The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-05-19
RUssrA,s cossAcK HORDE.
Pressnt-aay Descendant Poor fni-
tatson OF Ko..aki Tribes.


tation OF Konsaki Tribes.
wherever Russia has q nght on hama
there bobs up promptly to do her bid
ding the coasack- This right arm Of
the Gear has not the best Of rsputa-
tons Illustrated papers picture him =
savage scarecrow mounted on . wiry-
looking animal. and his chief occupation
Is apparently the kninng and knouting Of
harmless people Yet he comes OF good
stock.
Once upon time there drifted into
Southwest Russia q tribe OF runAways
who called themselves "Kossali,p which
r. Tartar for free men, free warriors, or
guardians. Seemingly they lived mp TO
the name. They protected from the Tar
tara the peoples In the countries which
they originally had ned from and saved
thousands of Russian women and chill
dren from slavery In Turkey. Growing
IN numbers and importance. these self
appointed guardian angels became every
where feared and respected Their
military services especially were In re-
quest Any nation could command their
help II Its cause appealed 10 the Kos
sak code Of honor.
The tribe had gradually resolved Itself
into two classes-the village Kossaki.
who lived In their own settlements all
ants Of the ''Setch beyond the Rapids.
The former bad the advantage over other
country folk. as neighboring govern
ments were too afraid TO tax them. Be-
tween wars. 70 which the call came from
the setch, the village Kossaki tiled the
land. OF an altogether different char
acter was the organization OF this Setch,
community OF about twelve thousand
men with permanent headquarters In a
-
was changed eight times in two CEN
turies), usually on an unapproachaole
island on the lower course OF the Dnei-
per. The Turks once Sried to rush the
place, but got caught in the maze OF
Islands like rats in a trap.
! The Setch in one respect resembled
monastery. No woman was allowed In
side Il. A man might not even bring
his mother or his sister. II he did he
was hanged. Here, eager to lead the
| free and simple life among their equals,
came all sorts and conditions Of men.
Indeed, owing to the law enJolning cell
bacy, the colony depended for its num-
bers on newcomers, although the village
Kossak contributed recruits. Any one
could Join, as rank and riches were
despised. and all he had to do was TO
submit to laws as follows: Chastity the
orthodox creed. allegiance to Russia and
4
ence or inconvenient questions Of his
past were asked OF the intending Kos
SAX. He simply went to the elected
chief and. after a brief greeting. was
shown to his place In one OF the
'kureni," or big huts. Here Is thy
home, three PAGES long and two PAGES
wide: and when thou shalt die We will
make II smaller"
They had good times. though, In the
Setch. There we're no maneuvers. no
organized training. no compulsory drill
Men lay or slept In the leveled spaces
between huts, enjoying gypsy fashion, the
freedom Of the open air. Drink was
plentiful, and also tobacco. Great songs
were sung and there was much playing
of stringed instruments. Throughout the
place a spirit OF good comradeship pre-
vailed. popular pastime WAS dancing.
no easy task In cumbersome high boots.
Costumes were OF picturesque variety.
/ The Kossak wore a mustache and on the
| crown OF his head lonesome wisp OF
hair, both being worn long TO enable him
/ to wind the free ends round his ears.
Each man went armed to the teeth, and
the majority carried ''nagalkas" (whips
| which are still used
| In war time things were different. To
drink was a crime. Food. always plaiH.
consisted of rations OF Uncooked horse
flesh. Military organization was by cleo
ton Of leaders. one to every hundred
men. with a colonel in command OF a
regiment These Officers had absolute
power, but authority for only one cam
paIgn. Such war spells were Of fire.
quent occurrence; so much so that the
fighting business led TO the extinction OF
the tribe. Peter the Great laid waste
the Setch. Mazeppa made himself I'M
pleasant. The Setch was again bonn
barded and ruined when its Inhabitants
became, some OF them, plowmen, while
others were shipped to the Orient True.
there was a brief temperance OF the
Setch. but under different auspices and
nothing like in old times. Finally the
Kossah lands were connscated, and the
tribe and its institutions gave place 10
serfdom and the creation Of a new no.
bility. The Cossack of today. records
Harper's Weekly, inherits little Of the
old traditions but the name and the
whip.