The William F. Cody Archive: Documenting the life and times of Buffalo Bill

COSSACKS AT EARL'S-COURT.

BUFFALO BILL" PROVIDES A TROOP OF RIDERS FROM THE CAUCASUS.

"Buffalo Bill" has an interesting scheme in hand just now. With a view of taking them over to the World's Fair, he is collecting parties of the horsemen of as many nationalities as possible. Before long some ten gaucheros will arrive at Earl's-court from the Argentine interior; then will come Magyars, Persians, and so on. He has already secured, in pursuance of this scheme, a party of Cossacks, who will give their first show to-morrow. They are a troop of Cossacks of
THE CAUCASIAN LINE,
hailing from the little Georgian village of Ozourgett. They are men of splendid physique, tall, broad shouldered, black bearded, and with faces full of manliness and intelligence. They are under the command of Prince Ivan Makharadze, and all of them are of noble family. They vary in age from 18 to 35, and have never been out of their own country before starting for England. None of them talk English, and few of them talk even Russian. Their Georgian dialect has to be rendered by a translator, who is a Manchester native who has spent his life, since the age of five, in the Caucasian territory. Their garb is very picturesque. It consists of a long loose-fitting robe of sheepskins of various colors, fastened at the waist with belts, from which depend their long curved swords, their daggers, and various silver ornaments, while their caps are of sheepskin trimmed with astrachan. Even the cowboys have expressed
UNFEIGNED ADMIRATION
for the horsemanship of these Cossacks, who are indeed the world's premier riders. They are a branch of the great Cossack family, the Zaporogians, immortalised by Byron's "Mazeppa," and visitors who have marvelled at the skill of the Indians and the cowboys with the bucking mustangs will marvel afresh at the striking performance of these descendants of the famous horseman. The program embraces the singing of national songs, on horseback, the dancing of the lizginka, the exhibition of a series of riding feats, and several clever sword exercises. It is short, but it is of the best.

Considerable excitement was caused at the Wild West Exhibition yesterday; a buck-jumping pony reared on its hind legs and fell backwards. The man escaped unhurt, but the horse fractured its spine and died immediately.