Through the High Pyrenees. With illustrations and supplementary sections by H. Llewellyn Smith. (Bibliography of Pyrenees.)

Preface

This volume is the fruit of two holidays spent hy us in the more remote parts of the French and Spanish Pyrenees and in the Republic of Andorra in the summers of 1896 and 1897. The division of labour between us in the production of the book is stated on the title-page, and it only needs to be added here that while we have consulted together regarding all parts of the work, each of us is solely responsible for those parts which bear his name. The wild and beautiful district which we have at tempted to describe and illustrate has lately been strangely neglected by British tourists and climbers. When two years ago we first turned our attention to the Pyrenees we found few who could give us any detailed information or advice. Packe's " Guide " was out of print, and it was only after some trouble that we succeeded in obtaining a secondhand copy.

Almost at random we planned our first tour, determining vaguely to traverse the chain from east to west, keeping as far as possible in the high mountains throughout. Starting from Ax-les-Thermes, we passed through the eastern hall of the Pyrenees, including Andorra, keeping almost en- Preface tirely to the south side of the watershed ; but we were then compelled by want of time to cross the frontier into France and to reach Gavarnie by way of the beautiful Val d'Aure, instead of pursuing our westward journey along the wilder and (to climbers) far more interesting Spanish slope. Our first tour ended at Cauterets, but next year we renewed our journey better equipped with tent and mules and with fuller information as to the district. We have to thank Sir Martin Conway, who had himself sketched out a climbing tour along the ridge of the Pyrenees, but was called off for bigger tasks, and kindly placed his plans at our disposal.

In 1897 our point of departure was the Val d'Aran — the central valley of the Pyrenees — whence, climbing the more interesting peaks as we went, we made our way westward through the great mountain groups of the Maladetta, Posets, and Perdu, ending with the wonderful and desolate region which centres in the Balaitous. Weather was not always propitious, and many peaks have been left still unclimbed, but a glance at the contour map at the end of the volume will show that the region covered in the two years — from Ax to Laruns — includes practically the whole of the " High Pyrenees." Though we have no new and startling achievements to record, we have thought that an account of our expeditions might be of some interest to others who, like ourselves, may wish to turn to the Pyrenees for relief from the crowded hotels of Switzerland, and not know where to obtain the information that they need.

The story of the two tours is told in Parts I. and II. of the book respectively. Our objects were pleasure and exercise, and not investigation, and this book makes V Preface no pretensions to be a treatise. There are, however, a number of points of interest bearing on the history, literature, structure, and climbing characteristics of the Pyrenees on which full information is not to be readily found in the ordinary guide-books, and of which it has therefore been thought desirable to give some account. Accordingly, in Part III. are collected a series of miscel laneous sections dealing with various special subjects of this nature, together with a Bibliography of the Pyrenees and a table of Peaks and Passes. Of the maps included in the book, the contour map of the whole range at the end of the volume was prepared by M. Franz Schrader and M. de Margerie, and originally appeared in the " Annuaire du Club Alpin Francais " for 1892.

Our acknowledgments are due to the authors of the map and to the Club for their courteous permission to reproduce the map, which, so far as we know, is the only small scale contour map of the Pyrenees in exist ence. The two coloured maps of the Maladetta and Balaitous, and the sketch-maps of our route and of Andorra, were specially drawn for this book. The illustrations are mainly reproduced from sketches and photographs made by one of us during our tours. Unfortunately in 1896 we had no camera, and a few of the illustrations in Part I. are therefore based on photographs kindly lent by M. Emmanuel Brousse, of Per pignan (author of a very useful book on the French Cerdagne), whom we were fortunate enough to meet at Les Escaldes, and to whom our thanks are due for his courtesy. We have also to thank M. Felix Regnault, secretary of the Central Pyrenees section of the French Alpine Club for allowing us to reproduce two cf his VI Preface photographs of Andorra.

With these and two or three other exceptions, the whole of the illustrations are original. We need hardly say that they are not inserted on account of any supposed artistic merit, but simply to give some idea of the character of the more remote and less visited parts of the Pyrenees. The plan of our tour led us far away from the tourist track, and though we have certainly carried our hand cameras where cameras have not often been, scarcely any illustrations will be found in this volume of the ordinary "show" places of the district. Some of the illustrations are reproductions of photographs, some are from sketches based on photographs, some are from sketches made on the spot. WThere there has been any choice, preference has been given to photo graphic reproductions in the case of mountain groups of which it has been deemed more important to< preserve the exact forms than to accentuate the picturesque features.

