The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1877-06-14
The March of the Cossacks.

London Standard, who has been giving
us the llveliest pictures of that luxurious
and immoral town, describes a turnout of
these legendary horsemen, the Cossacks
OF the Don, the other day, at the Chausee
near the city All Bucharest was there to
see. The Cossacks usually march under
| flags Of their own, dedicated to certain
, saints, but when the faith is menaced
they bring out the holy banner, and de-
| clare a jehad or religious war. This they
have now done, and all the sotnias march
ed under the Greek cross upon a ground
of different colors, After the Cossaclls in
this days parade came the Demidot1
l1uzzars, the regiment Of which the Prn-
cess Demldotf is Colonel. She rode at the
head OF the regiment and was aecompa-
MED by a young girl in full soldiers uni
| form, the Princess wearing skirt BY
the side Of the ladies' rode the acting
colonel, and they created a great sensa-
ton. But we must quote what the cor
respondent says of the Cossacks and the
Bucharest ladies:
The Chausce was crowded With pretty
women, chattering gaily from carriage to
carriage across the avenue. Gentlemen
| illled the side paths, making innumerable
cigarettes and gossiping in the shade. \
charming sight it WIS as | drove up, the
brilliant summer tolettcS flowing down
to the very carriage Wheels the white
necks outstretched in pretty impatience
to behold the coming lines, chequers of
hot sunshine falling upon eager faces
through the pale lines above, and the
strawberries on either side all pink with
h1nscnD, niI, h,.iaf ,.Jn ~
most before it had bt gun. 4 fortnight
since ladies still shivered in fur while to-
day they are wearing low dresses Of mus
lin and languidly bemoaning the heat.
No spectacle less interesting than real
sotnia of Dossacks could have tempted
the indolent beauties Of koulnania out of
doors between sunrise and sunset in such
weather. We have a heat more than trnp-
ical to expect hencctorward, which will
last probably till the middle of October
4 parched, breathless, down pouring of
sunshine, under which green dries into
yellow and disappears, dust lies six inches
thick for yards along the roadside, and
the muddiest water has its value. This
dreary forecast Of summer divides con
NerSatiOn with the CossaClls At least Il
dozen times one hears the sigh Of resig-
nation, .'Noila done les chalcurs qui re-
commencentr' instantly followed by Il Vi
vaciOus change of subject, "Il parait que
les CoSsaqucs sOnt tres gentils garcons
helm ~
In process Of time, at the end Of the
long avenue lined with carriages, sharp
eyes behold dcnser column Of dust aris-
ing. 1t thickens and draws nearer smart
l,- n Il
all along ladies eagerly stand up, favor
ed gentlemen climb upon the coach-b0X
and the wheels. The column Of dust APP
proaches and presently the Cossack lances
pierce it, glittering in the sun. Dark and
colorless masses loom through it, and we
become aware Of 4 strange but stirring
music. The famous horscmen are almost
among us before we see them, so neutral
are their colors, and so thick the dust al
ready. Not Il sound is heard even while
they pass, except that martial war song
of the boards who head each sotnia, and
the shrill accompaniment of whistles mod
ulated to weird harmony. No rattle of
accouhements betrays the Cossack ; his
very horse seems trained to move with
silent activity. With that pa-an in ones
ears, and the whistles screaming through
it, one beholds without astonishment
these warriors glide past, stealthily and
swift. One recognizes the surviving race
OF an earlier time. 70 the same war song,
perhaps, marched the ancestors OF these
people when they oyerran Russia. The
Bucharest ladies were Il little impressed
and not u little frightened. They looked
at each other blankly with little shru%s OF
the shoulders to express amaze and dis
taste One OF them afterwards confessed
to me that her Muscoyite sympathies
vanished ut sight of the first Cossack so
ugly and SO dirty was he. | could not
agree with her. soldiers and officers too,
are dirty on campaign, and Antinous
himself could not be preposscssing if
black with dust and bcdabbled With per
spratinn. But the Cossacks are bv no
means 80 ugly as is straditionally believed.
A great number have fair hair, and the
moustache of nearly all is bleached
white by the sun. Many have good
features, Of an English rather than Il
German type, and though | observed
the Tartar cheek bone to be more com
mon than in other regiments | have
seen, it was very far from being Il rule.
As soldiers, the men appeared to me
most promising tall, we'll set up, full of
life and spirit. They looked about them
as they went With free but not insolcnt
curiosity Discipline was evidently lax,
SO far as order and regularity are con
cerned, but | should think the men were
perfectly under command. The uniform
is very ugly Upon the matted hair,
worn long, cut squarely off, and trained
with hideous ingenuity to stand nearly
straight from the back OF the head is set
sideways a kind Of unorlamented shake
covered with torn olskin and provided
with peak. Nothing 50 ugly as this
has been devised by the military tailor
in our epoch. The tlllic and breeches
were blue once, suppose, but now their
color is rust. Very clumsy boots the
Cossacks wear They have each a long
lance with triangular blade, Il turwar
and a carbine; Il certain number also
have revolvers. They carry tentcs Tor-
bri, fodder, rations, water bucket and
their very simple kit. Some We're load
ed up like market women, and all had o
half-doZen sacks at least hanging round
their saddle. Their ponies | would not
hastily criticise. They do not outwardly
show those qualities with which every
body credits them, and until able to
speak by experience | shall not offer an
opinion. They are ridden without Il
curb. Like all Orientals, the Cossack
sits upon his horses shoulders, with
knees very high. The attitude looks
clumsy and uncomfortable to us, but we
know that it commends itself to some Of
the best horscmen in the world.
\ despatch from Detroit says the forest
fires in the lower peninsula of Michigan
eXtendt from Tamas to Harrisonville, forty
miles along the shore of Lake Huron for
an indefinite distance inland. The de-
struction is very great. No towns are in
immediate danger, but unless heavy rain
soon comes no one can tell where or when
the fires will cease. The smoke on Lake
Huron is dense and navigation is danger
Gus. Fires are also raging on Delta