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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 1914)
TTTE STTXDAT OKECOXIAX. PORTLAND. NOVEMBER 29. 1914. . A : $er??y fe.iir $rifes of c BY STERLING HEILKJ. BEAU-SEJOtJR, Lausanne. Switzer land, Ifor. 1. (Special Correspond ence.) "The Cossacks fear us," ays the valet of the convalescent Hun. gariaii cavalry officer. Switzerland is quietly receiving con velescent wounded of both sides, of well-to-do families: come ostensibly as civilians for a month's recuperation be fore going to the front again. One eees and hears, a lot. "The Cossacks gallop up and scream like devils," says the valet,' "but as" soon as they gret near us they turn and flee." The wounded officer smiles. He had to do with them in Ualicia, where the Hungarian cavalry did prodigies, but was mowed down. Entire regiments disappeared. The truth is that the Cossacks launch themselves against the enemy's files, screaming: at a certain distance they stop short, jump to the ground, hide behind their horses, five, jump Into the saddle asrain, and, disappear. This is when they are not trying- to break the enemy's lines. But when they do. they charge for good, and are terrible. "Their charge is a passing whirl wind," says the Hungarian, (Officer and gentleman, he honors his enemies.) -A tempest bristling with lances, a flail of the Lord! When they sing hymns they are worst! Does a brother fall? No matter. Forward! A rain of balls mows down two dozen? No importance. Forward the others! They come in a triangle, the summit threatening; a greenish mass, far off. enlarging rapid ly. The men curve over their horses' necks, grafted to the beasts. Men and horses. In one rhyth, whirl on, desper ate, joyous. The horses are small, lean, of a queer butternut color, and are shod only on the fore feet. Their steps, short and rapid, crack with a noise of cray music playing,- galloping through Jiail. But when they sing their ancient tho "V?' sInlnR bymns, yelling and battle hymn: 'Release poor captives I'd rather meet heavy cavalry!" The Cossacks' distinguishing arm ii a long lance, fixed to the right foot. Cossacks are coming!" Of these refu gees, 2500 arrived at Budapesth In des titute state; every man, woman and child of them had actually met the Cossacks ana not one been robbed or hurt! Tet they fled, leaving all! It is a" curious story. The last train left Maramaros-Sziget at 8 P. M., leaving these 2500 and many others behind. At 1 o'clock the next morning the first. Cossack Sontnia arrived before Mara maros. The Burgomaster, a priest, a rabbi and 40 citizens went out to meet them and ask that the town and what remained of Its inhabitants be spared. The commandant of the Cossacks said: "We make war only on soldiers." And with this they made their entry, their shooting Into the air, as a sign of joy, )Z?y Con fez je.n tzc v5" jiy-fVtsiai'e.j- (OA A'odyfe'j-. mind Oy? ufe 4'tf-r- wearer -r Z? Si crSct was mis racxet tnat provoked the wive?, who dream of pillage, arson, years ago. It came, as the faithful trian soldier, threw him on his back panic, causing the -refugees already and being finally tied to a horse's talL ally of the Germans, to aid In freeing and with her two thumbs in his mouth, mentioned to flee afoot, destitute, leav- They tremble for their store-closets, Europe from military despotism. And tore it open from ear to ear. After which by acquired momentum becomes ln a11 behind tbem. full of canned provisions against the when the work was done, the peril Slav which she was obliged to hide for three redoubtable. When near the enemy Time will tell whether the Cossacks wr famine, and hunt places in the went quietly back home, and stayed weeks in an" empty tun in the cellar they open like a fan. and smash in. The merit or not the terrible reputation back yard, where they bury the silver- there!" until the departure of the allies, shock is awful. Howls, cries, war- which is casting panic over a large ware. Only the Germans, they argue, Tet the Cossack reputation dates Love of children is a characteristic whoops of men, and crazed neighs of Part of Central Europe. In Lausanne that people of high culture, cin pre- from those days. Slav trait. In his autobiography, which horses who, in Joy of battle, bite off there is a Russian lady who has Just serve Switzerland from Coisackx As a historical fact, when the allies appeared only a few months ago and ears and noses, fingers, bits of arm or brought her son through from Odessa slaughter and pillage. overran France after Waterloo, the is the favorite reading of my wounded elbow, in the melee. They are taught (blinded in both eyes by an exploding How did the Cossacks get this bad Russian soldiers in general and the acquaintance, County Geza Zichy gives to bite in battle! Austrian shell, the boy will never fight name? In Eastern Prussia, it would Cossacks in particular did the least an amusing example. At the moment "It sometimes happens." says my again). They tell how 26 Cossacks at eem, they have burned farmhouses havoc In epite of their terrifying when the noble Hungarian seigneur Hungarian, "that the mere threat of a Tomashoff took 282 Austrian troops and barns, bombarded open towns like aspect, great fur hats and wild and was born, July 23. 