Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/533

* COSSACKS. 459 COSTA. accustomed to live in the saddle and in constiuit warfare, they acquired by inlicrilanee the ([ual- ities of courage, endurance, self-reliance, and good horsemanship, which gave theni lii^'h rank among the irregular cavalry of the worhl. Long unaccustomed to the restraints of civilized gov- ernment, they distinguished theniselves by their predatory habits. The Don Cossacks, who at the present time constitute the principal body of the Cossacks, became powerful aljout the close of the sixteenth century. The town of Teher- kask became the seat of their government. At the head of their democratic organization was the Ataman (Hetman). In 1773 the Don Cos- sacks joined the pretender Pugatchelf against Catharine II., for Avhich they were chastised by being dojirived of all of their liberties and their democratic institutions. Yermak TimofeyciV, a Don Cossack, belonging to a lawless band, the Good Companions of the Don, entered the service of the Stroganoffs, a wealthy fam- ily living in the Ural region and hold- ing special trading privileges, crossed the Urals with a few hundred followers in 1581, and in a few years conquered and brought into a rude kind of subjection all of western Siberia. Froni this time the history of the Cossacks is closely connected with that of the Russian progress east- ward through Siberia. With wonderful persist- ence and endurance, and a spirit of enterprise that would have been impossible in the stolid Russian village peasant, thej' explored and sub- dued this vast addition to Russia's territory. The JIalorussian (Little Russian) Cossacks, or Cos- sacks of the Ukraine (Border Land), were or- ganized in the second half of the sixteenth cen- tury by Stephen Bathory. King of Poland, into a defensive bulwark on the southeastern fron- tiers of the realm. In the middle of the seven- teenth century, harassed by Polish oppression, they revolted under the lead of their Ataman, Chmielnicki (q.v, ), and placed themselves under the protection of Russia. Under the lead of Mazeppa they joined Charles XII. against Peter the Great, whose victory at Poltava sealed their fate. Their liberties were abolished and they were treated with great harshness. The Zapo- Togian Cossacks (Russ. Znpororj. beyond the rapids), on the Dnieper, were one of the most notable of the tribes down to the middle of the seventeenth century, when they submitted to Russia. Their predatory incursions were not confined to the land, but included naval expedi- tions against the Turkish towns of Asia Minor. Among their peculiar tribal institutions was the celibacy imposed upon the ruling class. The Cossacks are regarded by the Russian Gov- ernment as a military division of the population. They are organized in eleven voiskos or corps (Don, Kuban, Terek, Astrakhan. Orenburg. Ural, Siberia, Semiryetchensk, Transbaikalia, Amur, Usuri). Their military training liegins in boy- hood: compulsory service in the stnnUsa, or Cos- sack post, begins at seventeen : field service be- gins at twenty, and continues from twenty to twenty-five years. This service is divided into three classes — active, on furlough with arms and horses, and on furlough with arms but without horses. Each roisko equips and clothes its sol- diers, and receives an allowance of land from the Crown. The Cossacks wear a distinctive uniform of dark green. Part of them, in addition to other arms, still carry a long lance. The Kuban Vol. v.— 30. voisko enrolls 6 battalions of Cossack infantry, and there are also fifteen batteries (44 on a war footing) of Cossack field artillery. The title of Ataman, or chief of the Cossacks, is now- vested in the Imperial family. The Cossacks probablv number between l,56o,000 and 2,000,- 000. Consult: Erckert, Dcr Urspning der Kosakcit (Berlin, 1882); Tettaii, Die Kosakeiiheere ( ib., 1892) ; Wallace, litissia (9th ed., London, 1883) ; Krasinski, The Cossacks of the Ukraine (ib., 1848); Vladimir, Russia on the Pacific (ib., 1899). A splendid realistic picture of Cossack life may be found in Gogol's celebrated novel Taras Bulha. COSSACKS, The. A novel by Count Tolstoy (1852). It was translated into English in 1878. COSSON, ko'so.N', Ernest (1819-89). A Prenoh botanist, born in Paris. He carried on ex- tensive botanical studies in Algeria and explored the flora in the suburbs of Paris. His published works include the following: Flore drscriptif/iic et anali/lique des cniHruns de Paris, jointly with Saint-Pierre (1845); S!/)wpsis anuhjliiiuc de la flore des environs de Paris (1845) ; Alias de la florc des environs de Paris ( 1882) ; Compendium Florw MlanticcB ou Flore des cials barbaresgues; Algcrie, Tunisie, Maroc (1881-87): Conspectus Florw AtlanticcE (1881): and Illuslrationes Florae Atlanticm (1883-92). COSSTJTIUS, kos-su'shi-iis. A Roman archi- tect noted for his selection by King Antiochus Epiphanes (B.C. 175-164) to rebuild the great temple of the Olympian Zeus at Athens in the Corinthian style. COSTA, kd'sta, Claudio Manuel da (1729- 89). A Brazilian poet. He was born at Mari- amo (Province of Minas-Geraes) . His works, which are numerous, are highly valued by the Portuguese, who consider them classics. The best of them is Villarica (1839-41). COSTA, Isaac da. See Da Costa, Is.ac. COSTA, LoKENZO (1460-1.535). An Italian painter, born in Ferrara. He was a pupil of Cosimo Tura and Ercole Roberti in Ferrara, and perhaps of Francesco Cossa. Vasari says he also studied the works of Gozzoli and Lippi in Florence. After his return to Ferrara he painted several w-orks now destroyed. In 1483 he went to Bologna, whei-e he remained almost constantly until the fall of his patrons, the Bentivogiio family, in 1506, and there he began his connection with Francia. The artists had a joint school, and worked as co-painters. Costa first influenced Francia, but afterwards it was the other w.ay. As a colorist Costa is inferior to Francia. " Many of his best paintings are in the Bolognese churches. Among those may be mentioned: "A Madonna with Members of the Bentivogiio Family" (1488) in San Giacomo Maggiore, a characteristic example, adiiiiralite in its fresh, simple, sincere treatment and master- ly drawing; "The Triumph of Life and Deatli," and frescoes, in the same church: an "Annuncia- tion" and "Madonna" (1492) in San Petronio; and frescoes in Santa Cecilia. After he left Bologna he went to Mantua, where he lived until his death. Later works include the "Court of Isabella d'Este" (in the Louvre) and the "Dead Christ" (1504, Berlin Museum); they are rare outside Italv. Dosso, Garofalo. and others car-