It is rather singular that they were not observed while
engaged in this business, which must certainly have been performed with
uncommon silence and expedition.
* * * * *
A Russian officer, to whom complaints were made respecting same
irregularities committed by the Cossacks in the villages, expressed
himself in the following manner in regard to those troops:--"The
officers would gladly put a stop to such proceedings, which are strictly
prohibited, and severely punished;--but how is it possible for them to
have these men continually under their eye? The nature of the warfare in
which they are engaged, which obliges them to be constantly making
extensive excursions, prevents this. We are often under the necessity of
leaving them for several days together to themselves, that they may
explore every wood, every corner, and fatigue and harass the enemy. In
services on which no other kind of troops can be employed, they are
frequently obliged to struggle alone for several days through every
species of hardship and danger; and then, indeed, it is no wonder if
they occasionally indulge themselves. On account of the important
service which they render to the army, we cannot possibly dispense with
them. The incessant vigilance of the Cossacks, who are every where at
once, renders it extremely difficult for the enemy to reconnoitre, and
scarcely possible for him to surprise us; and so much the more
frequently are we enabled by them to take him at unawares.
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