IN A COSSACK VILLAGE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2298, 4 November 1914, Page 6

IN A COSSACK VILLAGE

MOBILISATION ORDERED HOW RUSSIA SENT HER MEN TO THE FRONT (By Stephen Graham in "The Times.") I was' staying in an Altai Cossack village on the frontier of Mongolia when tlie war broke out, 1200 versts south of the Siberian railway, a-' most verdant re'ting place with majestic fir forests, snow-crowned mountains range behind range, green and purple valley b deep in larkspur and monkshood. All the young men and women of the village were out on the grassy hills with' scythes;. the children gathered currants i-i the wood each day, old folk sat at home and sewed, furs together, tho pitch-boilers and charcoal-burners worked at their black fires with barrels and scoops, and athwart it all came the message of war. ■•' At 4 a.m. on July 31 the first telecram came through—an order to mobilise and be prepared for active service. I was awakened that morning by an unusual commotion, and, going into the village street, saw the Boldier population collected in groups, talking excitedly. My peasant hostess cried out to me, "Have you heard the news? There is war." A young man on a tine horse canio galloping . down tho street, a great red flag hanging from his shoulders and flapping in the wind, and as he went ho called out the news to each and everyone—War I War! Horses out, uniforms, swords 1 Tho, village feldscher took his stand outside our one Government building, the volostnoe pravlenie. and began to examine horses. Tne Tsar had called on the Cossacks; they gave up"their work without a regret and burned to fight the enemy. > Who .was the enemy? •■ Nobody knew. The xtelegram contained no indications.■All the village population- knew, was that the same' telegram, had. come as came 10 years ago, when they were, called to fight the Japanese.- Rumours abounded. All the morning it was persisted that the yellow peril-had matured; and that tho war was with China. Russia had pushed too 'far into Mongolia, and China had declared war. Then a>,rumour went round, "It is with' England, with England." , So far away these people lived tliey did not know that our old (hostility had vanished. Only after four days did something like the truth come to- us, and then noffody believed it. . ■ "An immense war," said a peasant, to mo. • "Thirteen Powers engaged— England, France,. Russia, Belgium, Uuigaria, Servia, Montenegro Albania, against Germany, Austria, Italy, Rumania, Turkey."

All Fighting Men, Two days after the first telegram a second came, and this one called up overy man between the ages of 18 and &V Astonishing, that Russia-should at the very outset begin to mobilise its 'Reservists 5000 versts from, the scene of hostilities 1'• ... Flying messengers arrived on horses, breathless and steaming, and delivered packets into the hands of the Ataman, the head-man of the Cossacks—tho secret instructions.' Fresh horses were at once given them, and. they af ain within five minutes of their arrival in tho village. The great red flag was, .mounted on an immense pmerpple at the end of our street, and at night it was taken down and a large red lantern was hung in its place. At the entrance of every village such a flag flow by day,, such a.lantern by night. , . , The preparations for departure went on each day, and I spent much time watching the village vet. certifying or rejecting mounts. A horse that could not go fifty miles a day, was not passed. Each Cossack brought. his horse up, plucked, its lips apart to show the teeth} explained marks on the horse s body, mounted it bare-back, and showed its paces. The examination was strict; the Cossacks had a thousand miles to go to get to, the railway at Omsk. It was, necessary to have strong horses. On the Saturday night there was a melancholy service in the wooden village church. The priest, in a long sermon, looked back over the -history of Holy Russia,' dwelling chiefly on the occasion when Napoleon denied the churches of "Old Mother Moscow" and was punished by God. "God is with us," said tho priest.' "Victory will be ours. 1 ' Sunday was a, holiday, and no preparations were made that day. On Monday the examination of horses went on. Tho Cossacks brought also their uniform's, swords, hats,.half-shubas, overcoats, shirts, boots, belts—all that they were supposed to provide in tho way of kit, and the Ataman checked and certified each soldier's portion..; ■ On Thursday, the day of setting out, there came a third telegram-'from St. -Petersburg. The vodka-shop; which had been locked and sealed during the great temperance struggle which has been in progress in Russia, might he opened_for one°day only—the day of mobilisation. Aftor that day, however, it was to be closed again and remain closed until further orders. .

