The stilts are pieces of wood about five feet in length, provided with a shoulder and strap to support the foot.  The upper part of the wood is flattened and rests against the leg, where it is held by a strong strap.  The lower part, that which rests upon the earth, is enlarged and is sometimes strengthened with a sheep’s bone.  The Landese shepherd is provided with a staff which he uses for numerous purposes, such as a point of support for getting on to the stilts and as a crook for directing his flocks.  Again, being provided with a board, the staff constitutes a comfortable seat adapted to the height of the stilts.  Resting in this manner, the shepherd seems to be upon a gigantic tripod.  When he stops he knits or he spins with the distaff thrust in his girdle.  His usual costume consists of a sort of jacket without sleeves, made of sheep skin, of canvas gaiters, and of a drugget cloak.  His head gear consists of a beret or a large hat.  This accouterment was formerly completed by a gun to defend the flock against wolves, and a stove for preparing meals.

The aspect of the Landeses is doubtless most picturesque, but their poverty is extreme.  They are generally spare and sickly, they are poorly fed and are preyed upon by fever.  Mounted on their stilts, the shepherds of Landes drive their flocks across the wastes, going through bushes, brush and pools of water, and traversing marshes with safety, without having to seek roads or beaten footpaths.  Moreover, this elevation permits them to easily watch their sheep, which are often scattered over a wide surface.  In the morning the shepherd, in order to get on his stilts, mounts by a ladder or seats himself upon the sill of a window, or else climbs upon the mantel of a large chimney.  Even in a flat country, being seated upon the ground, and having fixed his stilts, he easily rises with the aid of his staff.  To persons accustomed to walking on foot, it is evident that locomotion upon stilts would be somewhat appalling.

One may judge by what results from the fall of a pedestrian what danger may result from a fall from a pair of stilts.  But the shepherds of Landes, accustomed from their childhood to this sort of exercise, acquire an extraordinary freedom and skill therein.  The tchangue knows very well how to preserve his equilibrium; he walks with great strides, stands upright, runs with agility, or executes a few feats of true acrobatism, such as picking up a pebble from the ground, plucking a flower, simulating a fall and quickly rising, running on one foot, etc.

The speed that the stilt walkers attain is easily explained.  Although the angle of the legs at every step is less than that of ordinary walking with the feet on the ground, the sides prolonged by the stilts are five or six feet apart at the base.  It will be seen that with steps of such a length, distances must be rapidly covered.

When, in 1808, the Empress Josephine went to Bayonne to rejoin Napoleon I, who resided there by reason of the affairs of Spain, the municipality sent an escort of young Landese stilt walkers to meet her.  On the return, these followed the carriages with the greatest facility, although the horses went at a full trot.