The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1901-02-08
C0SSACKS OF RUSSIA.
THEY SERVE THE CAR WITH
SAVAGE sARDOR.
Asiatic Cavalry IL Said to Be Acting
as Free Lancers-The Soldiers Re-
ported to Be Much Worse Than
North American Indians.

The Cossacks have the hardest name
Of any white soldiery in the world and
they seem to have adhered to their say
age traditions 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 subjec-
ton and allegiance to the government.
Wild and lawless as the Cossacks are
now, they are vastly better than they
used to be. 10 gain their fealty the
Cars absolved the Cossacks from taxa
ton and gave them q local tribal gov
eminent, subject only to the acknowl-
edgment 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
various Asiatic and semi Asiatic tribes
OF the Russian frontier the Gar has
been able to keep them loyal and util-
ize their valor to conquer rebels and ex-
pand 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 pillagc and rapine. Contem-
porary stories of Napoleon's march on
Moscow set forth, first, how hi; vast
army of many nationalities ate the
country bare like locusts, then how the
COssacks came, afterWard, and cleaned
up everything the French had overlook
ed, regardless of the fact that they rob-
bed the Cars subjects, who had al
ready been plundered.
There are no pale-faces in the world
like the Cossacks. They form q cohe-
slve nationality within the Russian en-
plre. Suppose that all the people in
Texas were Indians-men, women and
chlldren-and lived under their own tri-
bal governments and We're placated by
absolution of taxes, it would be some
thing like the relation of the Cossacks
to Russia. 1t was only within a CON-
paratlvely recent period that Russia
ceased from being in constant fear of
these tribes Of plainsmen Of the south
ern steppes. They were worse than
the American Indians, for they rot only
regarded fighting as their profession,
but followed it with the white mans
intelligence and skill, combined with
virile ferocity.
There is some doubt about the origin
of the Cossacks. From the dawn of his
tory the plains of southern Russia in
Europe were trampled by successive
llordes Of herCsmen 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 of killing. These human wolves
seem to have been as hardy and in
dOmltable as they were cruel and MUIR
derous. Others We're red-haired, with
gray eyes, and spoke what is called the
Finnish primal language. The original
people of Russia seem to have been
Slavic, and it is said that the race name.
Slav. meant literally slave-the slaves
OF the formidable savage that rode in
sWarms on SMALL hardy horses.
Whatever Tartar or Mongol blood
there is in the COssack has been bred
out, for they arc now short, compactly
built white men, with luxurious boards.
The name Cossack indicates their orig
in. In the Turkish dialects KAYAK
means literally, "robber" or "maraud-
cr." In the Tartar language Cossack
means a mounted warrior or free lance.
The Cossacks speak Russian corrupted
with Polish aud Tartar words They
0ro
City Star.