The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1876-01-05
The Russian Emigranis In Kansas.
Topeka Commonwealth

The Russian Emigrants In Kansas.
Topeka Commonwealth
The most prominent objects in Topeka
just now arc the newly arrived Russians.
They arc somewhat different in their ap-
pearance and character from their Mem
monte fellow.citizens in other matters
besides their religion. They are German
in blood ant in language, being German
c0lonists in Russia or their descendants,
but they hail from the Government of
Sahara, on the Volga, long distance
from the district, in extreme Southern
Russia, which has furnished the Mennon-
tie immigration.
We judge that in the Vclga country
dogs are not as sedulously cultivated as
they are in Kansas, but that the dog in
dustry is neglected in favor of sheep
raising. Atany rate these Russians 20
heavy.cn sheep-skin as a wearing matcri-
al. The aristocracy wear long sheep-skin
coats with skirts like woman's dress;
which reach nearly to their heels: on the
top of this coat is erected sheep.skin
collar, which reaches to the upper edge Of
his ears. A round cloth cap shaped like
a sausage in the form known as the
''dabs,' covers the heads Of the Russian
gentleman. All the persons not covered
with sheep.skin and cloth caps covered
with high-legged boots Of the most sub.
stantial character. Arrayed in this cos.
tune our Russian friends might move
unframed through the midst of an Irish
row the flying brickbats rebounding
without effect from their sheepskin ar
NOR.
The army Of Russia is encamped at the
Topeka House, and large number of
them seem to have no occupation except
going somewhere and coming back with
iron tea.kettles in their hands. The
amount of iron transported around in the
form of tca.kettlcs is enormous.
AS laborers, the Russians, so far do
not appear to have ''struck their gait. :"
Some Of them we're sent down to work in
the Carbonate mines but failed on &C.
count of the antipathy felt for them by
their co.laborers, the mules. Those
coats got away with the long cars. The
frightened mules stampcded whenever one
of the long-tailed sheepskin envelopes,
with Russian inside it, approached, or
if driven into corner, the mules stood
on their defense, and kicked the mutton
tallow out of the Russian who came with
in range.
But tae Russians can sing. Every
night they gather ia front of the Topeka
House, or around the big paving rock at
the corner, and sing and sing. The
women a,2s girls never join the melodies;
all the singing is done by the men and
boys, the shrill voices of the latter chin.
ing in strangely with the heavier notes Of
men. Nearly all their melodies have
strangely plaintive character. The
words are German, but the music is un
like anything else we have heard, re-
sembling most CT the airs sung bv the
Russian Imperial singers,a troupe which
visited Kansas some years ago.
We suppose the Russians will soon be
absorbed in the mass Of our population,
and first the sausage shaped hats will
disappear; then those charming zephyrs
which come across the prairies like the
balmy breath of burning brick kiln, will
cause shedding Of those Bricn O'Linn
coats; then in the course of four or five
years these massive boots will disappear,
and the Russian will have nothing to dis
tinguish him from the rest of mankind
except possibly his habit of travelling
around armed and equipped with an iron
tea-kettle.