The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

THE URAL COSSACKS. 421place having brought on a war with the natives, the Government thought well toremove the site of the citadel first 120, and then 45 miles farther west, whileretaining the name of Orenburg, although this term had now become meaningless.The fortress, built on the right bank of the Ural, has lost its strategic importancesince the Russian frontier has been advanced to the Central Asiatic ranges beyondTurkestan. But Orenburg has become all the more important commercially.Since 1826 over 10,000 camels have been employed in its caravan trade withTashkent and other Turkestan towns, and here is the present terminus of theEuropean railway system, which the " Great Central Asiatic " is destined soon tocontinue eastwards. Meantime one of its chief sources of wealth is salt, theIletzkaya Zashtchita mines, 40 miles farther south, yielding on an average 20,000tons yearly. Here the deposits are estimated at over 1,200 millions of tonsaltogether, sufficient to supply all Russia for an indefinite number of years.Uralsk, at the sharp angle of the Ural where it turns due south, is the chieftown of the Ural Cossacks, whose territory stretches far east of the river intoAsia. Although on the right bank of the Ural, this town is considered asbelonging administratively to Asia, and is also distinguished from the othertowns of European Russia by the customs of its inhabitants and its traditions ofmilitary regime. The chief occupations of the surrounding Cossacks are fishingand horse-breeding.The Ural Cossackscame from Great Russia by following the course of theVolga. After the fall of the Kazan and Astrakhan Tatar kingdoms, the LowerVolga became the rallying-place for men of diverse races, but mostly Russians,who called themselves " freemen," but whom the Muscovite Government designatedby the name of " Cossack brigands." They were gradually driven fromthe banks of the Volga, and while some ascended the stream northwards, escapingby the Kama valley to Asia, others embarked on the Caspian and landed at thedelta of the Yayik. In 1580 they destroyed the Nogai town of Saraichik, andhigher up the Yayik founded their town of Yayitzk, the ruins of which Pallasvisited in 1769. Although recognising no masters, they nevertheless made warin the name of the Czar, and often overthrew his enemies. Forerunners of thepresent Russians, they even held the town of Khiva for a few days. For thepurpose of curbing these restless Cossacks the Muscovite Government founded,near the chief mouth of the Yayik, the town of Ust-Yayitzk, which soon aftertook the name of Guryev, and helped materially to reduce the Cossacks to submission.The " freemen " made the acquaintance of the rod and the knout ; theywere forbidden to wear beards, and taught to cross themselves in the orthodoxfashion. Hence they were amongst the first to rally round Pugachov, the " falseCzar" Peter III., who allowed them "cross and beard, rivers and pastures, moneyand food, powder and shot, and freedom forever." But when they were vanquishedtheir very name perished, and on the site of Yayitzk stands the Uralsk of ourdays.Their hrug, or commune, was abolished, and they received from the Czara vice-ataman, since 1833 no longer chosen by the people. In 1874 compulsorymilitary service was introduced, and all malcontents banished to Siberia.VOL. V. F F