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Page 21
Spite, however, of all that Zebek could say or do, the
yearning of the people was strongly in behalf of the
Khan's proposal; the pardon of their prince, they persuaded
themselves, would be readily conceded by the
Empress: and there is little doubt that they would at
this time have thrown themselves gladly upon the imperial 5
mercy; when suddenly all was defeated by the arrival of
two envoys from Traubenberg. This general had reached
the fortress of Orsk, after a very painful march, on the
12th of April; thence he set forward toward Oriembourg,
which he reached upon the 1st of June, having been 10
joined on his route at various times through the month
of May by the Kirghises and a corps of ten thousand
Bashkirs. From Oriembourg he sent forward his official
offers to the Khan, which were harsh and peremptory,
holding out no specific stipulations as to pardon or 15
impunity, an exacting unconditional submission as the
preliminary price of any cessation from military operations.
The personal character of Traubenberg, which
was anything but energetic, and the condition of his
army, disorganized in a great measure by the length and 20
severity of the march, made it probable that, with a little
time for negotiation, a more conciliatory tone would have
been assumed. But, unhappily for all parties, sinister
events occurred in the meantime such as effectually put
an end to every hope of the kind. 25
The two envoys sent forward by Traubenberg had
reported to this officer that a distance of only ten days'
march lay between his own headquarters and those of
the Khan. Upon this fact transpiring, the Kirghises, by
their prince Nourali, and the Bashkirs, entreated the 30
Russian general to advance without delay. Once having
placed his cannon in position, so as to command the
Kalmuck camp, the fate of the rebel Khan and his
people would be in his own hands, and they would
themselves form his advanced guard. Traubenberg, however
(_why_ has not been certainly explained), refused to
march; grounding his refusal upon the condition of his
army and their absolute need of refreshment. Long
and fierce was the altercation; but at length, seeing no 5
chance of prevailing, and dreading above all other events
the escape of their detested enemy, the ferocious Bashkirs
went off in a body by forced marches. In six days
they reached the Torgau, crossed by swimming their
horses, and fell upon the Kalmucks, who were dispersed 10
for many a league in search of food or provender for
their camels. The first day's action was one vast succession
of independent skirmishes, diffused over a field
of thirty to forty miles in extent; one party often breaking
up into three or four, and again (according to the 15
accidents of ground) three or four blending into one;
flight and pursuit, rescue and total overthrow, going on
simultaneously, under all varieties of form, in all
quarters of the plain. The Bashkirs had found themselves obliged,
by the scattered state of the Kalmucks, to split up into 20
innumerable sections; and thus, for some hours, it had
been impossible for the most practised eye to collect the
general tendency of the day's fortune. Both the Khan
and Zebek-Dorchi were at one moment made prisoners,
and more than once in imminent danger of being cut 25
down; but at length Zebek succeeded in rallying a
strong column of infantry, which, with the support of the
camel corps on each flank, compelled the Bashkirs to
retreat. Clouds, however, of these wild cavalry continued
to arrive through the next two days and nights, followed 30
or accompanied by the Kirghises. These being viewed
as the advanced parties of Traubenberg's army, the
Kalmuck chieftains saw no hope of safety but in flight;
and in this way it happened that a retreat, which had so
recently been brought to a pause, was resumed at the
very moment when the unhappy fugitives were anticipating
a deep repose, without further molestation, the whole
summer through.
It seemed as though every variety of wretchedness 5
were predestined to the Kalmucks, and as if their sufferings
were incomplete unless they were rounded and
matured by all that the most dreadful agencies of summer's
heat could superadd to those of frost and winter.
To this sequel of their story we shall immediately revert, 10
after first noticing a little romantic episode which occurred
at this point between Oubacha and his unprincipled
cousin, Zebek-Dorchi.
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