Avarians. In the year 1835, he captured the strong aoul of Gotsatl, and
penetrated as far into the country as Chunsach, whence however he was
obliged speedily to retire on the coming up of General Reout with a very
much larger force. In the year following, his efforts were again
thwarted by the determined resistance of Hadji-Murad, as well as by a
want of unanimity among his own followers growing out of the continued
rivalry between himself and Taschaw-Hadji.
But the year 1837 was destined to bring along in its course two
important events which should settle forever the question of Schamyl's
right to the imamship, and show the great superiority of his genius over
that of all his rivals. The first of them was the complete overthrow he
brought upon Count Iwelitsch, who had been sent to cut him off at the
aoul Aschiltach; and the second was his heroic defence at Tiletli, a
strongly fortified aoul in the district of Gumbet.
The latter achievement was especially memorable. Opposed to him was
General Fesi at the head of eight battalions of regular troops, and
about twelve thousand militia drawn from that portion of Daghestan
subject to Russia. These forces were also flushed with victory, for
General Fesi after having marched from Derbend to Chunsach had erected a
citadel there, had driven Ali Bey, one of Schamyl's murids, out of the
fort of Akhulgo, and had then come to the rescue of lieutenant
Butschkieff; who with a considerable detachment was hard pressed by
Schamyl himself in the neighborhood of Tiletli.
After the union of these two forces the murids were but a handful in
comparison. But their leader determined to make a stand, and to hold
Tiletli, of which he had got possession, to the last. The Russians
having the advantage not only of superior numbers but also of artillery,
of which the Circassians were at that time entirely destitute, attempted
immediately to carry the place by storm. In this they failed; but
finally after very severe losses they succeeded in getting possession of
one half of the aoul. Yet with such valor and intelligence was the other
portion defended, that General Fesi was content to give over fighting,
and fortify himself where he was. Schamyl did the same; and with a
courage which excited the admiration of his followers, established his
head-quarters in the face of the enemy, only a screen of a few houses
intervening.
In this situation General Fesi could not remain long for want of
provisions. But to retreat in the face of an enemy victorious because
not subdued would be attended with disgrace if not with danger.
Accordingly the Russian commander, disquieted besides by rumors of
revolt in different parts of Daghestan, resolved to come to terms with
his adversary, and retire under cover of them.
To accomplish this purpose, and yet do it in such a way as to give the
color of a great triumph to what was in reality a most humiliating
check, was a problem not after all of very difficult solution. All that
was necessary was to require of Schamyl to take an oath of fealty to the
emperor on the condition of being left in possession of not only
Tiletli, but all the Lesghian highlands. And this Schamyl would be ready
enough to do provided he might have the privilege of making the
engagement in the presence of neither murids nor Russians. For an oath
taken under such circumstances would be no oath at all, inasmuch as
Schamyl holding to the Mahometan as well as Romanist doctrine that no
faith is to be kept with infidels, and considering the Muscovites to be
not only such but even half devils, and _feroe naturoe_, would feel
himself in conscience under no obligations whatever to abide by what he
had sworn to.
So it was arranged. Schamyl took the oath of fealty to the emperor in
the presence of Achmed-Mahomet-Mirza, the new khan of Avaria, and gave
hostages. By both parties the ceremony was regarded as a farce; but in
virtue of it General Fesi retired from the enemy's country in safety,
and sent his despatches to the commander-in-chief, summing up the
results of the campaign of 1837, as follows:--
"A fortress built in Chunsach; all Avaria pacified; a number of
previously unconquered mountain tribes subjected; many aouls and
fortified places destroyed; Tiletli taken by storm; and Schamyl so hard
pressed as to be obliged to swear fealty to the emperor forever and
ever."
Accordingly in Tiflis and St. Petersburg it was for a time believed that
Schamyl had submitted, and that the Lesghian highlands and all Daghestan
were to be incorporated into the empire. At the same time the very
clever General Fesi, covered with imperial praises, stars, and garters,
was regarded by all as the hero of the war of the Caucasus.
XXXII.
ISSUES PROCLAMATIONS.
