Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 246, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 October 1911 — ODD COLONY IN ASIA MINOR [ARTICLE]

ODD COLONY IN ASIA MINOR

Language and Customs of 350 Years Ago Still Preserved by Beif-Exilod Russian Cossacks. Constantinople.—One of those curious instances of quaint historical survival, of which many occur in Asia Minor, has lately come before official Russian attention in Constantinople It is the case of a colony of about 3,000 Russian Cossacks settled in Anatolia, Asia Minor. The forefathers of these Cossacks left Russia for voluntary exile 350 years ago. Their departure was occasioned by an attempt to enroll their names for cen-\ sus purposes in writing. According to the creed of these peasants, the writing down of their names jeopardises their chance for salvation for it invalves the curse of Antichrist;' enabling him to set his seal upon them, During the while cf this time the Cossacks have hept their identity absolutely intact They speak a Russian dialect bearing the same relation to the language of the present day as does our modern English to that of Chaucer. They wear the Russian dress of three centuries ago, and even grow herbs, uncultivated elsewhere in Anatolia, to make the dishes that were the food of the mediaeval Russian. A few months ago this little band of Russian exiles found themselves suddenly faced by the aame danger that threatened their ancestors In the sixteenth qentury. The Turkish government, having to call upon Its Christian subjects for military service, demanded the enrollment of those men of the community Who were of age, and again

they were in danger of the'sealx>f Antichrist. This time a split occurred among the exiles. The young men urged that, since they could not avoid enrollment, it were best to serve in Russia among their kindred, but the older members were In favor of remaining. The arbitration of the Russian consul at Constantinople was invoked, and through his agency funds were obtained from the Russian government to enable those who wished to do no to return to Russia, leaving the rest to live on a tiny ethnological island among the races of Anatolia.