep the pack
at bay. Traces of these innumerable convoys can still be seen at the
Pas de l’Allier. By dint of always having to place their feet on
exactly the same parts of the slippery rocks, the mules ended up wearing
them down, the prints of their shoes still being visible in the rock
in numerous places. The name "l’Allier" is quite simply
that of a fairly common tree, the mountain ash, with its feathery leaves
and edible red berries, which are not very appetising, but which were
harvested in bygone days for human consumption. These, it appears, were
mixed with flour for bread making. Numerous place names evoke the names
of trees: "Le Play" (maple), "Le Fay" or "Fau",
(beech, frequently called a "fayard"), whilst "La Sambue"
evokes the elder (sambucus in Latin). For centuries, charcoal burning
was the essential resource of the mountain people. Many of these charcoal
burners operated clandestinely: driven by destitution, having nothing
to lose, they cared nothing for the guards sent to pursue them. Each
year 15,000 trees were felled fraudulently in the Vercors.
It was the opening of the Goulets, bringing a higher
standard of living to the Vercors, which triumphed over forestry crime
in a way that no sort of repression was ever able to achieve. In the
19th and 20th centuries the charcoal burners were
often Italians, many of whom put down roots on the plateau. It is they
we have to thank for ravioli, the unique regional speciality. Their
life was mean and hard in the cabins that they erected in the middle
of the forest, near to the round flat clearings where they constructed
their stacks. Frequently next to them is found a hole filled with muddy
water, which acted as a reservoir for water to damp down the heat of
the fire. At the beginning of the 20th century, a female
charcoal burner, a large vigorous woman, accustomed to the hardest work,
descended from Bard to the mill at Tourtres, where she bought 100kg
of flour. This burden was lifted onto her shoulders, because she could
not raise it alone and she set off to climb to Bard, 300 metres higher
and several kilometres distant. This "Way of the Cross" was
marked by two stations: a boulder and a tree stump where she could lay
her burden down and get her breath back. Other stories of the "ancients"
tell of the fabulous loads which men and women of the period were able
to transport. Sport hardly existed; physical exploits were known only
in the context of work. In addition to fruit and mushrooms, a whole
range of products came from the forest: timber for construction, handles
for tools, faggots, foliage from ash trees, cut in the summer and dried
in order to feed goats in winter. As late as the 1930’s, children
were tasked in autumn to collect fallen leaves, principally beech leaves,
to fill palliasses. To begin with they were warm and soft, having only
the fault that they crackled with every indiscreet movement! But by
the end of the summer they were nothing but thin monastic mattresses,
as hard as wood.
The communal forests are a creation of the Revolution.
As a result of nationalisation in 1789, the prefect of the Drôme
directed on 1st September 1809 that the forests of the Vercors
were to be divided into 48 parcels, 16 for the communes, who would divide
them up later, the remainder being split between the state and individuals.
This was a situation quite different to that which prevailed during
previous centuries when the Bishop of Die, sole owner of the forests
of the Drôme Vercors, conceded the right to cut timber and exploit
the forest to the communes or to certain individuals. It should be noted,
however, that the forest de l’Allier has always been exploited
uniquely by the two communes of St Julien and St Martin, who practised
their right to cut firewood there. This tradition, observed almost every
year today, dates back until at least the 17th century.
According to the statistics for 1836, St Julien
owned 222 hectares of communal forest and St Martin 371 hectares. Currently
the forests of St Martin extend over 850 hectares. Up until the current
crisis, the sale of felling timber was the most important source of
income for our two communities.