In consequence of these successes the fame of Schamyl went abroad
through all the Lesghian country, as the greatest chieftain since the
days of Khasi-Mollah. Taschaw-Hadji, unable any longer to set himself in
opposition to the general will, publicly acknowledged the supremacy of
his rival, and became thenceforth one of his most devoted supporters.
Many tribes also who before had favored the Russians, or at least had
not taken sides with the murids, now rallied around the new leader whose
deeds were everywhere made the theme of declamation by the ulema and of
song by the bards. "Schamyl is Imam and the second prophet of Allah,"
was the universal cry; and multitudes came in from all sides but to see
the face of one who by word of mouth, and without drawing a sword, had
driven the army of invasion out of the highlands.
Taking advantage of this rising tide of favor, Schamyl issued various
proclamations to his army and the tribes, one of which was as follows:--
"In the name of Allah, the almighty, the merciful!
"Praised be his name who hath led us in a path of light, and hath made
us strong in his holy faith! Praised be he who hath laid the foundations
of his power in the mountains, and hath set us to guard and to keep it;
who hath strengthened our arm for the overthrow of the enemy, and hath
made our tongue eloquent in declaring his doctrines unto all believers;
who in the drops of rain sendeth us his blessing, whose love shines down
upon us out of the stars, and whose mercy is infinite unto all who
believe in his name!
"Ye warriors of Daghestan! When the leader of the Russians sent forth
his call to you in the month of Schewal to seduce you from your faith in
the truth of my mission, there arose doubt and murmuring among you; and
many of you became unfaithful and forsook me. Then I was angry and said
in my heart--The unsteadfast! they have verified the words of the
Prophet when he saith,
"'God showeth you his wonders that ye may be wise; but your heart is
harder than stone, yea, harder than stone; for among the rocks are the
sources of the brooks; out of the rock when cloven asunder flow the
waters; and smitten with the fear of the Almighty the great stones fall
down from the tops of the mountains. But of a truth unto God are known
all your doings!'
"But with the few, they who remained faithful, I went forth against the
unbelievers, slew their leader, and drove them away in flight. When then
ye saw that God was with me, ye returned repenting, and desired to be
admitted once more into the ranks of the warriors, and I received you. I
led you from victory to victory, and promised you God's forgiveness for
your fault if ye continued in the faith as it is written in the book of
the Prophet when he saith,
"'They who return and fight for their faith in God, they shall be
partakers of his mercy, for he is merciful and slow to anger.'
"Ye have seen how small was the number of our warriors in comparison
with the hosts of the enemy, and yet they gave way to us, for strength
is with the believers. The Russians have taken Akhulgo and have razed
its walls. Allah permitted this to chastise you for your unbelief; for
he knows all your projects and all your thoughts. But I mocked at the
power of your enemies, and drove them from Aschiltach, and smote them at
Tiletli, and turned their deeds to shame. When afterwards the Pacha
(General Fesi) with his great army drew near Tiletli to revenge the
slain, and when in spite of our brave resistance, he succeeded in taking
possession of one half the aoul, so that day after day we looked for the
last decisive struggle, then suddenly Allah lamed his arm and darkened
his sight so that he could not use his advantages, but hastened away
whence he came. No one drove our enemies save their evil consciences,
for their unbelief made them afraid, and they fled to escape from the
sight of the true believers.
"So doth God punish those who walk not in his ways! But unto us hath he
said through his Prophet,
"'Whosoever wages the holy war for my sake, him will I lead in my ways.'
"Verily God is with those who do his will! Ye have seen that though
great be the numbers of the unbelieving, they must ever fail. When they
sent to Hamsad Bey, and summoned him to surrender, they said, 'Lay down
your arms; all opposition is vain; the armies which we send against you
are like as the sands on the sea-shore innumerable!' But I answered them
in his name and said, 'Our hosts are like the waves of the sea which
wash away the sands and devour them!'
"Ye have seen that my words came to pass. But the looks of the Russians
are falsehood, and their words are lies. We must destroy the works of
their hands, and slay them wherever we find them, in the house or in the
field, by force or by cunning, so that their swarms shall vanish from
the face of the earth. For they multiply like lice, and are as poisonous
as the snakes that crawl in the steppe of Muhan. Ye have seen that the
anger of God follows them. But unto us hath the Almighty said by his
Prophet,
"'Whosoever goeth forth to fight for his faith and persevereth unto the
end, him will God reward and bestow upon him his mercy.'
