The general-in-chief having cleared his right flank, and again condensed his right and centre round Pampeluna, debouched thence on the 4th July, for the purpose of taking possession of the passes of the western Pyrenees, and pushing the enemy's vanguard out of the valley of Bastan into France; which was executed by part of the second division, on the 7th. Our division, forming the left centre of the army, flanked this movement.
Our route at first lay through verdant and luxuriant valleys, abounding with apple orchards, groves of chesnut trees, and small fields of Indian corn; from thence we ascended by broken roads, over rugged mountains, which were cracked in many places into vast chasms, overhung with oak trees of enormous magnitude, whose ponderous and wide spreading branches cast their dark shadows over the dried water-courses and natural grottos, formed by the intricate mazes of the underwood, entwining around the peaked and overhanging rocks, which in many places were garnished with wild strawberries.
The third day after leaving Pampeluna, we descended from the mountains into the compact little town of St. Estevan, situated on the rocky and woody bank of the clear stream of the Bidassoa, over which a good stone bridge communicates with the opposite side of the river: here we halted, with full leisure to explore the lovely scenery, which on every side encircled this secluded valley.
Our curiosity was much excited by the peculiar method of washing in this part of the country, the women squatting, or rather sitting on their bare heels, with their lower garments tightly pulled about them, whilst others stood in the river rinsing the linen, with their only petticoat tied in a knot very high up betwixt their legs, displaying the most perfect symmetry; and it was morally impossible to refrain from admiring the natural and graceful forms of these nymphs.
The dress of the Basque peasantry is totally different from that of other provinces, and many of the females possess very fair complexions and are extremely beautiful, being a happy mixture of las brunas y las blondas; their hair is combed back without any curls, and plaited into a long tail, which hangs down below the hips; their jackets are of blue or brown cloth, and pinned so exceedingly tight across the breast, that the bosom seldom swells to any size; the woollen and only petticoat worn by them is of a light or mixed colour, reaching to the middle of the calf of the leg; and, with the exception of the bosom being so compressed, they are divinely formed. They are also remarkably nimble of foot, and always carry their little merchandize on the top of the head; they seldom wear shoes or stockings, except on Sundays and saints' days. The men go bare-necked, and wear a blue cap, or bonnet, (precisely similar to those worn in the highlands of Scotland,) with bushy hair hanging in ringlets on their shoulders. In hot weather they usually carry the short blue, or brown jacket, slung over the left shoulder, and with long and rapid strides, or at times, breaking into a short run, they traverse the steep acclivities with their shoes and stockings frequently slung on a long pole, which they either carry sloped over the shoulder, or grasped in the middle like a javelin, and use it for the purpose of assisting them in scaling or descending the crags, or frightful precipices. Their waistcoats are double-breasted, without a collar; the breeches are of brown cloth, or blue velveteen, fitting tight over the hips, (without braces), and reaching to the cap of the knee, where they are usually unbuttoned, to give full play to the limbs; a red sash is twisted round the loins. They are a gaunt, sinewy, and remarkably active race of men, of sallow complexions; their limbs are admirably proportioned, and they are as upright as a dart.
After a rest of two days, we marched towards Bera by a narrow road, running parallel on the right bank of the river Bidassoa, the greater part of the way being blocked up with large stones, or fragments of rock, which had tumbled from the overhanging cliffs, that were rent in many places into terrific chasms, partly choked with huge trunks or roots of trees, through which overwhelming torrents gushed from the mountains during the heavy rains and formed vast cataracts, often swelling the river into a foaming and angry torrent. Its rocky bed is fordable at this time of the year, and varies from thirty, to more than a hundred yards in breadth. Owing to the badness of the road, a number of infantry soldiers were employed in clearing away obstacles, or lifting the wheels of the cannon, with handspikes, over the loose fragments or projecting slabs of rock, which, at every few paces for three leagues impeded their progress.
During the march we passed near the bridges of Sunbilla, Yansi, and Lazaca, which cross to the left bank of the river, where some Spanish sentinels were posted on the cliffs, who called out to us, "miren ustedes, miren los Franceses," and on casting our eyes upwards, we observed three of the enemy's chasseurs à cheval, looking down on us as if from the clouds. Part of the division had been already detached, for the purpose of keeping a look out up the narrow road to the right leading to the heights of Echalar. Just before we reached the mouth of this contracted defile, a buzz from the head of the column proclaimed the enemy's infantry to be at hand, and the musketry had no sooner commenced, than an officer, who had been amusing himself by the perusal of a volume of Gil Blas, hastily placed it under the breast of his grey pelisse: almost at the same instant a musket ball buried itself in the middle of the book, and displaced him from his horse, without inflicting any further injury; it is a curious fact, that the exact pattern of the silk braiding of the pelisse[54] was indented in the leaden bullet.
Our front being speedily cleared of the enemy's skirmishers, the firing ceased, and we entered a pleasant valley, within half a mile of Bera, which on this road is the frontier town of Spain, and is situated at an elbow, on the right bank of the Bidassoa: it has a good church with a lofty steeple, and consists of one long straggling street, a quarter of a mile in length, and immediately at the foot of the mountain de Comissari, over which a steep road, three yards broad, crosses the summit, which is called the puérta de Bera, and leads N.N.E. to St. Jean de Luz, in France; two other roads, if they may be so designated, branch off right and left from Bera, the first running easterly along the valley, (parallel with a small rivulet which empties itself into the Bidassoa), and passes between the great rock of La Rhune and the opposite mountain of St. Bernard, to St. Barbe and Sarré, into France; at this point the rugged defile is very narrow, and almost causes a complete break or separation in the western Pyrenees: the other road from Bera runs across the Bidassoa, over a narrow stone bridge, four hundred yards from the town, to Salines, thence branching off through gloomy forests and over steep mountains to Oyarzun, Passages, and Saint Sebastian.
From Salines there is also a narrow rugged pathway, which traverses N.N.W. by the winding current, on the left bank of the Bidassoa; it is intersected with loose stones, and in many places ascends the steep and difficult acclivities over the naked rock, and finally enters the great road beyond Irun, which leads across the Bidassoa (where the enemy had broken down the bridge) into France, thence passing over the river Nivelle to St. Jean de Luz, and on to Bayonne, a distance of about twenty-four miles from Irun, which is the frontier town of Spain by that route.
The right of the enemy immediately opposed to us rested on a nearly perpendicular rock, at an elbow of the Bidassoa, and overlooking the small market place of Bera, so much so, that, if inclined, they might have smashed the roofs of the houses, at the west end of the town, by rolling down upon them huge fragments of rock. This post was decorated with a variety of fancy flags, or strips of cloth, of various colours, tied at the top of long poles while groups of French tirailleurs, who encircled them, sounded their small shrill trumpets, and jocosely invited us to the attack.