Industry
Industrial activities have never known large-scale
development in our mountain communes. For the most part, these enterprises
had a purely local clientele. A contract dated 1561 mentions an "old
mill" at St Julien. Numerous mills, above all watermills, existed in
our two communities. The last did not cease to operate at Tourtres until
the 70's (in 1976). The channel which conducted the water of the Adoin
still exists, as does as a paddle wheel, which initially was the sole
motive force, but which was supplemented more recently by an emergency
electric motor, used solely at times of low water. This mill processed
soft wheat for use as breadmaking flour, which was sold to bakers, and
also hard wheat. Like its equivalents throughout the centuries, this
mill was for the use of the inhabitants who there transported grain
that they had harvested. Once cereal production deserted the Vercors,
the last miller purchased his wheat at Chabeuil and principally furnished
the bakers of the plateau with flour. The mill at St Martin, on the
Buech only exists as a place name. As for "Moulin Marquis" at St Julien,
the place was possibly a reference to a mill, but the "marquis" was
in fact a swamp, or area of muddy terrain. An oral tradition makes reference
to several mills and an hydraulic sawmill, said to have existed along
the Adoin in ancient times, doubtless the start of the 19th
century and earlier. Hydraulic sawmills were equally an important part
of the mountain economy. Under the Ancien Régime, they belonged
generally to the nobility, who alone were wealthy enough to afford the
costly investment, but who extracted large profits. During the 18th
century, there was a large decrease in their numbers, in order not to
encourage forestry crime. By 1880 there were but two left at St Martin.
They operated above all in times of flood in spring and autumn. The
place named "Les Scies"(The Sawmills), a small massif of sandy
hills situated between St Martin and La Chapelle, has nothing to do
with the timber industry. During the 18th century it was
written "Les Seyes", "Seyes" having a meaning similar
to "Sierra" in Spanish, which designates an elongated crest,
rather like the word "Serre", the use of which is so widespread
in place names. Very common, in fact a cottage industry practised in
all families to fill the winter evenings profitably was carding, spinning
and weaving of wool and hemp. Woollen cloth was sold to individuals
and to manufacturers. This practice disappeared during the course of
the 19th century. Nevertheless at the end of that century,
there still existed at Tourtres a weaver, to whom the women took balls
of hemp which they had spun and which was woven into a coarse material
for making indestructible shirts, which were very uncomfortable to wear.
Hemp was still being cultivated in 1944 and some inhabitants made use
of these tall plants to hide their possessions from plunder by the occupying
forces. But its only use by then was the manufacture of ropes.
Rather more surprising is the history of the foundry
at Tourtres. A heavy industry in our mountains seems a bit far-fetched.
However, this activity has a long tradition. Already around 1480 iron
was being made in the canton. In Royans at Bouvante, the Carthusian
monks of Val Ste Marie were producing 175 tons of cast iron per year.
At St Michel des Portesat at the foot of Mt Aiguille a flourishing industry
existed. The high revenues which it generated gave Monsignor Gabriel
de Cosnac, Bishop of Die an idea. In 1734 he teamed up with three local
nobles — de la Tour, de Lamorte and Malsang and the communes of
St Agnan, La Chapelle and St Martin, who hoped to liquidate their debts
by exploiting their forests, despite the fact that transporting timber
was difficult. At that time the recently - invented blast furnaces made
use of charcoal. In August 1736, the bishop and the three nobles formed
a company for the construction of an iron foundry at Tourtres, below
the source of the Adoin. A canal, traces of which may still be seen,
transported the water necessary to operate a paddlewheel. The hydraulic
wheel, making use of a series of cams, operated a hammer. This colossal
hammer made of cast iron, weighing100kg, and mounted on a horizontal
beam was used to hammer and so refine ingots produced in furnaces. Buildings
and equipment were expensive. Labour, on the other hand was cheap because
feudal rights were invoked to impress the local peasants and their draught
animals for the major works! Their sole reward was a drink: so for this
reason the chief of the building site paid one day in June, "dis
sols à la janneton" to bring two jars of wine for those
who had used their cattle to transport timber to the site. The ore was
obtained from Darbounouse, Briac and Canard. These veins, however, were
not very rich and were swiftly exhausted. There was a plan for a furnace,
but this was never built. It was necessary to bring the metal from a
long way away. Cast iron from the smelter at St Laurent en Royans was
brought up to Toutres to be hammered! This was hardly profitable. As
a result, the factory, which began work in 1739 ceased to operate in
1750. No trace of it remains. An hypothesis, unfortunately not confirmed,
makes a link between the "Yellow" quarter near Tourtres and
metallurgy. Gypsies of "yellow" colour recruited for work
in the iron industry, where their specialist skills were appreciated,
were supposed to have been housed there.
