Shepherds on stilts in France. 19th-century artwork of a man and woman on stilts in France with a flock of sheep and a sheepdog. Stilt-walking as a way of life was practised by the shepherds of the Landes region in Gascony, south-western France. The stilts enabled them to move rapidly over the often boggy and marshy grounds where they tended their flocks. The shepherd would use his staff to rest on as a seat, as shown here. These stilt-walkers are in Brittany. This wood engraving dates from circa 1888.