Georgian horsemen in Wild West Shows

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The history of Georgian horsemen in the Wild West shows began in 1892, when they first joined the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West in England. In an interview granted to The Oracle (May 28, 1892), Nate Salsbury, the Wild West show's general manager, confirmed: “Yes, they arrived last night. They come from beyond Tiflis (Now Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia), near the extreme of the Caucasus Mountains.” More on this subject can be found in Sarah J. Blackstone's book, Buckskins, Bullets, and Business a History of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West (Greenwood Press, 1986, p. 81): “Russian Cossacks first joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West in London in 1892. The original group numbered ten and ranged in age from 18 to 25. Their leader or commander was Prince Ivan Makharadze.” Group leaders were mostly referred to in the lists as “Prince.” In fact, only some of the riders were of noble origin. The rest were mostly peasants. Apparently, it was a publicity stunt to attract more people. Of all the tales told about the riders, the one most often repeated is the story of their recruitment. Thomas Oliver, a commissioner, arrived in Georgia to locate riders for circus in the United States (Later, he interpreted for the Georgian riders (1892-96) presumably in Russian or quite possibly, in Georgian. Riders called him Tommy). In Batumi, Oliver stopped at the home of James Chambers, the British Council. An employee of Chambers, a fellow named Kirile Jorbenadze, who was on familiar terms with some of the riders in Guria, offered help. Oliver accepted and soon the two men plus vice-council Harry Briggs, departed to the village of Lanchkhuti. On the way there they stopped at village of Bakhvi, where they visited Ivane Makharadze, a distinguished rider who promised Oliver that he would be responsible for signing up other riders.

In 1893 the Gurians went to the United States where for more than 30 years they performed under the name of Russian Cossacks in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West as well as other circuses and shows. They won widespread recognition and significantly influenced cowboys. “When the Cossacks came to the United States for the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893, the Americans picked up some hints and bright ideas. From that date on trick riding had a boom from coast to coast.” (Frank Dean, Trick and Fancy Riding, The Caxton Printers, ltd. Caldwell, Idaho 83605, 1975, p.3)

Out of all the international performers, the Georgian riders performance was perhaps the most popular feature of the Wild West Show. Only Indians and cowboys enjoyed similar popularity. The owners of circuses and shows had found a real gold mine-cheap artists, who were so popular that lots of people came only to see their performance. It is very interesting that the Cossacks became an essential feature of every respectable show of that time. The Gurian riders were called Cossacks for different reasons, perhaps, the most important of which was the fact that Georgia was part of the Russian Empire at that time (Georgia annexed by Czar’s Russia in 1801 and by the Soviet Russia in 1921) and so each Georgian was referred to as Russian. Regarding this confusion, it might be worth mentioning that employers were responsible for creating this initial mystery in the media by declaring that the riders came from the southern part of the Russian Caucasus, where the Cossack family in Lord Byron's “Mazepa” came from. Even the riders boasted that they were awarded medals for bravery but it was a con, of course. Other newspapers went even further, “The Cossacks were the real thing, right from the Czar’s army. Splendid horsemen and brave fighters, they are also fierce and cruel. They were members of the same regiment that charged upon a throng of men, women and children in the streets of St. Petersburg two years ago and shot and sabered, murdered a thousand” (The Hutchinson Leader, July 24, 1908). No wonder such stories helped make them popular heroes.

On June 25, 1892 the Georgians, lead by Ivane Makharadze, performed in Windsor in front of the Queen Victoria, the royal family and other members of the aristocracy. At a point in the performance when the Cossacks were doing their horseback work, Prince Henry of Battenberg, who was standing in the rear of the pavilion, said to the Queen in German: “Mamma, do you think they are really Cossack? Before the Queen had time to reply to him, I said, I beg to assure you, sir, that everything and everybody you see in the entertainment are exactly what we represent it or them to be” (Nate Salsbury, The Origin of the Wild West Show, The Colorado Magazine, July, 1955, p.210). “It is probable that audience members were satisfied that the performers were Russian and that they could present a colorful and exciting as part of the show”-wrote Sarah J. Blackstone (Buckskins, Bullets, and Business a History of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, p. 83). Audience wanted to see different kind of presenters and clever businessman Buffalo Bill Cody decided to involve representatives of other nations in his show and solved this problem at once: Georgian peasants became Cossacks, Sioux Indians became Cheyennes or Apaches, all Native Americans were chiefs in the show, all Asiatic (chines or indian) women were princess, army horsemen were colonels, etc...