"And further hath God spoken unto us by his Prophet, saying,
"' Say not of those who fall striving for the faith, They are dead, but
say rather, They live; for this understand ye not.'
"Therefore lay to heart that which I have declared unto you, and be
strong, and hold fast together like the tops of the mountains above your
heads, and forget not the words of the Prophet when he saith,
"'Slay the enemies of God; drive them out of the places whence they have
driven you; for temptation is worse than death.' Amen."
XXXIII.
HIS HEAD-QUARTERS AT AKHULGO.
The Russians took a year to recover from the disastrous effects of
General Fesi's feat of arms at Tiletli, attempting nothing in 1838,
beyond several small and unsuccessful expeditions into the highlands,
and contenting themselves with making preparations for the great
campaign of the season following. On the other hand, so general was the
enthusiasm among the tribes in favor of Schamyl and the war of
independence, that he succeeded in collecting under his banners the
greatest military force which had been seen in those regions since the
days when Nadir-Shah overran Daghestan. The mountains were filled with
his murids, who went from aoul to aoul preaching the new doctrine of the
second prophet of Allah, and summoning all the warriors to rally around
the chieftain commissioned by heaven to deliver the land from the
threatened bondage to Russia. These missionaries in arms having friends
and relatives in all the tribes, obtained everywhere a hearing and a
foothold. The aouls which refused to join their party were threatened
with destruction; and if they persisted in their refusal, their flocks
and herds were driven off, their lands and vineyards laid waste, and
their habitations razed to the ground. From others whose fidelity was to
be suspected, hostages were taken. Schamyl would allow of no neutrality;
whoever was not for him was against him. Accordingly by the end of the
year 1838 he had rebuilt the forts which had been destroyed by the enemy
the season previous, and had so far extended his rule that all of the
Lesghian highlands lying north of Avaria, including Andi, Gumbet,
Salatan, and Koissubui, together with a considerable portion of
Tchetchenia, and all the more mountainous districts of Daghestan, were
subject to him.
His head-quarters he established in the aoul Akhulgo, a Tartar name
signifying a gathering place in time of trouble, and now famous in
Circassian annals for the siege sustained there in the campaign
following. It is situated in the district of Koissubui, on the right
bank of the Andian branch of the Koissu near its junction with the main
stream, only a short distance northwest of Himri, and about sixty wersts
by the most direct route from the Russian line. Like an eagle's nest it
is perched on the top of an isolated, conical peak of rock, rising on
one side perpendicularly six hundred feet above the Koissu, and of such
fantastic formation as to lead to the saying that it was by divine
permission the work of the devil. The river nearly surrounds it. On the
top is the aoul, which is divided into old and new Akhulgo, being
together a circumference of something less than a couple of wersts. A
narrow path admitting only two persons to walk abreast, winds up the
rock, which has three terraces formed by nature, and favorably situated
for defence. Around in the near distance rise other less elevated rocks
and cliffs, some of them tufted with oaks and beeches, others naked and
time-stained, and all together forming a scene of such stern wildness as
was well fitted for a hiding-place of liberty, or for its immolation.
The experience of the war having already proved that the high towers of
stone such as had been built in the highlands up to the time of the
death of Khasi-Mollah, were worse than useless as a means of defence
against the Russian artillery, inasmuch as their defenders were exposed
to be buried under their ruins, Schamyl instructed, it is said, by
Polish deserters, now changed entirely the system of his fortifications.
To prevent his defences at Akhulgo from being toppled down by the
enemy's cannon, he made them to consist mainly of trenches, earthen
parapets, and covered ways, while the saklis, which are a kind of hut
built of loose stones, partly underground, were also converted into
regular casements. These various fortifications, arranged with much
skill, commanded all the approaches to the fortress, and everywhere
exposed an attacking enemy to a great number of cross-fires. The rifle
would indeed have to serve instead of cannon; but in the hands of the
Circassian, though not discharged very rapidly inasmuch as it is cleaned
after every shot, it was a weapon the Russians had good cause to dread.
