The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-04-17
YERMACk, THE HERO
Greatest of Russian Officers
Was This C0SSaCk.
STORY Of HIS CONQUESTS
To Him Russia Owes Posses
sion of Siberia.

|
| the walls pictures of Yermack, a Coccask
! who, after the lapse of more than 3Ot
| years, still holds rank as the greatest oil
| popular heroes. Still today there cir
| culate by word of mouth over the steppes
| of Siberia countless songs and legends
which celebrate the prowess of this IA
nous old warrior.
| The story of Yermack and what he did
for the empire throws light on the great
contest which is raging on the far eastern
! coast of the Pacific
The struggle between the Russians and
the Mongols is older than discovery of
! America by 200 years. In the thirteenth
century Jenhiz Khan overran southern
Russia and his hordes of Mongols and
captured and burned Moscow and other
Russian cities. Still in the minds of the
Russian people burn memories of the
awful scenes of slaughter and rapine
which followed.
Again in 1882 the Tartars captured and
sacked Moscow, and for a hundred years
thereafter the Russians paid an annual
tribute in money to the Tartar Khan.
During this period the Princess of Poland
and Lithuania formed an alliance with
the Tartars and helped them enforce the
subsection of the Prince of Moscow. This
and other similar facts in Russian history
help to explain the later policy of Russia
in dea ling with Poland.
In 1882 Yermack came upon the scene
He was a Cossack officer of irregulars, in
the service of the rich Russian trading
family of Strogonof Just on the other
side of the Ural mountains lived a lot OF
nomadic savage tribes, who were continu-
ally making predatory expeditions over
the mountains and raiding the scattered
Russian settlements. The -Strongonofs
were fur dealers. They correspond to
the great northwest company and the
other similar organizations of fur dealers
whose agents did most Of the pioneering
in the west of North America. The
Strogonofs We're tired of having their
trading posts raided by the savages and
they commissioned Yermack to cross the
mountains and chastise them. And Yer
mack knew his business. He organized a
corps of SEQ men. They were picked
for their qualities as fighting men. Yer
macks chief lieutenant was an outlaw
under sentence of death All his men
an army as might have been made up of
the fur traders and hunters of 100 years
ago in the far western part of this con-
tinent. Yermack was furnished with fire
arms, which was his greatest advantage.
Yermack crossed the low Ural noun
tains and then embarked his whole party,
with great stores of provisions, on fleet
of homemade boats, and, by dint of
incredible labor, poled these boats for
miles up the Chusovaya river and its
tributaries. Then they dragged the boats
across a narrow portage and started to
descend the Tura river.
At narrow place in the Tura the Tar
tar chief Kutchum, prepared an ambus-
cade for the party of invaders. Kutchum
stretched chains across the stream and
side. armed with great stones and bows
and arrows. But the crafty Coccask, Yer
mack. was fully equal TO the situation. He
made bundles of sticks, wrapped them in
the garments of his Cossacks, and filed
his boats with these dummies. He then
sent the boats, guided by daring and
heroic pilots, to so on down the river
and face the ambuscaded forces. Mean
while, with almost his complete force of
800 men, armed with firearms, he landed
and crept down the bank to attack the
Tartars in the rear.
kutchum, the Tartar chief, was com
pletely deceived by this stratagem. While
he was attacking the empty boats Yer
mack fell upon him and his men from
behind and sent them flying in confusion.
If you look on the map you will see
a city named Tobolsk. Twelve miles from
its present. location there stood in the
days of Yermack, a little Tartar town
called Sibir-hstoric name, for from it
has been derived the title of all the vast
Russian empire in Asia.
To the city of Sibir the dauntless Yer
mack now advanced. At some distance
from ii a Tartar army numbering thirty
times his own little band was waiting to
meet him. But the Tartars, brave though |
they We're. could not stand before men
who had the power of sending thunder
and lightning against their enemies, and |
the grearns of the Coccasks We're respon- |
sibie for an overwhelming victory.
BY this time, Yermack was fifty days
journey away from his source of sup
plies. and the terrible Siberian winter was
beginning to come on. In a few weeks /
the rivers would be covered with ice /
and retreat would be impossible. Yer |
macks men naturally wanted TO 60 !
back to safety while they could. but |
their dauntless leader would not listen |
to them. He pointed out that they could |
not hope to get back home before winter |
set in. and that, If they tried it. they |
would certainly be cut TO pieces by the |
Tartar hordes. He insisted that they I
go and capture the city OF Sibir
Meanwhile the Russian Car. Ivan ". !
with the fear Of the Tartars in his heart /
had heard with indignation that Yernack I
had gone 70 invade their country. He 4
feared that in revenge the Tartar tribes
would again march into Russia and Per
haps capture and destroy Moscow for the .
third time. He sent word TO the Strogon- /
Of family. expressing his great diSpleas- f
l;re and ordering ;hem 10 recall Yermack .
and his Cossacks from their dangerous +
GRAND. But. luckily for the future OF his
empire. the cars message came too late
Yermack was IN the heart OF The .
eaemy's country and there was 10 pos /
si5ly way OF reaching him.
In the history OF other countries there .
are instances where bold adventures F..
have won great victories in the face of
the fears q their riShtfgI rulers
Before the little army Of YeTnack lar .
the city Of Sibir. ard all about IL IL.
great Tartar kutchGn. had built rcug'
fortifications. Behind tfese walls ar
bristling abattis the Tartars lag n over
whel-ning numbers Ye-usck led his q;
tie force boldly forward 70 tie attack
out from their abattis the Tartars rusho5 F.
10 meet the CossackS IN such imue1s~