Consecration Service. What scenes there were that day! All the men of the village had become soldiers and pranced on their horses. At 8 o'clock m.the morning -the holywater basin was taken from the church and placed with triple candles on' the open, sun-blazed mountain., side. : The Cossacks met there as at a rendezvous, and all their. women-folk, in multifarious bright - cotton 'dresses and tearstained faces, walked, out to say a last religious good-bye. : . , The bareheaded, long-haired priest came out in vestment of violent .blue; arid- behind him. came the old men of the village carrying the ikons and banners of the church; after them the village' choiri singing as they marched. A strange mingling of sobbing"* and singing went ,up to heaven from 'the crowd outside the wooden village this vast irregular collection of women on foot, clustered about a long double lino of stalwart horsomen. The consecration- service took place, and only.then did wo learn the almost incredible fact that 'tho war was with Germany. It made the hour and tho act and'the place evon more poignant. 1 at least understood what it meant to go, to war against Germany, and v the destiny that was in store. •' ■■'-.•/' "God is with you," said the priest in his sermon, the tears.running down his face tho while. "God is with you; not a hair.of your heads will be lost. Never turn your backs on the foe. Remember that if you do' you endanger the eternal welfare of your souls. Remember, too. that a letter, a postcard—one lino—will be greedily read by all of us who remain behind. . . . God bless .his faithful slaves!" . When the lesson was read there was a great scramble among tho soldiers to "get their heads underneath the Bible. They looked true "slaves of God," these' soldiers on their knees in the blazing sunlight, the groat Bible on their vei-y heads. •','•,- Each soldier dismounted and prostrated himself in tho prayers; each soldier at the .last kissed the cross ..in the priest's hand, and was, anointed on the brow with holy water. And when anointed, ho .passed away from the priest, leading his horse by the bridle. Ho sought out mother and wife in.the waiting throng, embraced them, and was blessed amidst sobbing that wrung the heart. / A Soldiers' Feast, Away! Away! Two miles' fiom tho villaza"an. ox ha,d been killed and; .iw

being cooked by the side of the road, arid gallon bottles of vodka waited in the graßS. The soldiers got into saddle again and rode out through-the crowds of women, old men, children. And a great number followed them to the place of picnio- v i The ox was cooked over a great fire by tha riverside, the green birches withering in the smoke. The Cossacks camo up quickly, and, getting'" down from their horses, tied" them to the trees. Buckets and kettles and glasses were brought forth from, a shed, also many plates, but no tables. There was soup and roast beef and vodka for all comers. First of all .the gallon bottles of spirit, were emptied into the buckets and kettles and distributed among the men, the meu themselves officiating. There were drinks all round, and hoalths to tho Tsar and to Russia and to themselves. Whilst the vodka was being thus purveyed, cauldrons were receiving attention, and directly the toasts were drunk the Boup was dealt out: each man. holding his plate as he stood and putting his' lips to the hot liquid, blowing it and trymg to drink it —there were no spoons. _ Meat was carved and taken promiscuously to eat/ and then the vodka was finished. Only a very limited quantity had been supplied, but enough to inflame the emotionalised souls of men so lately taken, through a moving religious ceremony, *so lately touched to tears by the farewell to .homo.. .

,One man held,up a rouble, showing tho Emperor's face, and all the boldiers sang "God Save the Tsar," and then danced round the coin.

The Ataman was taken, hoisted shoul-der-high, and thrown three times into the air, and caught again with cheere— n great stout bearded military official. A number.of soldiers oven came, up to me and laid their hands on me, saying:— "Pozvoltye _ Vas Taskatchet—Let's giro you a swing." . > I had difficulty in getting away.

, The roaring little river rushed along uhder the birch trees, the horses waited in the green shade, the men danced and sang, the women sobbed and keened. There was an hour'of it, and then the officer in command gave the word, and air the men were in the' stirrup; again. The long journey and farewell began in earnest. iEven so, women on horseback accompanied their husbands 20 or 30 miles and then said good-bye, and even watched them out of sight as they dipped with .their dust into the horizon.

So Russia sent off her men from the. frontier'of Mongolia to fight on the faroff plains of Austria and Poland.