1848, his father, Cossack charge sends Austrian troops prisoners. Advancing at twilight along Keldenbourg and Ortelsbourg. and even windy beards, they proved to be over- Colonel of Hussars, commanded the rev retreating and intrenching, because it the ede of forest bordering the Aus- "not certain recalcitrant inhabitants, grown children. A very aged Alsacian olutlonary troops. Dally his family is known that, under equal conditions, trian lines, they hid and waited till Tet on the other hand, according to a lady, .who has taken refuge at Basle imagined him prisoner, wounded or the Cossack charge is almost lrreslst- dark; then, dividing into three little K-oenigsoerg newspaper which has and who has an excellent memory, dead. The Cossacks, called by the Em- squaarons. tney launched on the enemy '" my possession, me ku- tens stories or tnem wnicn, as a girl, peror of Austria, were entering the we'have with customary yells and rattling fire, sians, after occupying Tilsitt, forgot she heard from her own grandmother, land. The Countess, still in bed with her Kae Z?Sy STc tdj?r df7f 'fSA&od Zjc? "zf5c 7hs7 ZjJACts. oy r. because I was frightful as an infant (tells the Count). All the same, it was my little monkey face that pleased him best. He held out his hands toward the suckling when a strange thing happened. "Being just noon at that moment; the 20 clocks hidden under the bed began, one after the other, to strike 12. in dl- the Cossack of the Amour; because there are various, some are mixed Slav Tartar stock, and others more so. When the Russian lady says "It is the fault of their whiskers," she had in mind, rather, the spinach of the Ukraine, monumental beards In which the wind plays as on a harp, old Christians from the Middle Ages, who, with the Poles. vers tone of tinkling silver, sweet brass defended Europe successively from Tar. nd melodius bronze. The Cossack. stupefied, cocked his head to one side and stepped back. At the same time the clock of the church tower outside ible. "Time and again." he adds. captured their crazy horses. It served "Surprised. thex Austrlans thought to destroy that city. During three "When the Cossacks traverued Alsace nothing. They will not take a step in- themselves attacked by three consider- ' occupation, tney pui on us )n igi4, Baid tho ancestress, "they did new-born baby, had the servants bring began its carillon. The Cossack signed less iney near tne wen-Known voice bj-s me nuasian may. ..... o- ..v. us no great nam, Decause tney were ner all her Jewels and in particular her commanding. Thr Cossacks have trained "Falling on their knees, they held da' to day; and when they were finally not particular. To satixfy them It precious collection of watches and their arms straight in the air and iorcea to retreac, tney nia not even was sufficient to give them quantities cried: "Your God is ours! Grace! We remember to shoot the hostages whl(ch of suet, which they rubbed on their surrender!" tney ad taken! "They had not timei" bread. When the suet was all gone "Madame." I asked, "do yo-a really 8ays the German paper. I our tallow candles went the same way. think they said that?" "Surely," was her answer. of them up to the fidelity of dogs." The telegrams are already full Cossack raids. " ' At Peterkoff, occupied , by Germans, -a regiment of Cossacks of Zoboikalje dashed in suddenly and "shot the town up" "like cowboys. With the yells of demons, they dashed through the wide main street, sabering 600 Germans. . taken off their guard, and disappearing. bijou clocks. They hid them under the pillows, under the bed covering, under the bed itself. "Then." says the Count, "heavy steps 'that is an appeal which never falls with any Cos sack Just cry out: 'Tour God Is ours!' The Austrian border knows it-" Tet even here, in Switzerland, there is a curious fear of Cossacks. Never rom Vienna comes news of the panic Russian soldiers always Cossacks. I in which the entire population of Szei- should say that it Is held by ladies only get, in Hungary, fled at the news: "The (here in Switzerland), worthy houce- Bless their procrastination! saya After eating they would play with our and a noise of spurs was heard on the my inena ymenun. naan who nes- chiiaren. who were not at all afraid of tate to commit a crime prove that they those hairy men. They were not like still have some