The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-03-27
DARING c0ssAcks
Russian Rough Riders an Old and
Famous Body.
ONCE KNIGHTS OF FREEDOM.

CntirefJ as pefenuefs VI t'e Teo' ~Hu
the Oppresssd--psadly as Marksmer
and Experts With the Sword.
The popular conception OF the Rus
sian Cossack Is a WHISPERED atrocity
who rides with the speed OF the wind
comes to do acts Of pillage and OF ra-
pine and then goes back again into the
bosom of the tall grass from which he
came. BY many he is supposed 10 be-
long TO n legendary tribe whose history
stretches back into the blackness OF
the dark ages from which he has not
yet emerged
No; the Cossack is in many respects
like the simple Russian peasant. In
others he is like the cowboy OF the
western plains, whose home is as much
in the saddle as in his own village.
Far from being oppressors, the Cos
sacks were once known entirely as the
defenders of the poor and the wrong
ed. They belonged 10 an order OF rus
tic chivalry, the Kazachestvo. the
Knights OF Freedom.
The name KAYAK is of Tartar origin
and means Freeman" It was applied
TO men driven from the more settled
countries and who under the blue sky
rode without the traInmcl of tradition.
without the interference OF kings, po-
tcntates and powers There was time
when mobiles laid heavy hand upon the
subject and human life was held in
small account.
The thirteenth and the fourteenth
centuries saw the Cossacks developed
into communities living IN the neigh
borliood OF the river Dnieper and rid
ing hither and thither to keep watch
and ward over the domain OF the EN-
pcror.
The cowboy guards OF the great
southwest in this country, who are
now disappearing from our American
life. are Cossacks in spirit. When they
become cavalrymen, Texas Rangers or
rough riders they are American Cos
sacks.
There were some criminals among
rolled in the CossaclS legions they left
behind them all their past. Some were
exlcs for political reasons. others had
been hunted for taking into their own
hands the ayenging OF wrongs. And
what ayalIs name after all? When
the officers of the state came inquirins
into the Cossack eneampments for he
mctri this and Ivan that nothing was
known Of them mt all. for the Cossacks
permitted men to divest themselves Of
former titles and TO begin the free life
with a new nomenclature. To them
The newcomer were Big Nose" "Yel-
low Buttons or some other nicknanied
comradc.
While other persons paid taxes the
Cpssack was subject to no such incon-
yenient levy. His share was paid by
the power of his sword and his pistols.
He insisted always that he was not TO
be assessed, but that he should give
his military service when Russia re-
quircd ii OF him.
When the Cossack communities were
first formed they were inhab ited only
by men. The Kazacbestyo took VOWS
OF cclibacy. 1t was an order that lived
like anchorites and fought like demons.
As the ages have passed there have
been many changes. The Cossncks
have families and their own home life.
Al first. however. young and dnring
youths were sent out To ride with the
Cossaeks. and there was no system OF
chivalry more punctllious than was this
government of the men of the steppes.
Oircnses that involved violation of
their vows or the III treatment OF the
weak and the oppressed were punished
with death. The sentences were quick
~ imposed and speedily executed.
Cowboy justice and Cossack rule are
tho same in principle
The dress OF the Cossack has become
more or less conventional as the years
have gone. We see him in the long
coat OF brown or OF green, with the
great lamhskin cap on his head, with
strong belts containing cartridges about
his waist. He shows the influence OF
mllttafN tTiinlHp, Ue AOSSuCk VI tO-
day is model OF elegance compared
with what he used 10 he. He seized
garments covered with gold lace. coats
OF silks and sable and smeared them
with mire and talow 10 show bis SUI
prone disregard Tor fine trappngs. He
wore coarse gnrb. but in the Gaze OF
his weapons the Cossack has always
been puncfiious.
His Workmanship was deadly aud
accurate. even when riding at full
speed. rs that OF the cowboys of the
western United States. The Cossacks
baye been expert swordsmen for cen
turtles. Their proficiency in arms came
from their environment. The steppes
In which they sought their livelihood
were covered with grass often so high
only the head and shoulders of the rid
ers appeared above the top OF 1t. Game
was abundant in those thick tangics;
fruit could be obtained easily; the riv-
ers teeined with fish. The wants OF
the Cossacks were few nnd simple.
They could do with much or little. A
slice of borse6esh carried under the
saddle to keep it warm was a ration