The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1877-07-12
The COssacks of the RusSsian
Army.

region dralneu by the river Don. ha
there are also Cossacks from oihe
parts OF Russian doIninions-from Ku
ban, the Terek, Astrakhan, 0renburs
the Ural, Siberia. the Amoor, etc. Tn
Cossacks of the Don are those now t
be EMPLOYED in the European cam
paign, and their organization ma,
serve as type for that of the Who'll,
body. Until January !. 1875, they ha,
no permanent organization. The,
were brought together i'm militar,
district on the outbreak of war, form
ed into regiments, aud commanded b,
officers and non-commissioned officer
appointed from the.whole body. A
the termination Of the campaign the,
were disbanded. Mobilization was
slow, regiments had no cohesion. esprit
dc corps was impossible. For the last
two years they have been organized
The active troops are divided into
three classes. The first or preparato-
ry class consist of young Cossacks
from eighteen TO twenty-one years ol
age. In this class they are trained fol
a portion of the time AT their stanitsas
or villages, and then l,ass into the
field class, where they serve for three
or four years embodied in regiments
during peace, being then granted fur
Tough till twelve years in this class
have been completed. Afterward they
pass into a reserve class for Ave years.
Men on furlough and in the reserve
class are liable to he called up for war.
The Don Cossack contingent alone fur.
nishes in time of war sixty-two regi-
ments of cavalry and twenty-five bat
teries of horse artillery. They pro-
vide themselves with their own equip
ments and riding horses. They are
in fact, military colonists. The regi-
ments are called ''polks," and each
regiment Is divided into six "sotnias, u
or squadrons, of about one hundred
each. The uniform worn by the Cos
sacks usually consists of dirty blue
tunic and breeches, with very clumsy
boots, aud peaked cap of oil-skin
stuck rather sideways upon the had
which is covered with long matted
hair, cut straight and square behind.
The arms of the C,ssa ks are long
lance with triangular blade, heavy
sword, and q carbine, and sometimes a
revolver. They ride the toughest
looking but hardest ponies, sitting a.
most on the animals shoulders, and
with the shortest possible stirrups,
raising the horseman knees very
high. The saddle is hung round with
sacks containing rations or fodder, n
cask of water, a long wisp of hay or
straw for bedding, portions OF rude
tent, and other materials, having a
very unmilitary appearance. Each
sotnia, battalion, or company marches
under its own flag, dedicated to its
patron saint, and Is accompanied
by lis own pipers and singers of wild
music.
The Cossacks, however, in spite of
heir recent military organization,
will probably always bear the charac-
5er of guerrillas rather than that of
regular cavaly soldiers. They are
wild in their habits, undisciplined and
in their method of fighting.
Their appearance in the field and their
of approaching an enemy are
,hus described by Mr.. Vincent: Tall
powerful men on small, lean, hardy
ponies, which they guide with the
,hinnest of snatI,e bits and single reins,
armed with long lance without PEN
non, short sword, pistol stuck in Cir
lie, and rifle in leathern ease slung
who, creeping silently yet
swiftly on to an enemy, are ubiquitous
n the field, their ponies heads almost
the ground. They have be-
come the terror OF many foe of Holy
Russia. Their dress is most pictur-
esque, They use no spurs Except in
he escort of the Emperor, but have a
short stirup that in winter, when rid
ing in overcoats, and nothing but the
calf Of the leg il seen, makes one won
Ter where they have managed to stow
.he thigh. Members of a manly race,
all of whom are soldiers, trained to
arms, associated with and accustomed
70 horses from their earliest infancy,
always left to shift for themselves,
never nurtured in comfort or luxury,
these Cossacks of the Don are invalu-
able troops for escort, police, outposts,
foraging, and scouting duty; yet their
deficiency in education would proba-
bly, prevent their performing cavalry
luty with the same intelligence as the
prussians did in the late campaign"
The Cossacks date their origin as far
back as the year 500. At that time
hey were composed of a multitude of
from the surrounding ma
ions, who formed themselves into a
sort of rowing republic, and ultimately
settled on the banks of the river Dnie-
per. The position selected was upon
She farther side of the cataracts, from
which they received the name of IA
i. c., the people who live be-
yond the rapids. Later, similar COM
were founded in the region of
The Don, the Volal, and the Yak.
The headquarters of the Zaropotztzi
was fortified camp on the Dnleper,
Just below the point where a ridge of
rocks lying across the bed Of the river
forms series of cataracts. on APP
preaching it from the steppe the trav-
eller first entered faubourg or bazar,
in which there was quite a population
Df Jewish traders. At the further end
Of this faubourg stood fortified tow
pr with big gate, beyond which lay
4 wide open space surrounded by thir-
weight enormous wooden sheds. In
each of these sheds, which were sim
ply large scantily furnished halls,
lived kurea or troop of Cossacks,
sometimes rs many as 600