[Footnote 23: Place in East Prussia, also known as Tannenberg. A battle was fought there in 1410, when the Teutonic Knights, who were then masters of East Prussia, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Russians.] [Footnote 24: _Ab´sant_ (give a nasal sound to the _n_.)] CHAPTER VII. THE RUSSIAN ARMY. One very interesting Russian people must now engage our attention. North of the Black Sea we find what are called the Steppes. They are fertile towards the north, but in the south are dry deserts. In the spring they are covered with grass and flowers, but by the month of July all is parched and bare, and in winter they are deep in snow. The Steppes are the home of the Cossacks, who in early times were robbers, living on loot and fighting fiercely against the Tartars, who tried to invade their lands. Later on the Cossacks became Christians, joined the Russians, and fought against the Poles. The Cossacks are found in Siberia and in ten governments of Russia in Europe, where they hold lands on what is called military tenure--that is, instead of paying rent they give service in the army whenever called upon to do so. You will remember that under the feudal system, which was formerly in force in England, men who held land of the king were forced to provide him with so many soldiers for so many days in the year. The Cossacks hold their lands under somewhat the same system. They find their own horses, uniforms, and equipment, and they are required to serve from their eighteenth to their thirty-eighth year. They are born to the saddle, and are indeed lost without a horse. They ride steeds as hardy as themselves, and there is no trick of horsemanship with which they are not familiar. Cossacks, for example, will charge down on the enemy shielding themselves by hanging between the body of the horse and the foe. They have a reputation for being brutal and cruel, because they have been largely used by the Government in putting down riots and other risings of the people. Nevertheless they are good-natured and long-suffering. Here are two proverbs about Cossacks which give you a clue to their character: "A Cossack will starve, but his horse will have eaten his fill;" "The Cossack's brother is Death." * * * * *