The Savannah morning news., 1904-03-19
THE C0SSACK IN WAR
AND AT HOME.
Kindly Fellow who Turns Tiger
When the Battle CAN Is Sounded.

When the Battle Cali Is Sounded.
From the New York Mail.
1.-The scythians of every age have
been celebrated as bold and skillful
riders, and constant practice has seat
ed them so firmly on horseback that
they were supposed by strangers to
perform the ordinary duties of civil
life, to eat, drink and even sleep with
out dismounting from their steeds,
from their excellence in the dexterous
management of the horse"
Thus Gibbon wrote of the ancestors
of the Cossacks I'm the Cars army
to-day. These Cossacks have preserved
the Scythian characteristics, and every
one of them might easily gain place
as trick rider in circus if he cared
to do so. One Of their commoncst
tricks is to pick up a glove from the
ground at a full gallop.
The Cossacks originally settled on
the Don, and later on the Volga, but
now there are several bodies of them
scattered throughout the Russian En-
pire in Asia. A large colony has been
planted in the Ussuri province, which
borders on Korea and has Vladivostok
for its seaport, and there are also
large settlements of them in Manchu-
ria, created by the Russian military
authorities with the idea of guarding
the East Chinese Railway
In former times the Ataman. or
military chief, of the Cossacks, was
practically an independent monarch al
lied to the Car Of Russia. but his
power was gradually curtailed until
now the Car is himself Ataman and
crowns himself by that title, among
fifty-nine others, when he assumes the
throne. Subordinate atamans hold
command over the five pricipal di-
visions of the Cossacks, as follows:
Don Cossacks, Prince Sviatopolsk Mir
ski H.; Terek Cossacks, Lieut.. Gen.
Kachanov; Astrakhan Cossacks, Gen.
Won Hasenkampf; Oural Cossacks, Mai.
Gen. Maximovitch; Kuban Cossacks,
Lieut.. Gen. Malama
BY all odds the most popular Co.'S
sack officer is Gen. Chicagov, who COM
manded division in Manchuria dur
ing the suppression of the Boxer In
surrection, which was mainly composed
of Ussuri Cossacks, and did splendid
work. Gen. Chicagov is Cossack
by birth, and is now military COM
mander at Vladivostok
Kind Husband, Good Citizen.
At home in his native village the
Cossack is a remarkably quiet and
peaceful person. He tills the soil and
idl0CO Ills nOChS ana Hcr0S without
giving the least trouble to the authotf-
ties or anybody else. He is a thor
oughly domestic man, a kind husband
and good, though stern, father. In
deed, his character is all that can be
desired. He is honest, faithful to his
friends, extremely sensitive to points
of honor and chivalry, most hospitable
to strangers and frank and truthful in
all his dealings. Everybody who visits
a Cossack village comes away with the
highest possible opinion of the inhabi-
tants.
When he Is 10 years Of age the Cos
sack youth begins his military service.
For three years he undergoes prepara-
tory instruction in his birthplace, or in
the nearest village If he lives at an
isolated homestead. The following
four years are spent in the first line
of the active army, and four years
after that in the second line, which
means that the man lives at home and
Is called up for three weeks drill every
year. There follow four years in the
third line, with only one drill Of three
weeks during the whole of that service.
The fully trained veteran is then
transferred to the depot reserve for
five years, and in that branch of the
army is only liable to be called out In
time Of war. After those five years his
military obligations are not cancelled.
for all Cossacks capable of bearing
arms may be called out by the EN-
peror in a national emergency.
When he goes abroad on his military
service, the character of the Cossack
seems to change entirely. From a
quiet, domestic youth he changes into
the lawless Scythian depicted by Glib
bon and other writer's. He has pro-
found contempt for the people among
whom he is quartered, and nothing
gives him greater pleasure than 10 dis
perse a mob OF rioters In a Russian
town by the ruthless use Of his terrible
leather whip. In time OF war the Co.'S
sack Is a seourge 10 the civilian popu-
lation, as well as TO the enemy I'm arms.
TTntil recent times he was given unre-
strained liberty 10 loot ana massacre,
but he IN now subjected, In theory az
an events, 10 the same discipline as the
rest Of the Russian army.
Unlike other Russian soldiers. the
Cossacka are very intelligent in mill
itary matters and do NOT hesitate 10
criticize their generals freely among
themselves. They have bitter tongues
ana "a genius FOR satire. There ~ 4
fav0rite story which has been told IN
C0ssack camps for generations. II ~
handed down from father 10 son, the
Nantes EsinR changed ~ M the mill
infy commanders 81 the day. Freely
translated, q runs something like fhiNi
The War God ~ kusaia Maa aAieep