Between Water Bourde and Pignada, near Cestas
Our little river being born at Cestas between grave and moor, is called Water Bourde,
Rhythmizing the landscapes of valleys that it crosses, the winter it appears heavy,
Under the Pont des Amours, between the summer low, it seems gourd,
To improve its "steps", the palanques allow to cross the swamp of the Billaoude.
Along its banks the ferns of the centipedes swing their leaves in the form of a spear,
Antan, the St. John's wort with yellow flowers used in infusions, cured the stubborn wounds,
The angelica, of which it was said that she avoided catching the plague, would act upon digestion,
As for the plantain water of the ponds, this "plaster of the poor", treats the inflammations.
Before the arrival of the running water, the Water Bourde supplied the laundries of the laundresses,
Summer and winter, with their hands in the water, they beat and moved the gray linen,
The men helped them by pouring buckets of hot water into the "
Going up their laundry on wheelbarrows to dry on bushes and grassy plains.
From the 14th century, at the Moulin of the Moulette, the Water Bourde was deviated,
From its line running the river, the stream carried a vertical paddle wheel,
Turning two small wheels to grind the grain at dawn,
Bought in 1860 by the Baron Haussmann, the municipality acquired from the property.
All around the Water Bourde forest of oaks, vergnes and chestnut trees covers the valley,
But it is by these "pignadas" of maritime pines that Cestas made his fame,
With his "hapchot" the resiner blew the pine to harvest the diaphanous gem,
Transferred in barrels to the distillery, it will supply the essence of turpentine and rosin.
Before the myxomatosis epidemic of 1932, the rabbit represented the basic game of meals,
But it was the "lebe", the hare which was the favorite of the hunter with the fine muzzle,
"Lou ploum", a game bird, made it possible to fill the "abarsac", the game-bag of "aouezts", birds,
The "bécade", the woodcock in the thicket, occupied "lou casayre", the hunter, from the first frost.
During the month of May, the "pie", the turtle-dove was hunted from the pylons,
Maintained during the summer the palominoes on the ground, returned to their functions in the autumn,
Where the "pimpailla", the shots, sounded at daybreak in the forest,
The hunters shooting on the "paloumes biroulayres", the sedentary goshaw panic.
Antan the wood used to heat itself but also as material of construction,
Producing planks, the goatherd up, the fox underneath, it was sawyers long,
With the vergne and the alder, the saboters made the "esclops," the hoofs,
The chestnut was used for the manufacture of crates for the export of wines and liqueurs from castles.
But many fires ravaged thousands of hectares of the Cestadais forest,
And while the village was recovering from the misfortunes of the Second World War,
On August 20, 1949 the fire, on an 8 km front, in tornadoes became devastating,
Victims of their devotion to the furnace, the disaster will make 78 victims of rescuers.
L’ARIÉ….JOIE