The Wichita daily eagle., 1904-04-03

NCOntlnued from Eighteenth Page
guished and trusted officers in the Rus
sian army. He displayed fine generalship
when in command of division of Cos
sack troops in Manchuria during the
Boxer troubles
Prince Sviatopolsk Mirski II, the pres
ent Ataman Of the Don Cossacks is an
other satrap of the car. He is a lineal
descendant Of the first Cossack prince who
appeared in history by settling on the
Don and giving military aid to the Rus
slams In 1874. His rank In the Russian
army corresponds to that of lieutenant
general. and he has the reputation Of be-
ing a dne cavalry leader.
The Cossack Atamans have always been
highly henored by the cZars of Russia,
but the most famous of them was the
Ataman Platow, who inflicted several de-
feats upon the great Napoleon. A story
is told Of him which gives a good insight
into the chivalry and courtesy of the Cos
sack character
The czar and the king Of Prussia had
We'd with each other to give him every
reward and decoration in their power to
bestow, but the queen of Prussia still felt
that his services had noC been adequately
recompensed, so she took a herons plume
from her hat and gave it to him to wear.
He took it gratefully, but asked permis
sion to give il to his wife.
"a feather which has been worn by so
great a queen" he said. lis too great
gift for me to wear, aud 1 could only con-
template it with suita bic veneration when
l saw it worn by one who is far more
worthy than myself of the honor
This doubIe-barrelled compliment TO the
queen and the wife is not SO bad for bar
barian of the steppes, but nowadays 1t
would not be surprising to hear such
phrases from a CosSack general, for Cos
sack officers are as refined and educated
as any other officers in the Russian SER
vice.
General Grodekoff. who was Skobeleff's
chief of staff in central Asia, has Cossack
blood in his veins. although he is not
pure Asiatic Before Admiral Alexieff
was made voceroy of the far east erode
koff held command over all the Russian
troops east of lake Baikal, and governed
the Trans Baikal and Ussuri territories.
He was commander-in-chief of the Rus
sian armies in Manchuria during the sup
preston of the Boxer troubles Senator
Beverdge was deeply impressed by the
personality and force of Grodekoff when
he met him in Manchuria.
An Armenian Loris Melikoff, rose to a
position next to that of the czar in the
reign of Alexander III. AT that time the
Nihlist propaganda was in its height. and
Melkoff came to the notice of the cZar by
discovering a dangerous plot against his
i tol,a tln
palace itself He revealed the plot, and
spoke so wisely to the czar concerning the
steps which should be taken to suppress
the Nihilists that he was Immediately
given charge of a crusade against them in
conjunction with two prominent officials.
The officials proved hopelessly incompe
tent for the work and they were retired.
Melikoff assumed control Of the famous
Third Section" of the police and made
war mercilessly upon the Nihilists. send
ing hundreds of them to Siberia, in many
cases without even the formality of a
trial For many years he was the power
behind the throne in Russia, holding all
the countless threads of administration in
his grasp.
The Nihilists came TO dread him with a
superstitious terror. He was an expert
in the art of disguise and would often
penetrate alone to their most secret meet
ings and learn their plans. His favorite
policy was to get hold of a Nihilist and
terrify him by threats of Siberia and the
knout until the poor wretch consented to
take him to the Nihilists meetings and
vouch for him as a brother devoted to the
cause The peril of such work could hard
,aI b,-r ial; cfa RI lt-
pursued IL for years.
Russia treats her feudatory princes with
the greatest consideration and does her
utmost to make them take leading parts
in the work of administration. The ameer
of Bokhara. Sayid Ahad, is even allowed
TO maintain an army of eleven thousand
men. These troops are quite distant from
the Russian forces. but are drilled by
Russian instructors. The khan of Khiva
Seyd Mahomed Rabn. also keeps small
army.
The Russian officials stationed AT the
courts of these two potentates are strictly
enjoined TO treat them with the same rev
erence tnst they would pay TO the czar
himself When the ameer and the khan
attended the cars coronation he greeted
them as his brothers and paid more honor
and attention to them than to any of the
European princes who attended the cere-
mony.
The younger sons of the khan and the
ameer are now being trained in the cadet
school at St Petersburg for the Russian
army. and the eldest son Of the khan
is already colonel. The same policy is
pursued towards the chieftains OF the Cir
cassians and Ossetes in the Caucasus
Their sons are invited to St Petersburg
by the car personally. given handsome
apartments and liberal allowances OF
money and promoted as rapidly as posi-
bile to the highest ranks in the army for
which they prove themselves capable