THE COSSACK DERBY

New Zealand Mail, 29 January 1902, Page 40

THE COSSACK DERBY

(Robert Jefferson, F.11.G.5., in the Royal Magazine.”) The great snow-mound contest which takes pi a c 0 iu Eastern Russia every wS eomJf K? tloubte dly on ® of the most novel ™ etltlons ever coll coived. Although its commencement is lost in tliA int autiquity, and problbly' iS

port ha 3 been altered == - v rolled on, there is no hr. presente what was U 5 very important W % Cossacxs. The contest is Dgst tb test of horsemanship an d oocnrs coincident with a Co^kU 111 *- II SSS 1 * r f ° llowed „ b - v games. Ironi all nart=; r.t n. Oad f ooohr. indeed irom hundreds or versts awav, women and children flock 7* A asa . dezvous, near Orenbunr to the r«ithe rejoicings and to race between the picked horsemen Snow lies deep on the ground- n. ?*r f nd rolling them from all dirL 5 ? 0 ” towards a common centre. Bit w lotts enormous mounds of snow are l;! each about 40 reet in height and £ ?, pbase some hundred feet in'cirS* The mounds are cone-shaped W !ncethe ground to about half-warilS walls are vertical, tapering awav tl tha a cone, whereon a flagstaff i=; £ P? n to a flag bent. To be the first to top or the mound is the darling of every Cossack. A prize is off» 7i t,oa the municipality and the militaiw Ox the garrison, and the coir!nLm er3 themselves are the best horsemen irom the various Cossack the eastern provinces. In addition m prize, tne victorious competitor beaV- 1 the ensuing year the distinction of the best horseman and cumber the Cossacks, a distinction as precion- 1 the Russian horseman as the winn.-r 1 ™ the King’s Prize is to the Enollsl^f(i 0f man. There are, of course, a great ijn ber of entries, and verv freqnenflv competitions have to be held, and' th C a sort of final heat, so as to decide m the really best man. upoa The morning is yet early. Bugle* trumpets blare; crowds of excited sacks wend their wav to the great or line the route along which the rn petitors are to pass. ... All citement. Trembling hands adin-i girths and bits; horses jostle, anc rS 1 faced Cossacks hurl defiance and iee4 si each other. Then comes the signal tl mount. With a leap each horseman i, in the saddle, his eager face bent h towards the mane; his rieht hand baW ing the knot, raised aloft; and his eve flashing with delirious anticipation of victory. - w

Bang! The starting-gun is fired i yell, simultaneous, awful, and ' ear piercing, shocks the air, and the whole line of horsemen has bounded into aotivity. Snow is scattered in every direction, whip-thongs rise and fall with at most savage energy, the little horse, stretch out their necks, and with flowing mane and tail, career over the snow with the velocity of the wind. Those on the ends of the lines converge to the centre; all is confusion, riot, veils, laughter, curses, flying snow, neighing horses, fallen men, slipping steeds, cracking whips, and jingling accoutrements. Now one takes the lead, now he is dispossessed oi it Three men are racing neck and neef/aa bunch, and behind them seethes ato dering wave of panting horses and frazied riders. The square is entered. The snow mounds are iu sight. To the main one the horsemen speed as if on wings. Up to the very base of the mound they rush, flinging themselves from theirsaddles and at once making the attack on the mound. The iron gjids of the whip are beaten on the glittering surface,small holes are made for fingers and toes, and jostling, pushing, yelling, and half-mad with excitement, the racers begin to worm their way up the perpendicular sides.

It is a curious contest. One can split one’s sides with laughter, not only at the ludicrous disasters which overtake the competitors, but at the demoniacal earnestness that is depicted on each face. Frantic spectators shout themselves hoarse with cheering. Now one competitor is nearly half-way up, hard-pressed by another Cossack whose head is level with the first one’s hips. The latter raises himself cautiously, jabs his whip-stock higher, falters, slips, claws at the empty air, and head over heels, hurtles to the bottom, carrying away in his descent several other earnest opponents, to fall at the bottom of a confused mass of arms, legs, bodies, and snow. The second competitor howls aloud with joy, even as the groans of the partisans of the fallen men rise on the air. But his joy is shortlived. Competitor the third has just slipped, and grabs the second by the bootheel, and down they come, sweeping away half a score others to swell the mass of confusion at the bottom. The mound is attacked on every side. It is the slow, plodding, make-sure-pf-b l 9, foot-hold Cossack that' generally wins. Inch by inch be worms his way np. Only one tiling can cause him disaster, that is the fall of the less careful coinpetitM above, who, in his eagerness, is bound to •slip at some time or another. The ca re j ful competitor has readied the brink oi tho vertical wall; his way'is easier now, and bo works along faster, f(«* he black heads bobbing about on the otne side of the mound. Who will be first? to air is resonant with cheers, counte cheers, encouragement, and .laugnw • The careful man makes one l as *', e “ o uj liis nearest opponent—to his unutter* joy—has just slipped, and swept oo with him some half-dozen dangerons m and lie grabs at the flagstaff, catches < draws himself up, and the wild burst cheering and the throwing up ot *>. assure him that lie is undoubtedly winner.