# What does this Russian Cossack immigrant have in its pocketses? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 17, 2016, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597 "2016-06-17T12:20:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597/1 "2016-06-17T12:20:48Z")
In this [picture of a Russian Cossack immigrant](http://all-that-is-interesting.com/ellis-island-immigration-photos?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fbatlas#5), taken at Ellis Island sometime between 1905 and 1914, his traditional dress (or uniform) has many narrow, vertical pockets at the top of his jacket, each with a narrow cylinder of some sort. It doesn’t look like ammunition to me, and I think it is unlikely that a an immigrant coming through Ellis Island would be carrying firearms anyway (though he does have a knife and sword). So what does he have in his pocketses? And why does [Moff Tarkin have them in his pockets](http://www.pointofgeeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/star-wars-movies-moff-tarkin-peter-cushing-pointofgeeks-e1455009972436.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597/2 "2016-06-17T12:40:00Z")
Article I read some time back said that during the muzzleloader era they would carry paper cartridges in the pockets. Now, they’re strictly ornamental. With GMT, they probably contain a mix of prune juice and castor oil as a mood enhancer. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597/3 "2016-06-17T12:47:26Z")
The look like metal tubes, like cigar tubes. Were Cossacks fond of cigars? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597/4 "2016-06-17T12:52:45Z")
What ever they are, there are more of them sticking out of the [control panel of the Millennium Falcon.](http://media.melty.com/article-11673-ajust_930/han-solo-and-chewy-back-in-the-millennium.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597/5 "2016-06-17T14:12:07Z")
They are/were ammo. At first it was paper cartridges and then later brass “quick charge tubes” usually for a rifle but sometimes for a horse-pistol as well. As more modern guns became available they same loops/area on the tunic would be used to hold some shells/ammo in much the same manner. The guns adopted were single shot of a large caliber and ammo was much the same size. What surprises some people is how many cossacks held on to their flint or percussion weapons well into the cartridge era; like a lot of the Arabic tribes, tradition in weapons was a big deal and things were handed down for generations. I still have (and sometimes shoot) Great-great-granddad’s Tulle and Granddad still packed it as a regular thing. Dance groups today often use pieces of ribbon or cloth to simulate this but that dude in the picture looks to have the real deal brass quick-charge tubes. As for what one would carry in his pockets, think in terms of most militias. Military supplies, a religious item or two and a personal item or three. Granddad always carried a beard token which has been in our family since the time of Peter the Great and he always had a small icon-ish metal cross he got as a child. (Although we are Siberian and Granddad spent most of his time in one of the home-guard detachments under a local hetman, he did serve at the end before coming to the US with the 2nd Kuban.) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597/6 "2016-06-17T15:02:52Z")
The Dutch women at photo 7, with those hats, sort of remind me of Conan Doyle’s photos of fairies. ---
**Author:** ![donkeyoatey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47c2d/32.png) [@donkeyoatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donkeyoatey)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597/7 "2016-06-17T15:21:50Z")
From [here](http://rbth.com/arts/2014/04/29/cossack_fashion_wide_trousers_papakhas_and_a_fighting_spirit_36327.html) > [@](#): > > The Caucasus, Kuban and Terek Cossacks sewed cartridge belts onto the traditional kaftan with the advent of firearms (portioned charges were specifically needed by cavalrymen in battle), and as a result the legendary cherkeska (Circassian coat) came into being. And from [the wiki on Circassians](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circassians) > [@](#): > > On the breast of the costume are long ornamental tubes or sticks, once filled with a single charge of gunpowder (called gaziri cadridges) and used to reload muskets. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597/8 "2016-06-17T15:29:01Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > They are/were ammo. Precious ammo! ---
**Author:** ![G0sp3l](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@G0sp3l](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G0sp3l)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597/9 "2016-06-17T16:03:31Z")
I’d have guessed pipeweed, but I notice there are twenty cylinders, possible ring-holders, there are twenty-one rings. He is probably aware of the lies about the rings being destroyed (ha!) or removed from Middle-Earth (ha ha!!). Seems obvious what he’s got in his nasty little pocketses ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597/10 "2016-06-17T22:14:06Z")
> [@donkeyoatey](#): > > From [here](http://rbth.com/arts/2014/04/29/cossack_fashion_wide_trousers_papakhas_and_a_fighting_spirit_36327.html) > > And from [the wiki on Circassians](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circassians) Cool! The cartridges are [wooden tubes with metal caps.](https://www.etsy.com/listing/260352006/gaziry-a-set-of-16-catridges-worn-wih?ref=related-4) Thanks for fighting my ignorance! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597/11 "2016-06-21T17:51:10Z")
A later photo (#25) shows two men with something similar, and is captioned “Russian Cossacks, armed and in full dress” which would support the cartridge theory. ---
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-this-russian-cossack-immigrant-have-in-its-pocketses/757597/12 "2016-06-21T19:35:04Z")
Supposedly, the ones in the Star Wars movies are [code cylinders/imperial rank indicators](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Code_cylinder/Legends).