Made strong therefore both by nature and by art, Akhulgo was the rock on
which Schamyl resolved to plant his standard in the struggle for life
and death known to be at hand. Herein he collected a large supply of
provisions and munitions of war; hither he brought, as to a place of
safety, many of the families of his murids; and here he kept in custody
the hostages which had been taken from the tribes of Koissubui, Gumbet,
and Andi. The garrison was composed of the flower of his warriors; while
some fifteen thousand men besides, partly mounted and partly on foot,
stood ready for the fight, every one having taken a solemn oath to drive
back the Russians or perish in the attempt.
But while Akhulgo was the place where Schamyl had resolved to make a
final stand for the liberty of the mountains, there were other points
also where he proposed to stop, if possible, the march of the invaders.
It was in the plan of the campaign which he had drawn up that when the
Russians advanced from their forts in lower Daghestan they should be
attacked in the rear by the Tchetchenians who had espoused his side in
the contest, and whose position on the Koissu was favorable to the
execution of such a manoevre. But in case the enemy should succeed in
penetrating into the mountains, the aoul of Buturnay was fixed upon as
the point where the first resistance should be made; while a detachment
of friendly Tcherkejians, or Salatanians, about three thousand strong,
were to attack the enemy in the rear. In case, however, of a defeat at
Buturnay, his troops would fall back upon a still stronger position at
Arguani, and which during the year had been fortified in every way
possible. After that, also, there would remain the natural barrier of
the swiftly flowing Koissu; and finally Akhulgo itself, beyond which no
further retreat was thought of, as there he and all his murids would
either conquer or die.
It was a plan of campaign well devised, provided only the tribes
appointed to attack the enemy in the flank and rear could be relied
upon; but without their efficient coöperation the only chance of
successful resistance would be on the rock of Akhulgo.
XXXIV.
THE SIEGE OF AKHULGO
In the month of May, 1839, all things being ready, the Russian
expedition commenced its march into the mountains. General Grabbe, an
active and resolute officer in command of the left flank of the army of
the Caucasus, had collected from the fortresses along the line where it
crosses the Sulak, a force of nine battalions and seventeen pieces of
artillery. They were his very best troops, including a part of the
celebrated regiment "Count Paskievitsch," and with them he pressed
forward with such rapidity towards Buturnay, and then attacked it with
such impetuosity, that Schamyl was obliged at once to relinquish all
hope of making a stand there. His allies, the Tcherkejians, taken by
surprise at the suddenness of the enemy's advance, had not time to come
to his assistance; the Salatanians were overawed by the extraordinary
display of force made on their borders; and the Tchetchenians, alarmed
by the bold face with which the Russian commander opened the campaign,
and by his success at several minor points of conflict, took counsel of
prudence, and failed to make the promised diversion on the line.
Schamyl, therefore, after a two hours' resistance fell back on Arguani.
Here relying on a stronger position, and finding himself at the head of
about ten thousand men, he awaited the coming up of the enemy. The
contest which then took place lasted two days. Schamyl lost nearly
fifteen hundred men in killed and wounded, and was beaten. It was the
most bloody fight which had then occurred in the history of the war, and
would have put an end at once to the campaign had not the Lesghians,
every man of them, been determined to stand by their Imam and their
liberty to the last. Instead, therefore, of scattering after a defeat so
decisive, as might have been expected of mountaineers so little
accustomed to regular warfare, they heroically threw themselves into
Akhulgo.
The invaders having at length taken possession of both banks of the
Koissu, and easily repulsed an attack of six thousand mountaineers led
on by Achwerdu Mohamet, who had recently deserted from the Russian
service, set themselves down on the twelfth of June before Akhulgo,
closely investing it. General Grabbe hoped at first to induce the enemy
to surrender by showering them with bombs, balls, and rockets; but while
he succeeded in destroying many of the fortifications and stone houses,
the subterranean defences remained undamaged. From these and the works
on the terraces the besieged answered with their rifles, sparing indeed
of their ammunition, but taking an unerring, deadly aim. Nowhere could
the Russians show a head above their defences without imminent risk of
losing it. Nor was their entire force scarcely adequate to man the
posts; so that frequently the same troops who had worked all day in the
trenches were obliged to stand guard during a portion of the night.
