Hunting and fishing, although they often ended in bloody battles with the Tatars, were not considered by the Cossacks to be a real “deal”: only the war with the “infidels” was considered such a task. Both the Tatars and Turks were called infidels for their Basurman faith, and the Poles for oppressing the Russian people and for persecuting the Orthodox faith in Ukraine.
About ry mi 592 BOYA > ‚ 75) ©6755 & OE a —- ie u daalodadayanagivayaiya
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ah ah ah
PE Seaside hikes.
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Gay boys, come on, come on!
There's vodka in there, there's beer in there... We'll have a rest.
Let's paddle together! Overtake the seagull!
About the Horseshoe, Nalivayka, Zapfvaite!
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Like birds in the sky the Ashes are singing!“
Almost every year the Cossacks undertook expeditions to the Crimea and Turechina.
With the announcement of the campaign to the OJFCI, feverish activity began to boil. There were no more drunks or people walking around, everyone was serious, diligently and quickly making the necessary preparations for the hike. Near the seagulls. the incessant knocking of caulkers and huge cauldrons could be heard. smoked and smoked with resin; healthy, sinewy...
“Rozhtsy, roll up your pants and, standing knee-deep in the water, with screaming whips, pulled the seagulls ready to go from the shore. “There they ground and dried gunpowder, here they cut and dried pieces of various meats in the sun; some prepared crackers, mended clothes, others adjusted muskets and sharpened sabers.
The Koshevoy Ataman gave orders calmly and authoritatively, slowly and sedately giving instructions on what to take and what to leave. Kuren atamans with shestopers (badges) in their hands watched the work, and in the ataman kuren, the military clerk and esauls compiled lists of Cossacks who were going on a campaign, as well as those who were left in Sjchi to protect it from an unexpected raid into the missing kosh.
Finally everything is ready; The day appointed for the performance arrived. Numerous seagulls with rowers stretched out in orderly rows near the shore.
On the Ataman seagull, the Ataman banner turned and swayed in the wind. Everyone's heads were bare; the farewell prayer began. Everyone fell silent; it’s quiet all around, you can only hear the water splashing against the sides of the seagulls and the rustling of naked pebbles in the shallows; the holy words of prayers are carried throughout the region to the farthest seagulls. The Cossacks are crossing themselves earnestly and leisurely; They thought about what awaited them in a distant, foreign land: death, captivity, or a joyful, victorious return with rich booty...
The prayer service is over. Koshevoy swung his mace: a light flashed from the rampart, and a cannon shot echoed through the coastal reeds, followed by another, a third... The raised oars sank at once and foamed the water of the Dnieper. - “Farewell, Sich-mati, may the Holy Mother of God protect you!”
On the shore, a cloud of hats floated upward: that was even more farewell to the remaining Cossacks and their comrades setting off on a campaign. Soon to eat sovsfm
disappeared from sight. The Cossacks sat down comfortably, and the seagulls, urged on by the mastic blows of the oars, quickly rushed down the wide Dipr.
At night, the Cossacks usually stopped in the thickets of mysterious floodplains. Here they were completely safe and felt at home; More than once they caught fish here and hunted for birds and wild boars.
The only thing that annoyed the Cossacks were mosquitoes. The thick clouds of these large, long-legged robbers sprinkled and mercilessly gnawed at the Cossack body; The bitten Cossack only scratched himself and sent thousands of curses at his tormentors, but he could not defend himself from them. The smoke of the fires would, of course, drive away these annoying insects, but this remedy had to be abandoned, since the fires of the Cossacks could be destroyed by the Tatars, who, having guessed from the presence of the Cossacks in the Lower Dnepropetrovsk region about the sea campaign they were suppressing, would have blocked free access to the sea. For the same reason, it was not allowed to shout, shout, talk loudly, etc. into the Cossack camp.
The overnight stay was guarded by a “varta” (a group of sentries); From time to time, in the silence of the night, from the thick of the reeds, the ringing cry of the twitch was heard, to which the drupas answered from different sides: “The warta was being verified.”