sentiment of humanity, the Kelserliks. What wicked devils Let us hope that good examples In the those Austrians, cruel and persecuting .cultured West may fortify their rude the maids!" Slav, Tartar or Mongolian honesty'!" And the grandmother would go on, "I know the Slav peril," he contin- for the 20th time, with the story of ues. "Let us not forget that the Slav their farm wench, strapping fine girl, peril was all over Europe, just 100 who. pursued too strongly by an Aus- stairs; the door opened and a gigantic Cossack pushed his lance into the bed chamber. My mother, almost fainting. murmured the prayer for the dying. himself, kneeled and mumbled his prayer. My mother breathed, again. This man could not be bad. And when he got up from his knees he made her know, by joyful gestures, that he de sired to bless me. "Into the giant's hands my mother put me. Balancing me above his head, he sang in a terrific voice a lot of prayers and benedictions. Then he kissed me vigorously, gave me back to The intruder carefully stood his lance my mother and solemnly deposited 3: knnonkft An m v Drat! in a corner and. grinning, approached undoubted,y, the Cossack is a child me Deo. He appeared agreeably sur- nature prised at the sight of a remarkably He looks woozy. beautiful woman and her ugly baby He even has a Hunnish look I mean tar and Turk, for ce turies before Russia was a nation. Ail desire to raise beards", by esprit de corps; but some grow stubby, others scant, while others still just can't. Such are the Cossacks of Zoboikalje, who are mostly smooth-faced. In the De partment of Irkoutsk and the govern ment of the Amour, the mass of the population descends afar off from an old yellow race. They hare lived there for uncounted centuries and enjoy all the civil rights and military obligations of the vast Russian Empire. The cav alry are called the Cossacks of the Amour and of Zobbolkalje. Their in fantry and artillery mix into the mass of Russians. Only their cavalry are called Cossacks. Well, among the Zoboikaljes there 4 OonWiirtofl on P,ir 5, MOST Dieictinq Bombed oInfernal liaclnlnea WrRHc Doed1 it TrancfuilKr ' . I I 1$'' V: 1 11 --- -- - - 1 BT ROBERT H. MOULTON. Bureau dt Combustibles, New Tork Fire even buoyancy. He contemplates the rOlTVE heard tell of the Indispen- Department. H is an expert on In- iiv nrlmi tn.trumant whirh in hm sable Man? Well, it looks as if fernal machines and specialist on the hand must be onenerf nnd lt dearilv its uaa ueen lounu ana luenuiiea i lr i -I. . i im' , - v? 4 m. 4 at last. He lives in New Tork, holds a city job. draws $1500 a year all natural and regular up to this point. But wait. If this man were to quit tomorrow, there is no one to fill his job serious ly, no one. . disintegration of bombs and all sorts of contrivances charged wtih nitro glycerine, powder, gun cotton and chemicals and set ready to burst and blow things into kingdom come. He is the one man in all New Tork whose unique distinction it is to be en- components separated and tubulated, as a strangely engaging novelty. He does not fear. , ' A rare, speculative function, this work of Eagan's is performed always in a tense atmosphere of mystery. doubt and surprise, " and invariably gaged in an occupation requiring the fraught with tragic and depressing pos- No one wants it. No one would take matching of nimble wits against the sibiilUes it. Men have looked it over and turned away. There is no waiting list, and there are no applicants. All orderly, well directed, serious and persistent efforts to get a candidate tn line for the post have failed. So, in New Tork. where there are al ways idle men, where there are thou- dabolical cunning of the secret assassin. He is for the most part unknown to the outside world. For several good reasons It is well that he is so. His name is not on the letterbox in the hallway and not in the telephone book. If he were to quit tomorrow, there is none among New Tork's five millions to step into his shoes and take up the loaded missle where he laid it down. He has no side partner. He has no helper. He is schooling no apprentice to grow into the work and gradually calmness with resolution or intrepidity with recklessness. A short, squat, fat man is he. with a great round body and heavy arms and legs. His tace is full and smiling, his eyes blue-gray and inquisitive; his hair bushy and curly and Just touched with the frost that comes in the mid fifties. Of his type he looks a perfect physical specimen. Except that the index finger of his left hand Is missing; that the thumb of his right hand is nerveless and three of the fingers are numbed into un certain availability; that at times there dart up and down his spine painfully acute manifestations of disturbed nerves wtiich make him wince; and that his right check and