UP THE DON AND VOLGA. 255 



kept abreast of us at a dog trot, and the horses refused 

 to accept us as a thing to avoid till we took to toot- 

 ing and whistling at them, as we did at the raft. 



The country was monotonous, and life on the banks 

 of the river might easily have been more picturesque 

 and stirring. Our steamer was winding and twisting 

 about through the heart of the country of the Don 

 Cossacks. We saw these Cossacks on the banks in 

 charge of big herds of horses and cattle, and we had 

 them, passengers and deck hands, on the boat. On 

 shore the passengers saw them galloping about, throw- 

 ing the lasso with the expertness of Texas cowboys, 

 and as fishermen, in little half-moon boats, they were 

 an ever-present feature of the river. But the passen- 

 gers looked in vain for the realization of the figure the 

 Cossack cuts in romance. 



Where were the picturesque horsemen of the stirring 

 tales of Count Tolstoi, and Gogol, of " The Cossacks," 

 and " Taras Bulba," the descendants of Mazeppa ; the 

 wild borderers and free-lances of the steppe ? The 

 men on horseback looked like ordinary mortals. They 

 were neither richly armed nor gorgeously caparisoned. 

 In fact, they were armed only with whip and lasso, 

 and caparisoned with very sorry-looking saddles and 

 bridles. Their only striking feature was a red-banded 

 cap and red-striped trousers, which gave them a semi- 

 military appearance. Both horsemen and fishermen 

 wore these red evidences of their allegiance to the 

 Czar. All Cossacks are soldiers. Every able-bodied 

 man is under obligation to serve in the army. They 

 hold their lands and are exempt from every form of 

 Imperial taxation, on the condition of always being 