Since the book was written Spain has become involved in a war, and it is possible that some intending visitors to the Pyrenees may be deterred by a fear lest the position of English-speaking tourists on the frontier may be somewhat unpleasant. We doubt if there be serious ground for such fear, but tourists who prefer for this reason to leave the Spanish Pyrenees alone during the present summer, will still find plenty of picturesque scenery and no small field for climbing on the French side of the frontier. H. S. H. Ll. S. CONTENTS

Part I

1896 CHAP. PAGU I. THE APPROACH ........ 3 II. THE PIC CARLITTE, THE KING OF THE EAST . .16 III. FROM PORTE TO ANDORRA . . . . -31 IV. " LES VALLEES ET SOUVERAINTE D'ANDORRE ' . 50 V. A GLIMPSE OF SPAIN — FROM ANDORRA TO TIRVIA . 7 1 VI. FROM TIRVIA TO LUCHON ...... S4 VII. THE PIC NETHOU, THE KING OF THE PYRENEES . 93 VIII. TO GAVARNIE OVER THE COL DE CAMPBIEL . . IO9 IX. THE VIGNEMALE A MOUNTAINEER'S ESTATE . . II)

Part II

1897 1. "THE EYE OF JOVE" 131 II. THE FOURCANADE ....... I42 HI. TO THE "CURSED MOUNTAINS". . . . .156 Contents CHAP. I'AGK IV. TO VENASQUE ........ 167 V. THE PORTILLON D'OO — A STORM IN THE MOUNTAINS 1 79 VI. THE PIC DES POSETS, THE "VICEROY" OF THE PYRENEES I9I VII. TO BIELSA A VALLEY RIDE ..... 203 VIII. UNDER THE MONT PERDU A DAY IN A BARN . . 209 IX. OVER THE PORT DE PINEDE ..... 220 X. TO PANTICOSA — BY THE BRECHE DE BRAZATO . . 225 XI. THE BALAITOUS. ....... 236

Part III Supplementary Sections By

H. LLEWELLYN SMITH ? I. THE PYRENEES AS A CLIMBING CENTRE . . .253 § 2. THE PYRENEES AS A POLITICAL FRONTIER. . . 273 j 3. THE HISTORY AND CONSTITUTION OF ANDORRA . .279 > 4. NOTES FOR CLIMBERS ON CERTAIN MOUNTAINS PIC DE nethou (Aneto) p. 304 BALAITOUS . . p. jll pic d'enfer . p. 312 PIC CARLITTE . p. 313 PIC FOURCANADE p. 314 PIC DES POSETS . p. 307 M. PERDU . . p. 308 VIGNEMALE . . p. 31O § 5- formation and structure of the Pyrenees . 316 § 6. literature and maps of the pyrenees . . 324 § 7. bibliography of the pyrenees .... 330 j 8. table of principal peaks and passes . . . 364 INDEX ......... LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS I.— FULL PAGE. camp on the posets ...... Frontispiece (Photogravure. ) our inn at porte . . . . . Facing p. 13 (From sketch by H. LI. S. ) TOURS DE CAROL. ...... ,, 21 (Sketch by LL.

LI. S. from photograph by M. E. Brousse. ) FISHERMEN OF THE CARLITTE LAKES) .... „ 26 THE VILLAGE OF PORTE I (From photographs by M. E. Brousse.) ANDORRA VIELLA, SHOWING DON FRANCESCO DURAN'S HOUSE ...... ,, 50 (From photograph by AL. Felix Rignault. ) THE PALACE OF ANDORRA . . . . . ,, 56 (From photograph by M. Felix Rignault. ) GATEWAY OF THE PALACE OF ANDORRA . . ,,64 (From sketch by H. LI. S.) INTERIOR OF DINING-ROOM IN THE PALACE OF ANDORRA ....... „ 70 (From sketch by H. LI. S.) A CORNER OF A PYRENEAN MEADOW . . . ,, 84 (From photograph by LL. LI. S. retouched by IV. Taylor.) THE MALADETTA MOUNTAINS (FROM THE NORTH). „ 93 (From a photograph. ) ARREAU ........ ,,104 (From a photograph. ) X List of Illustrations CASCADE OF GAVARNIE . .... .TofaCCp. IIO (From sketch by H. LI. S. ) THE GOUEIL DE JOUliOU ..... ,, 144 (From photograph by LL.