The usual performance of Georgians began with the riders, all dressed in national outfit (chokha in Georgian), taking the stage while carrying their weapons and singing. First they marched around the arena, then stopped and dismounted on mid-stage, broke into a new song and started to perform one of Georgian native dances to the accompaniment of handclaps. Sometimes this dance was executed upon a wooden platform. This act usually followed by stunt riding. It represented the perfection of man and horse and the Georgians did the most unbelievable stunts while galloping The riders performed a series of manoeuvres (they were standing on their heads up, standing straight in the saddle, riding three horses simultaneously, jumping to the ground and then back, picking up small objects from the ground; one of the tricks that was very popular with the spectators was, the rider at full gallop standing on horseback and shooting) including the most risky tricks, carried out only by a chosen few. One of these tricks was when a rider removed his saddle and dismounted while riding at a full gallop and then remounted again fixing the saddle back on a horse (Wild West Georgians, p.23). This trick riding style called dzhigitovka (a Turkic word taken to mean skilful and courageous rider) or jiriti in Georgian.

According to the noted western historian Dee Brown: “Trick riding came to rodeo by way of a troupe of Cossack daredevils imported by the 101 Ranch. Intrigued by the Cossacks stunts on their galloping horses, western cowboys soon introduced variations to American rodeo. Colorful costumes seem to be a necessary part of trick riding, and it is quite possible that the outlandish western garb which has invaded rodeo area can be blamed directly on Cossacks and trick riders.” (Dee Brown, The American West, a Touchstone Book, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1994, p. 388).

Some Georgian sources claim, rather unconvincingly, that they rode the Georgian breeds (One rider recalled that Americn horses needed time to get accustomed to their way of riding). First, it was very expensive, to transport a horse across the Atlantic and second, as I know, it was prohibited by quarantine regulations. When asked about it, Ivane Makharadze said: “Our horses? They couldn’t have borne the journey. We ourselves had difficulties in crossing the Black Sea let alone our horses. But we brought our saddles, our whips and the rest of the stuff” (Iveria, June, #124, 1892). The Cossack saddle is another thing that attracts much attention. Here's an interesting bit from one American newspaper: “...Its chief peculiarity, seen from the sides, is two thin pads, fore and after, resembling loaves of bread. A closer examination shows there are four of these pads. The Cossacks stand up in their stirrups with two or three pads on, before and behind his legs. They are stuffed with horsehair. Why does the Cossack use this saddle? Prince Luka, a Georgian Cossack, could only shrug his shoulders when the question was asked him. All he could state positively was that style of saddle had been used in his native section of the Caucasus as long as human memory could extend.” These saddles were not cheap, an ordinary Cossack saddle cost $75, and the one custom made for well known rider Alexis Georgian (Gogokhia) cost $275 (The Neola Reporter, July 7, 1904).

In general, the Georgians' decision to travel to distant lands was based on financial hardship, - touring meant profits. However, on occasion group leaders were targeted with bribes in their native villages. Their American employers paid relatively good money, up to $40-50 per month or 100 rubles. (The price of a cow in Georgia in those days was 3-5 rubles).

It must be said that not all of the riders went to America voluntarily. A Gurian rider nicknamed Sam Sergie (His real name is not known. He performed in 1911-1914) fled to the States following a train robbery. Later he used to show off a golden cigarette holder imprinted with a double-headed eagle, boasting that he took it from a Russian army officer. Sam Sergie died in Fort Worth, Texas in 1965, aged 81. He was an owner of cafe Sam’s Club. Word has it that his lawyer took all his belongings after his death. Sam's Georgian friends in the United States protested but couldn't do anything at the time to stop the confiscation (Wild West Georgians, p. 15).