Opening
up the Area
At the start of the 19th century about
5,000 people lived in the five communes of the part of the Vercors situated
in Drôme. Of this number, 1,000 lived in St Martin and half of
that number in St Julien. Due to the limestone cliffs which could be
passed only with difficulty, not to say at considerable risk, and which
ruled out wheeled vehicles, the population was isolated and held back
in its evolution for want of contact with the outside world.
In the same way, communications on the plateau itself
were restricted to foot or horse traffic; the tracks being impassable
to wagons. At that time the Vercors was the poorest region of the northern
Alps. "The inhabitants", stated a prefect in a report of about
1820, "live there in a terrible state of poverty and ignorance."
"What is the point of cultivating the land, if it is not possible
to trade the produce? The land is uncultivated, but the forest has been
pillaged by men willing to do anything in order to survive by selling
a few mule loads (of charcoal)." A forester was even killed at
Chateau Julien, near to Herbouilly.
To serve our two communes, there existed a few mule
tracks: the Pas de l’Allier linked up with Pont en Royans. A route
via the Grands Goulets also existed. From the 14th century,
a bridge spanned the narrowest point. For want of maintenance, this
bridge had disappeared by the 18th century. It had been replaced
by a rude scaling ladder comprising the trunk of a pine tree with the
stumps of its branches still attached, which was used to aid the descent
to the river.
From the 14th century a route from Die
to Grenoble existed. After crossing the valley of the Vernaison, it
traversed St Martin and St Julien to reach Villard de Lans via La Balme
and the Bridge of Valchevrière, which was built in 1318. The
pass of St Martin itself seems to be very ancient, steps there having
been cut to facilitate passage, as is also the case at the Pass of Fouillet
at St Julien. Many of these tracks still exist and are marked as hiking
trails.
From 1774 numerous studies were undertaken, with
the aim of establishing a route that would permit the transport of timber.
In 1792, the communes of St Martin and St Julien demanded a subsidy
of 2000 livres to defray the expense of the refurbishment of the Pas
de l’Allier track, which they had already repaired once at great
cost. It was not until 1834 that the General Council decided to drive
through the Goulets route. Works began in 1843. They were difficult.
It was very quickly discovered that the technical problems and the cost
of the operation had been underestimated!
Twelve years or so were necessary and a number of
human lives were sacrificed. The miners were lowered from the top of
the cliffs on ropes equipped with crossed sticks, which served them
as chairs. Swinging about on the ends of their ropes, they would reach
out for holds on the rock in order to drive in pitons from which they
could hang whilst they drilled. Some of them, having charged their shotholes,
lit the charges then kicked away from the rock face, having calculated
that the length of time of their pendulum at the end of their rope would
shelter them from the explosion. Mistakes in calculations, broken ropes
and falls meant that accidents were numerous. Lacking comfortable harnesses,
jammers and descenders, relying on hemp ropes, they were a long way
from modern climbing and canyoning!
Finally in 1854 the Grand Goulets route was opened
to traffic. Others followed: Col de Rousset, Bourne etc.… The opening
of these roads raised the standard of living of the inhabitants considerably.
All the fallow land was brought into cultivation and the rural economy
began bit by bit to specialise in animal husbandry. Cows began to produce
milk and veal calves instead of hauling timber. Pine logs were taken
down to the plains in wagons… and there was a spectacular fall
in forestry crime. It was at that time that tiles began to replace thatch
on the roofs and tourism began to develop. "Pleasure trains"
was the name given to the horse drawn open wagons in which the tourists
discovered the marvels of the tunnels and cuttings, which had been so
dearly bought. They halted at the exit to the Grands Goulets at "Barraques",
where luxury hotels had replaced the workmens’ huts. The inhabitants
themselves used these "pleasure trains" for marriages and
other celebrations.