LI. S. ) THE FOURCANADE (FROM THE NORTH). . . ,, 1 54 (From photograph by LL. LI. S. ) THE GARONNE DE JOUEOU . . . . ., 1 57 (From sketch by H. LI. S.) A CARAVAN DESCENDING FROM THE COL DE TORO ,, 160 (From photograph by LL. LI. S.) THE PIC DE LITAYROLLES, FROM NEAR OUR CAMP IN THE MALADETTA VALLEY . . . ,, 1 64 (From sketch by LL. LL S.) DESOLATION IN THE MALADETTA VALLEY . . ,, 170 (From sketch by LL. LI. S.) THE PORTILLON ON THE MALADETTA . . „ 171 (From sketch by LL. LI. S.) IN THE VALLEY OF VENASQUE . . . ,,176 (From photograph by H. LI. S. ) ON THE WAY TO THE CABANE DE TURMES WITH VIEW OF PIC PERDIGHERO AND THE MAIN RIDGE ....... ,, 1S0 (From photograph by LL. LI. S. ) THE PORT D'OO FROM THE SPANISH SIDE . . ,, 188 (From photogs-aph by H. LI. S. ) THE PIC DES POSETS, FROM BELOW THE PORT DU PORTILLON D'OO . . . . . ,. 191 (From photograph by LL.

L.I. S.) THE BALAITOUS (FROM THE SOUTH) . . . ,,226 (From photograph by H. LL S.) THE LAC INFERIEUR DE BRAZATO. . . . ,, 231 (From photograph by H. L.l. S. ) N.W. ARETE ON THE PIC D'ENFER . . . „ 238 (From photograph by LL. LI. S.) THE LAC GLACE DU BONDE1LLOS .... ,, 240 (From photograph by H. LL S. ) PRECIPICE ON THE BALAITOUS .... „ 243 (From photograph by H. Ll. S. ) List of Illustrations THE COL d'arremoulit To face p. 248 (From photograph by LL. LL S. ) BELOW EAUX CHAUDES ,, 250 (From sketch by H. LL S. ) SUMMIT OF THE PIC D'ENFER . . . . ,,312 (From photograph by H. LL S.) LL.—LN THE TEXT (Sketches by H. LL S.) PAGE CHATEAU DE FOIX 4 REFUGE HOUSE ON THE COL DE PUYMORENS ' . . .II THE CARLITTE FROM THE LAC LANOUX » . . . .19 LES ESCALDES r . . . . . . . . 23 the baths at les escaldes 24 the etang llat 1 ........ 28 wayside cross near andorra . . . . . -41 corner in andorra viella 48 spanish frontier soldier ...... 74 the church at bosost 9 1 the main ridge above luchon . . . . -95 the port de venasque 9s the rencluse hut . . . . . . . .ioi summit of the pic nethou from the portillon . .106 the vignemale from the val d'ossoue . . . . 119 count russell's grottoes on the vignemale . .124 the pont du roi (temporary bridge) . . . 135 church gate at las bordas 1 38 the hospice de venasque 1 74 entrance to our inn at venasque . . . .176 venasque 177 the pont de cubere . . . . . . 179 1 Sketched from photographs and a print lent by M. E. Brousse.

List of Illustrations PAGE MAIN RIDGE LOOKING EAST FROM BELOW PORT DU PORTIL- LON D'OO . -185 ON THE WAY UP THE POSETS (PETITS POSETS) . . .192 PIC DES POSETS FROM WEST . . . . . .196 OUR INN AT LE PLAN 204 OLD CHURCH AT BIELSA . . . . . . . 2IO THE VAL DE PINEDE (MONT PERDU AT HEAD) . . .211 SUMMIT OF MONT PERDU FROM VAL DE PINEDE. . .212 CHAPEL AND CROSS AT FOOT OF MONT PERDU . . . 214 CIRQUE DE BIELSA . . . . . . . . 2l6 BRIDGE ACROSS THE CINCA . . . . . . . 21 7 THE GLACIER OF MONT PERDU FROM BELOW THE PORT DE PINEDE . . . . . . . . .221 THE BRECHE BRAZATO . . . . . . .230 THE MONTS D'ENFER FROM THE LAC INFERIEUR DE BRAZATO . 232 STREET AT THE BAINS DE PANTICOSA . . . . .235 VIEW FROM THE COL D'ENFER . . . . . .237 III— MAPS. CONTOUR MAP OF THE PYRENEES . . .At end. (By Fr. Schroder and Emm. de Margerie. ) MAP OF AUTHORS' route .....

