The tribute of Baretous

Pau, July 18. — On the French-Spanish border, on a steep point of the Pyrenees chain, exactly at Pierre-Saint-Martin, the delivery of the annual tribute from the French valley of Baretous (district of Oloron) to the valley of Roncal (Spain).
The ceremony took place in the morning, according to the ancient custom of which we find for the first time the trace in an arbitral award rendered on October 16, 1375 and sanctioned by articles 4 and 5 of annex III of the boundary treaty signed in 1868 between France and Spain. In the presence of six mayors of the Baretous valley led by the mayor of Aramits, de jure head of the delegation which was joined by gendarmerie, customs and water and forestry officers, three white and flawless heifers were been handed over to the alcaldes of the Roncal valley. Previously, the alcalde-mayor of Roncal, coming forward, said, in Spanish, to the French representatives:
— Gentlemen of Baréton, do you swear to remain faithful to the solemn commitments made and signed by your ancestors?
“We swear,” replied the mayors.
— Paz aban (peace from now on) replied the alcalde-mayor.
Mr. Maxime Serpeille, in the Work of July 26, 1920, explained the modifications made to the ceremonial of this tribute such as, for example, the suppression of rifle shots fired blanks by the Spaniards in the direction of the French. But let us note that the delivery of tribute has never been interrupted over the centuries, no more during the French Revolution than during the Great War: It should however be added that, since last year, the municipality of Lanne (the Baretous valley includes six communes: Feas, Lanne, Arette, Aramits, Ance and Issor), after having provoked a meeting of the official delegates of the said valley at the sub-prefecture of Oloron, requested that the tribute be, from now on, paid by the shepherds who graze their flocks, during the summer, on Spanish territory and not by the villages. This opinion did not prevail and the communes were able to pay the ancient tribute this year. The municipality of Lanne having refused to include its share in the expenditure in the budget, was forced to do so by an automatic registration from the prefect of Basses-Pyrénées. Let us not forget to add that a meal on the grass, during which gourds full of Spanish wine were passed around, immediately followed the ceremony. And, as Spanish Navarre has always been Francophile, alcaldes and mayors drank to the health of the two countries; then we agreed to meet next year, (L'Oeuvre)