The Vercors made the acquaintance of a thousand new
products, of both a durable and culinary nature, and barrels, "which
always arrived in good condition", replaced goatskin containers
jolted around on the backs of mules. The people of St Martin and St
Julien continued for the most part to visit on foot the fairs of Pont
en Royans, which was an important commercial centre.
Education
The first elements of the scholastic life appeared
in 1644. During the course of a pastoral visit, the bishop directed
the priest of St Martin to provide instruction for children who were
sent to him. This instruction was in no way obligatory. Later in 1681
at St Martin and 1705 at St Julien professional schoolmasters called
"Inspectors of Youth" appeared. They came generally from the
area of Briancon, where they returned each summer to participate in
agricultural work, spending the remainder of the year earning their
living far from home, like others such as peddlers and chimneysweeps.
The school was fee paying, but the communes supplied the premises and
at least part of the salaries. This school was not attended in a regular
fashion. Some years there was no schoolmaster. Let us pass over them….It
was not until about 1748 that girls began to receive any sort of consideration,
up until then their education had been totally neglected. A monk had
donated to the commune of St Martin a property including buildings and
land, on condition that the income from its exploitation would be dedicated
to the young girls of the parish. Four nuns were to educate them. This
too was very episodic.
During the course of the 19th century
matters became more serious as the authorities tried more and more to
spread teaching everywhere. A female lay teacher was already operating
at St Martin in 1825, where another school was in the hands of nuns.
It was not until 1881- 82 that Jules Ferry despatched the silent army
of the "Black Hussars of the Republic" into every commune
in France; sent to found non-religious schools and to combat ignorance.
This first generation of schoolmasters and mistresses accomplished the
enormous task of spreading literacy and unifying the language. Let us
retrace the typical, but not unique, career of a child of the area,
whose life spanned two epochs. She was born in St Julien in 1843, the
year the works to tunnel through the Goulets began. Doubtless she made
use of the brand new road to go and study at Valence, where at the age
of 17 years, she entered the teachers’ training college. From the
age of 19 she held various teaching posts, before being appointed at
24, first to St Julien, then to Tourtres. No doubt the laws of Jules
Ferry made very little difference to her: at 39, she had years of experience
behind her. She retired in 1910 aged 67, but never left teaching completely.
In her eighties, she assembled the children of Tourtres in her home
during the evenings, in order to help them with their homework, study
being preceded and followed by a prayer. She was respectfully known
as the "Dame".
It must be remembered that the job was hard. It was
not unusual to have classes of 40! For several years the school at Tourtres
worked half days: boys in the mornings, girls in the afternoons. Some
pupils were sent to St Martin where there were several classes. There
was talk at one time of opening a school at Briac, because numerous
children came from there. Every morning about thirty children descended
via the tracks to St Martin where they crowded into classes, which sometimes
exceeded 50! School finished about 4pm. The snowball fights between
rival gangs went on throughout the climb until night fell. Some did
not get home until 7pm.
Homework was completed only if possible. Other tasks
were more pressing. Parents were little inclined to help: sometimes
they could not read or write at all, or only with great difficulty.
Many children were missing in spring and autumn, when they were needed
to help with agricultural work. Some, the girls especially, were withdrawn
from school long before the end of their period of obligatory schooling,
"to help their mothers with the households chores." Within
the family only the local dialect was spoken. "Speak French to
your children!", begged the teachers. They succeeded only too well.
The dialect has all but disappeared and with it an entire rural culture.
At 12 or 14 the children finally left school, with
or without the certificate, and were sent often some kilometres distant
to look after the cows. Currently the educational reorganisation of
St Martin and St Julien has brought together a total of something over
thirty scholars in all between the ages of 4 and 11, because the rural
exodus has emptied our mountains.
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