Facing p. I (By F. Baines.) SKETCH MAP OF ANDORRA „ 31 (By F. Baines.) THE MALADETTA GROUP . . . . . ,,131 (By B. V. Darbishire.) THE BALAITOUS AND PIC D'ENFER . . . „ 225 (By B. V. Darbishire.) MAP SHOWING AUTHORS' ROUTE.

Part I 1896 B

PART I

1896

Chapter I The Approach Our

train began to climb slowly upwards out of the great flat expanse of Southern France, and the vague vision of mountains, at first mysteriously outlined on the distant horizon, grew nearer and clearer. We were between Toulouse and Ax, and entering the southern gate of the Eastern Pyrenees. All night we had travelled from Paris, and in the early morning we had turned out of our sleeping-cars on to the platform at Bordeaux, under the rays of a morning sun which bade fair to be followed by a blazing day. But a slight veil of clouds had tempered the heat ; and now, although it was a summer afternoon (August 21, 1896), in the South of France, the air was as cool as in the England which we had left. The mountains rise softly on the northern side of the Pyrenees, and the railway follows the windings of the valleys, eschewing the task of scaling or penetrating the hillsides.

Here are no triumphs of engineering, no miraculous zigzags, no dizzy bridges, no Titanic cuttings. Very slowly and laboriously the train puffs up the two thousand and odd feet which must be surmounted before the traveller arrives at the little town of Ax, and finds himself at the top of the first staircase leading to the CHATEAU DE FOIX. High Pyrenees. As we entered the valley of the Ariege, at the first embrace of the hills, we passed on our right the little town of Foix. Above us, set on a hill, towered the old castle, once the feudal centre of the grim Counts of Foix, converted by Henri Quatre into the capital of a province, and then turned by prosaic moderns to the mean uses of a county prison — now relieved of all duties, and enjoying the dignified ease of a serene old age. After Foix the country becomes more rugged again, and to tlie left the rocks rise precipitously, broken up by frequent gaps and deep black holes, and presenting to the sky a jagged, clear-cut outline.

The railway passes through Tarascon — not the home cf the great Tartarin, but an obscure little hamlet nestling in the hills. About fifteen miles further on the train comes to the terminus at Ax-les-Thermes. Here we bustled out, leaving the luggage to follow, and found ourselves caught in a stream of natives and visitors, all drifting up from the station towards the town. Guides, tourists, invalids, and hotei porters — all were mingled in the motley mob of a French popular watering-place. The road winds right through the heart of the town, past a long, green-shuttered street, thronged that afternoon with a laughing, chatter ing crowd. Then it passes a whitewashed block of bathing-rooms ; a quaint old church, with the statue of Saint Udault, a fifth-century martyr, in front ; an open place, shaded with trees and lined with booths ; until finally, bridging the River Ariege, it rises by the side of a large stone trough of hot mineral water, originally made by St. Louis for the leprous crusaders from Pales tine, and now turned to the more menial uses of washing clothes.

The road mounts more sharply, turns abruptly to the right, and brings you to the door of a modest inn. This is the "Hotel" Sicre. It is built round a small courtyard, a little out of repair, with a fountain which gives to the whole place a spurious air of luxury. But within are stone floors and an atmosphere of austere simplicity. We were met in the porch by two loquacious little old ladies, who raised infinite clamour about our ears and fell into violent controversy with one another. This reception was somewhat unnerving ; but the excitement was really due to goodwill. Still, we were rather relieved when at last we were despatched from the overcrowded hotel to a small house off the " Place." The occupants of the house seemed unaccustomed to Englishmen, but they may be expected to be better acquainted with our race next time ; for the whole family walked in and out of our rooms, handling all our travelling devices with a naive surprise.