Unfortunately, the riders were not insured against tragic accidents. Who can count how often they used to break their arms and legs and many even died after such accidents: On July 3, 1901 an unknown Gurian rider died during a performance of Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Show in the City of Iron River. In about 1903 Polta Tsintsadze died in a very ambiguous situation on board a ship entering the port of New York. Some said that he was poisoned. On October 28, 1907 another unknown Georgian rider died during a performance of the same Pawnee Bill’s Wild West Show in Amarillo, Texas. In 1914 Khalampri Pataraia was killed in Louisa, Kentucky... The reason the Georgians took on nicknames was that their real names were unpronounceable to the show's organizers and the public. The financial manager even had to call them by numbers on payday. Alexis Georgian must get his due for identifying Irakli Tsintsadze for us. The same can be said about George Henney; who was, reportedly, one of the Cossacks. The list goes on. All the participants of the show, whether cowboys, Indians, Arabs, or Mexicans used to tell journalists fictitious stories about themselves, which they would fill with blood and gore. The Gurians were no exception. Luka Chkhartishvili told a story to several newspapers of how he killed Dons Cossacks. He mentioned a different number of Cossacks in different versions of the story, with the number varying between one and twenty (The Morning Journal, May 20, 1894). The Wild West Show’s female employees brought more grace to the Georgians performances. It is known that four Georgian ladies used to participate in these shows in the United States: Frida Mgaloblishvili, Kristine Tsintsadze, Maro and Barbale Zakareishvili. After Russian Revolution Barbale and her husband Christephore Imnadze stayed in America and continued to perform. One of the highlights of Barbale's set was when she rode with the American flag in her hands while standing on the shoulders of two galloping riders. Barbale Imnadze died in 1988 in Chicago. The First World War and the Bolsheviks ended the Georgians' voyages abroad. Those Georgians who found themselves stuck in the States, mostly in Chicago, continued performing in Miller and Ringling Brothers' circuses and returned to their homeland only when the war was over. Many Georgians settled down to create American families and lost ties with their homeland. In one case, a rider who had a family in his native Guria wedded an American woman and returned to Georgia after a while. But when he was about to go back to the States the Bolsheviks wouldn't let him out of the country and he committed suicide. As the century progressed, many Wild West shows had to compete with new entertainments, including motion pictures. Some of the shows' organizers, including Buffalo Bill, started to make film versions of the shows but despite these most of the shows were in deep financial trouble due to declined attendance. The occasional feeble attempt by some to reanimate the previous glory of the shows led to tasteless endeavors in which some of the Georgian original participants were enlisted. But by that time they had lost the luster of stardom along with their energy and endurance. Fatally, the media had lost interest in them. The organizers even stopped mentioning their names in the programs. Hard times were ahead for those who returned to Georgia as well. On the grounds that they all were American spies, most of the riders were imprisoned and exiled by the Bolsheviks. Many riders had to destroy all evidence and photographs of their trips abroad in order to survive the new regime's iron hands. There were cases when riders were forced to sign a document in which they promised never to mention America or Europe again. The Bolsheviks confiscated all the precious gifts and present they had been given. Usually, these things surfaced in the houses of the party nomenclature. Daughters of the rider Pavle Makharadze recalled: “They used to take different things that had been brought from the United States from the families of all riders. Finally they took a comb and a tab from our family. My mother was so horrified that she fell ill. She was always waiting for the Bolsheviks to come again.” Nervous stress was too much for many, - some committed suicide, others died in oblivion... The Georgians have left an indelible mark on the development of American show business, of which Buffalo Bill is considered to be the pioneer. The connection between Buffalo Bill and Georgian trick riders represents one of the oldest known relationships between Georgia and the United States of America.

[edit] Sources

Bibliography: Frank Dean, Trick and Fancy Riding (The Caxton Printers, ltd. Caldwell, Idaho 83605, 1975). Sarah J. Blackstone, Buckskins, Bullets, and Business a History of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, Contributions to the study of popular culture, number 14 (Greenwood Press, 1986). Dee Brown, The American West (a Touchstone Book, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1994). Irakli Makharadze and Akaki Chkhaidze, Wild West Georgians (Tbilisi: New Media, 2002). Once Upon a Time in America, Diaries of an Unknown Gurian Rider (Tbilisi, Sani Publishing, 2004). Nate Salsbury, “The Origin of the Wild West Show” ( The Colorado Magazine, July, 1955). Nana Zurabishvili, “Off To Guria...,” The World of Constant Connection, 4 (1999). Iveria, June (#124), 1892. The Oracle, May 28,1892. The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 9, 1893. The Morning Journal, May 20, 1894. Chicago Evening Post, June 6, 1896. Minneapolis Tribune, August 13, 1900. Arkansas Democrat, October 21, 1901. New York Daily Tribune, April 20, 1902. Tsnobis Purtsely, April 12, 1903. Tsnobis Purtsely, April 16, 1903. Kvali, April 16, 1903. The Neola Reporter, July 7, 1904. The Billboard, July 28, 1906. Boston Globe, June 16, 1907. The Hutchinson Leader, July 24, 1908. The Evening Times, May 25, 1912. The Billboard, July 20, 1912