Welcomed by officers of the guard--Being _Cossackized_--An interrupted sleep--Presentation to the Governor-General--An amusing interview--The General’s vanity and how it was tickled--The story of the Cossacks--An Ingoosh brigand--An expedition into the mountains. CHAPTER III. AT HOME WITH COSSACKS 48 A Cossack village--An exhibition of horsemanship--An accident--How Cossacks are trained for service--Cossack local government--Basis of Cossack loyalty--Their attitude toward massacres--Cossacks of the Caucasus, like other tribes of the mountains, still unconquered--Back to Vladikavkaz. CHAPTER IV. UNDER MARTIAL LAW 75 The journey to the “Oil City”--First view of the Caspian--Armenians and Tartars--Russia’s monstrous misrule--Tiflis blood-stained and battered--How to wield a Caucasian dagger--Daily perils--Chiaroscuro of officers’ life--A stirring departure. CHAPTER V. WITH THE ARMY OF “PACIFICATION” 95 Arrival in Kutais--A siege city--“The very walls have ears”--Cossack barracks--Loot--“Bloody” Alikhanoff--A dramatic interview--Justification for burning homes--Military outrages--Why the inhabitants of the Caucasus are revolutionists and terrorists. CHAPTER VI. COURTING ARREST 121 A journey in the interior--Warned back--The start--A typical Volga province--Causes of the famine--Arrival at Tsaritzin--Two medical students--“Open! Open to the Police!”--The search--Condition of the peasants--Pesky--A group of remarkable personalities--Village customs--A dramatic meeting--A night ride--A sudden interruption in our plan. CHAPTER VII. IN PRISON 138 Questioned by the Police--Taken--Five charges to account for--Accused of being an agitator--Eighteen versts to the gendarmerie--A tedious night--Back to Saratoff--“Take the dogs away”--Prison--Clamoring for freedom--Discouragement--Parole--Release. CHAPTER VIII. A VISIT TO MARIE SPIRADONOVA 155 A tyrannical régime--A young girl’s daring--Tortures and outrages--Entertained by the governor--A kindly police-master--Grim prison walls--Difficulties--Appeal to the governor--Shackled prisoners--Marie Spiradonova--A terrible tale--Interruptions--“Greetings to France, to England, and to America”--A Spartan mother--Letters from the fair prisoner. CHAPTER IX. WATCHING THE DUMA AT WORK 177