eyelid are discolored by particles of steel which are imbedded in the tissues. These several excepts to his perfect Only a private call will reach him. His name is not over his workshop, whose develnn tb rurva iiltH tn it. Timid eands on civil service lists waiting for very location, street and number are inquiries have been made, but when the their names to be reached, where there kept secret. He is generally disasso- specific nature of the occupation is out are thousands to whom I500 would elated from neighborhood, assembly lined, and it becomes known that BCOrr. .me a .orLune, a rea. jod wouia district ana even borough by , every Eagan invariably considers the comple- physical condition were unfortunately - so begging were it not. for theJoyalty practical scheme to keep him incognito, tlon of any day's work a fitting occa- Incidentals of his business. A bomb of the Indispensable Man. He wants to Still, he is neither stoic nor fatalist, sion for thanking his lucky stars, noth- had been sent to Judge Rosalsky'a Rlv- ault. but he can t. He wants to break He bids his wife and daughter good-by inir comes of it. erside Drive apartments. The Judge a. man in to become his successor, but in the morning a good-by unconscious- Lookins Eagan over, you wouldn't1 had summoned the police, the police u?? 18 found. ly said with a degree of seriousness suspect that it was in him. His manner had called the Bureau of Combustibles This Introduces Owen Eajran. ot ths and proceed, to his task witU sulrit. does not suest that' Possesses and the bureau had sot him the In- dispensable Man out of bed and sent him to deal with it. ' There is a routine which must be followed in all such cases. The bomb must be promptly removed to the se cret magazine maintained for Eagan's exclusive use and there reduced to its elements. Each move, in turn, is pos sible only when the bomb itself re mains passive. Eagan's first act was to ask the po lice to retire. He always does this. It is a one-man risk the handling of bombs. His next act was to open the windows.' He always does this, too. Explosions smash closed windows. He recalls in this instance that he was quite alone when he sought to re move the outer wrapping of the bomb. He recalls that something happened which seemed to paralyze his nerve centers and muddled his mind beyond the possibility of connected thought. ally supervised the work of gathering even to the minutest fragment all that remained of the exploded bomb. The regulation of his department work calls for a report in the morning on the developments of the night, par ticularly as to all available information regarding the character and structure of the explosive agent. Eagan has never failed to follow the regulations. Inquiry is likely to be suggested at this point as to the conditions under which Eagan performs his services. How does New Tork, the richest of cities, with its advanced schemes of pensions and sick benefits, gauge the work and fix the status of one whose official life in every respect is an al most continuous hazard? Eagan himself doesn't figure it. He's on a $1500 basis and that's all. He has no chance for promotion, for there Is no Two hours thereafter he remembers place to which he can now be promot that a quick change came over him and ed. He-cannot be insured against acci- all that had gone before became clear dents. He Is barred from a life policy.- all except the part played by the sur-' The law puts him in a class which is geons. prevented from bringing damage suits Bandaged and splintered, he left the against the city In case of Injury sus hospital that same night and person- tained in the performance of duty. Oth erwise, when he found no fund avail able out of which the doctor's bill of 1386 incident to the bomb explosion could be paid, he might have taken his claim to the courts. Imasine Eagan at work. Somewhere on the Upper Ea.it Side of Manhattan place a secret there stands in an open lot a one-story, one-room build ing seven feet high by five square. It has an. iron roof, one door and one window. This is Eagan's workshop. When a bomb or other supposed deadly missile Is discovered and Eagan. responding to the call, comes for It, he takes It Immediately to the magazine and locks himself in. He admits that it makes him fel sort of funny this being quite alone when you never can tell. But he doesn't hesitate. His job calls for cer tain results and always there's the re port to be filed in the morning, so he proceeds to his task. One hundred and ninety-fanr bombs and infernal machines last year is Eagan's record, and more than half of them live and full-freighted with dis aster. In the 19 years that he has been the sole assistant in charge of this definite work he has opened, transported, analyzed and destroyed over 6000 Infernal machines. -