Wash Day, Nice, France
- Categories
- Special Collections > Keystone Slides
- Type
- tiff scanned file from original glass slide
- Description
- Nice (ns) lies on the Riviera (r-vyâ´ rä) or that part of the Mediterranean (md -tr-´ n-n) between Cannes (kån) and Genoa (jn´ -å). It is a noted winter resort. It is a city of 150,000 population, well situated on a broad bay. It is divided into two sections by a stream. On the one side is the old section of the town. The new part, on the other side, is called the Strangers' Quarter. Here are the homes of the winter comers. The Old Town is of more interest to us than is the fashionable section. Most of the streets are narrow. You would call them alley-ways or narrow lanes. Here dwell the natives of Nice. Here was born the famous Italian patriot, Garibaldi (gä´ r-bäl´ d). The stream that flows through Nice is one of its interesting features. In dry weather it is only a slight creek with a broad stony bed. But it is a treacherous bit of water. It rises in the mountains back of Nice and flows down the slopes to the sea very rapidly. Heavy rainstorms often occur in these mountains. Immediately the creek becomes a torrent. Woe then to the boatman who pays no attention to weather; or worse yet to the dozens of women washing clothes in the creek. The flood sweeps over everything in its path. Many women have thus been drowned. Now there is a watcher who signals a rise in the river. When the danger signal appears, there is a scramble for the upland. You might think this scene an unusual one even for Nice. It is not. You are not visiting here on a Monday! Any week day is a washday in Nice. The peasant women carry their bundles of clothes to the side of the stream, and proceed with the washing. Great clothes lines are set up on the banks, and these lines are usually filled with garments. Keystone ID: 11766 Note: All titles, descriptions, and location coordinates are from the original Keystone Slide documentation as supplied by the Keystone View Company. No text has been edited or changed.
- Rights
- Copyright by the Keystone View Company. The original slides are housed in McConnell Library's Special Collections.
