Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 133, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 December 1904 — The Siberian Cossack. [ARTICLE]

The Siberian Cossack.

Tobolsk, where the Siberian CossaCk is reared, is a well-watered region, with 1,(100 lakes, many of them of considerable size. Many of the inhabitants had their origin In the utilization of the territory as a penal colony for European Russia. The people are still very primitive, sheep being the unit of exchange in their barter system. Cattle breeding is extensively adopted, and it is from this source that the Russian army draws most of its horses for service in the far east. These animals are small and hardy, not particular about food and capable of enduring extreme heat and cold, but the load they can take even on a level road is only about 900 pounds. The preparatory class of the Cossacks comprises lads from the age of eighteen, >vbo undergo three years’ training. The Cossacks of the first ranks are enrolled from the age of twenty-one for a period of twelve years, and all serve for a further period of five years in the reserves, the age of discharge being, therefore, thirty-eight.—Clip-ping.