The question about the degree of development of primary education in the Don in the XIX century remains controversial among historians. Archival documents and testimonies of contemporaries allow us to cover this question in completely different ways (both quotes in the title are taken from them). The article attempts to summarize statistical information about the development of primary education in the Don Cossack environment from 1799 to 1899. A number of myths prevalent in historiography (for example, about the significant role of zemstvos in the creation of new educational institutions in villages or about the crisis of Don education in 1880-1890) are debunked.