Nor did expul sion terminate their curiosity ; for they would then stand outside the doors or windows gazing at us with a silent and concentrated attention. We returned to our inn for food, and there found ourselves in the midst of elderly, gouty Frenchmen, of an equally inquisitive turn of mind. We afterwards discovered that a council of war, held in the salon that evening over the new-comers, had unanimously agreed that we were English miners on the hunt for gold or iron in the mountains of Andorra. For English visitors are rare at Ax : and we carried ice-axes in our luggage. Before leaving England we had fixed on Ax as the best starting-place for a journey through the Eastern Pyrenees. It is the highest point in the eastern part of the range to which one can penetrate by rail, and it takes you at once into the High Pyrenees without fetching the big circle required of a traveller that goes round by Perpignan.

From Ax you can penetrate the mountains by the great high-road before plunging into the roadless valleys of Andorra. That was our present design, and for the next day we dallied here, making all preparations for departure. There was luggage to be divided, introductions to be sought for, inns to be inquired about, and maps to be hunted up. Ax itself well repaid the delay. It is really a mere skin of earth over a ferment of hot water ; for there are nearly a hundred hot sulphurous springs bubbling out of the earth in all corners, visited for health by some four thousand bathers every year. But the country has no outward sign of unrest. The town lies in a tranquil fold of the hills, and at the meeting-point of three valleys — a quaint, closely packed little group of houses crowding round both banks of the rushing Ariege.

Around it are the mountains, grouped in a sort of semicircle — " Tlie hills, like giants at a hunting, lay Chin upon hand." In general life and character it is thoroughly French. There is no sign of English occupation or invasion. In the evening all the visitors were out promenading. The bands and cafes-chantants — of which there were plenty — were in full swing. The streets were well lit ; the trees rustled pleasantly overhead ; and all the world, with his wife and daughter, were out to enjoy a rare interval of fine weather in a wet season. The Place, or central square, was full of wooden booths ; and each was provided with a little roulette-table. The customer played for his purchase and found a new piquancy in shopping. It was almost as good as being in Paris, and the lights of the town successfully blotted out those disturbing moun tains, so gaunt in the moonlight !

After a day spent in preparation, we started off at seven o'clock (August 2yd) on the high-road to Porte. A diligence runs thither from Ax ; but we preferred to make it a " training " walk, using the coach for the transport of that small allowance of luggage which we had laboriously distilled from our portmanteaux under the admiring gaze of the townspeople of Ax. By a happy chance we had discovered an old Pyrenean traveller, now a chemist, from whom we obtained an introduction to M. Michet, of Porte, at whose inn we looked for rest that night. It was at his suggestion, too, that we wrote to Toulouse for the French Government maps, which reached us a few days later. Thus assisted on our way, we despatched the bulk of our goods by rail to Luchon, and set off in light marching order for the Col de Puy morens.

The road is simple and straightforward, leading directly to Porte over the high pass, and running on beyond to the town of Bourg-Madame, where it joins the road from Perpignan. Incessant rain had fallen throughout the previous week ; but the sky had cleared in the night, and the morning had broken clear and brilliant. The country had that transparent look which is only seen after rain — " Sweet after showers, ambrosial air " — sweet, too, with morning freshness and the fresh scent of newly washed flowers and leaves. From Ax a series of valleys run up into the mountains, each fed by its own stream, all flowing towards the Garonne and the Atlantic Ocean. On the previous day we had wandered to the south-east, up the valley of the Ascou — a calm and peaceful corner of earth, to all seemingbut nature is wayward in these " high mountain platforms," and in our walk we chanced on a peasant who had recently lost his wife and four children in an avalanche.

His house still stood — a broken shell, crushed like a snail on which one has trodden. He had been dug from under nine feet of snow to find himself alone in the world. " There were my little children," he said, pointing to a corner of the ruin gaping to the open sky. This valley we now left to the east, and struck directly south at about a mile from the town, following the Ariege. For the next ten miles the road passes through every variety of scenery — wide, open valleys, rocky gorges, and high plateaux. At five miles it passes Merens, a little village with springs of its own, and at ten it reaches Hos pitalet, at the foot of the main ridge and on the northern side of the Col de Puymorens. Here we rested for lunch in the " Hotel " Astrie, a quaint little Pyrenean inn, with the animals and poultry on the basement, and the kitchens on the first floor — the regular Pyrenean fashion.

