The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-09-16
RUssIA's SAVAGE CAVALRY.
4 rec Lancers Acting In the Service
of the Gar.
(From the Kansas City Starr

(From the Kansas City Starr
The Cossacks haze the hardest name of
any white soldiery in the world and they
seem to have adhered to their savage ira
ditions in the Chinese war. They are the
pale-faced Indians of Russia. They gave
the Car no end of trouble before they
were brought into subsection and aHeg-
lance to the Government. Wild and law
less as the Cossacks are now, they are
vastly better than they used to be. To
gain their fealty the Cars absolved the
Cossacks from taxation and gave them a
local tribal government, subject only to
the acknowledgment of the supreme power
of the crown
In turn, the Cossacks agreed to serve as
cavalry. in time of war. By setting the
formidable Cossacks TO fighting the var
ious Asiatic and semi-Asiatic tribes of the
Russian frontier, the Gar has been able
to keep them loyal and utilize their valor
to conquer rebels and expand the empire.
In every European war in which the
Cossacks have figured history tells Of
their brave deeds and also of their in
stinct for pillage and rapine. Contem-
porary stories of Napoleon's march on
Moscow set forth, first. how his vast
army of many nationalities ate the coun-
try bare like locusts. then how the Co.'S
sacks came, afterH~rd, and cleaned up
everything the Frc lch ha3 overlooked
regardless OF the fact that Litey robbed the
Cars subjects, who had already been
plundered.
There are no pale-faces in the world
like the Cossacks. They form cohesive
nationality within the Russian empire.
Suppose that all the people in Texas were
Indians--men, women, and children-and
lived under their own tribal governments
a loo N.GA lVr 1arfl NNFf Wt
taxes; it would be something like the re-
lation of the Cessacks 20 Russia. 1t was
only within a comparatively rec sat period
that Russia ceased from being in on5-ant
fear of these tribes OF plailsmen of the
Southern Steppes. They were worse than
the American Indians. fo- they not only
regarded fighting as their p4 Ofessio1, but
followed it with the Whi:o mans intelli-
gence and skill, combined with virile
ferocity.
There is some doubt about the origin of
the Cossacks. From the dawn of history
the plains of southern Russia in Europe
were trampled by successive hordes of
herdsmen who came in from Asia. Some
were squat, yellow men with slant eyes. no
beard, and black, coarse. hair. They were
more ferocious than wild beasts, for they
slew for the sake iof killing. These hui
man wolves seem TO have been as hardy
and indomitable as they were cruel and
murlcrous Others were redhaired, with
grey eyes, and spoke what is called the
Finnish primal language The original
people of Russia seem 10 have been Sla-
vic, and It is said that the race name.
Slav. meant literally slave-the slaves of
the formidable savagss that rode in swarms
on small, hardy horses. 4
Whatever Tartar. or Mongol blood there
is in the Cossack has been bred out. for
they are now short, compactly built white
men, with luxurious boards The name
Cossack indicates their origin. In the
Turkish dialects KAYAK means literally,
''robter" or 'marauder" In the Tartar
language Cossack means a mounted war
rior or free lance. The Cossacks speak
Russian corrupted with Polish and Tartar
words. They are devout Greek. Christians.