Still they worked with hearty good-will, gradually carrying forward
their batteries, cutting their way through the soft, porous rock, and
sheltering themselves from the rifle-balls of the enemy by means of
gabions and stone walls. During the early part of the siege the Russian
camp was abundantly supplied with provisions; the Koissu gave them
abundance of good water; the neighboring forests furnished wood for
cooking the evening's soup; their fragrant boughs made easy beds at
night; while numerous watch fires warmed the feet of the sleeping
soldiers as they lay stretched beneath the stars. Even a certain degree
of hilarity prevailed in the camp, so different from the prison of the
krepost, where the daily drill, the appointed roll of the drum, and the
enforced dance and song but poorly relieved the still, dull monotony.
But the mirth was often ill-timed; for when refreshed by the evening's
pottage and his cup of _wodka_, the Cossack sat carolling a ditty or
meditating on the charms of the fair one left behind on the Don,
suddenly a ball from the rifle of some watchful mountaineer would send
him tumbling headlong into the Koissu. Or when the grey-coated
grenadiers in the intervals between the roar of the artillery and the
tumult of the trumpets, feeling their hearts stirred by a sudden
enthusiasm, would break out into chanting, the half devotional, half
martial air would often prove a dirge for some poor comrade struck down
with the chorus on his lips by the ball of an invisible enemy.
The enthusiasm on the other side was less gay, but more intense. Besides
the crack of the rifle, the only sounds from the fortress which fell
down on the air when it was still, were the muezzin's call to prayer, or
the shout of triumph when some frenzy-driven murid, sallying from his
hiding-place, leaped suddenly into the midst of an exposed party of the
enemy, and at the price of his own life sent twice, thrice, four times
as many unbelieving souls to hell. For in the progress of the siege many
a warrior who was doomed by his oath to death, and was become impatient
of the hour, grasping a shaska in his right hand, a pistol in his left,
and holding a poniard clenched between his teeth, sprang down from the
rocks upon some too adventurous squad of the enemy--as terrible an
apparition as a ghost, or a bomb-shell--discharging his pistol at the
breast of one, cleaving with his shaska the head of another, and then
rushing shaska in one hand and poniard in the other, upon the rest,
until he fell pierced through with bayonets, but having first sweetened
the bitterness of death with a terrible vengeance. Of such heroic
self-sacrifice is the Circassian capable!
Twice was the moon renewed in the slow progress of this siege. At
length, having previously got possession of one of the detached towers
of the fortress, and having been reinforced by five battalions and nine
pieces of artillery, the Russians, despairing of reducing the place by
blockade, attacked it by storm. But they did not get above the first
terrace; and from that they were beaten back with severe loss,--of the
three battalions of the splendid regiment "Count Paskievitsch," which
led the assault, only one returning. Nevertheless, General Grabbe was
not to be disheartened. Another and still another assault was made; and
after a loss of nearly two thousand men the second terrace was finally
carried. Then Schamyl seeing that his fortunes were becoming desperate
sent a request to the Russian commander to treat respecting terms of
peace. What his intentions were in so doing is not known; though it was
the opinion of General Grabbe that he was not sincere; and when the
latter demanded Schamyl's son as a hostage previously to the opening of
negotiations, the matter was dropped. Probably the Imam was desirous of
making an arrangement similar to that which under somewhat similar
circumstances had been agreed upon with General Fesi; but he had now a
different man to deal with.
The contest therefore was recommenced on the seventeenth of August with
new fury. Then for four successive days Akhulgo was a scene of heroism
equalled only by its horror. The Russian soldiers evinced that ferocious
bravery of which the serf nature is capable when its blood is up, while
the Circassians, driven to despair, sought to avenge beforehand the
lives they so gallantly laid down. High on the battlements, as at
intervals the smoke of the two hostile fires cleared away, could be seen
female forms, shaska or rifle in the little hand, encouraging the
warriors by their side, pressing on with them wherever the danger was
most imminent, and displaying a heroism greater even than that of their
own amazons of old, inasmuch as they fought for their lords as well as
for liberty.