The nature of the country now changes. The trees are fewer and the scenery becomes more rocky and rugged. Below Hospitalet stretches a gaunt expanse of treeless country; while the Spanish pass towers above. The rough little street which forms the sole feature of the dour little hamlet is deep in slime and grime, and provides a common playground for children, poultry, and pigs. But the "Hotel" Astrie, though it hardly clamours its virtues in the face of the world, proved a very genial and hospitable interior — a brazen paradise of pots and pans, fit setting to a cheerful domestic circle. We were provided with an excellent dinner, and after they had seen to our wants the family sat down to their festal Sunday repast at a neighbouring table in the same room — a characteristic French circle : characteristic of a country where the career is open to the talents.

At the head of the table the landlord and his wife, rough, peasant folk, with free play of knife and fork, and hands clumsy with toil ; further down, daughters, busy house wives and quick at service, but afterwards eager to change their Cinderella dress for smart Sunday costume ; and last of all the son and nephew, pupils at the Lycee at Foix, dreaming of Saint Cyr, and already rather silent in their parents' company, and a little ashamed of the family manners. And yet never was parent prouder of his boys than that landlord. For them he had slaved and saved ; for them he had choked his own village ambitions and refused the mayoralty of the Commune ; over them he grew eloquent as he detained us far beyond our time and discoursed on their future. Certainly there was a marshal's baton in waiting for one of them — perhaps both !

And so they were paraded before us and went away hating us ; and we at last resumed our way up the pass, leaving behind this excellent man with his con suming ambitions — so fascinated with the distant world. The high-road leading to Porte ascends from Hos pitalet to the Col de Puymorens by mighty zigzags which fetch immense, wearisome circuits, sometimes of nearly half a mile. We mounted by a direct footpath — a stiffish climb of over an hour — to a vast, marshy, treeless plateaux, where tall stones were fixed at intervals to mark the way when the snow lies deep. As we ascended the country spread itself out below us, and we began to grasp the " lie " of the land. Westward lay the hill country of Andorra — great distances of rolling down and clipping valley — and to the north the long valley of the Ariege, while to the east rose the mountains of the Eastern Pyrenees.

We moved steadily southward until we reached the top of the pass, at once the boundary between the Departments of Ariege and the Eastern Pyrenees, and between the basins of the Ebro and the Garonne. The waters which part here say a long farewell ; for those on the north side go to the Mediterranean and those on the south to the Atlantic. On our left, at the centre of the plateau, a peak emerged, making a fine outline against the sky. Straight across bogs and streams we struck to the southern head of the pass, where stands a large building, REKUGE HOUSE ON THE COL DE PUYMORENS. ugly enough in structure, but beautiful to many as a refuge in wintry weather, and used throughout the year to house the workmen on the road. Thence we descended abruptly from these chill heights by the old road, now a debris of stones, making for the valley with a certain blunt directness, while the bran-new highway fetches a leisurely and luxurious course from side to side of the hill.

That road winds on its way and disappears round a corner into the " valley of Carol," guarded at its entrance by a picturesque ruined tower, called the Tour Cerdadne. It stands out prominently in the landscape at the angle of the valleys, and was, if tradition speaks true, a formidable protection to this gate in the hills. Slightly to the eastward of the road lay our destination for the day — the little village of Porte. It is a little group of stone houses with slate roofs, and lies in the lap of the warm valley of Fontvive that runs abruptly eastwards from the south pass up to the barrier of a high mountain. Porte is in itself a place but little known, with small claim to fame, except that it serves as a postal centre and frontier village to the little republic of Andorra. It is but poorly built and not over-clean, and it lacks the graceful edification possessed by a group of Swiss chalets.

But it is well placed, in the very cup of a great circle of mountains — to the north the spurs which run out from the Col de Puymorens, to the east the Carlitte group, to the west the mountains of Andorra, and to the south the mountains that form the barrier between France and Spain. Porte is in the very heart of the whole of the eastern range, and if this country were ever popular among the tourist class seems to offer itself as a natural and inevitable halting-place. We had been afoot the whole day, and it was with something more than a mere desire for abstract know ledge that we inquired curiously for the " Hotel " Michet, to which we had been directed by our friend at Ax. We passed through the hamlet and down a long lane, by the side of which we found a tall wooden gate with a little faded sprig of pine nailed to the left post.