Life of Schamyl

Life of Schamyl, by John Milton Mackie

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Title: Life of Schamyl And Narrative of the Circassian War of Independence Against Russia
Author: John Milton Mackie
Release Date: September 7, 2007 [EBook #22533]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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Produced by John Puh

[Transcriber's note: Obvious printer's errors have been corrected, author's spelling has been retained.]

LIFE OF SCHAMYL

LIFE OF SCHAMYL;
AND
NARRATIVE
OF THE
CIRCASSIAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE AGAINST RUSSIA.
BY
J. MILTON MACKIE,
AUTHOR OF "COSAS DE ESPA?A"
BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY JOHN P. JEWETT AND COMPANY. CLEVELAND, OHIO: JEWETT, PROCTOR AND WORTHINGTON. NEW YORK: SHELDON, LAMPORT AND BLAKEMAN.
1856.

PREFACE.
The principal authors who have recently written on Circassia are Bodenstedt, Moritz Wagner, Marlinski, Dubois de Montp��reux, Hommaire de Hell, Taillander, Marigny, Golovin, Bell, Longworth, Spencer, Knight, Cameron, Ditson; and from their pages chiefly has been filled the easel with the colors of which I have endeavored to paint the following picture of a career of heroism nowise inferior to that of the most famous champions of classical antiquity, of a war of independence such as may not improperly be compared with the most glorious struggles recorded in the annals of liberty, and of a state of society perhaps the most romantic and the most nearly resembling that described in the songs of Homer which the progress of civilization has now left for the admiration of mankind.

CONTENTS.
I. The Land of Schamyl II. Its History III. The War with Russia IV. His Birthplace V. His Parents, Atalik, and Teacher VI. His Early Education VII. His Horsemanship VIII. The Circassian Games IX. His Love of Nature X. Hunting XI. Camping Out XII. In the White Mountains XIII. Songs XIV. Dances XV. Festivals XVI. His Religious Education XVII. His Marriage XVIII. Maids XIX. Wives XX. Female Slave-Trade XXI. Form of Government XXII. Religious Belief XXIII. Occupations XXIV. Manners XXV. His Predecessors.--Mahomet-Mollah XXVI. Khasi-Mollah XXVII. Hamsad Bey XXVIII. Circassian Mode of Warfare XXIX. Russian Mode of Warfare XXX. His Personal Appearance XXXI. Becomes Imam, and Continues the War XXXII. Issues Proclamations XXXIII. His Head-Quarters at Akhulgo XXXIV. The Siege of Akhulgo XXXV. The Expedition against Dargo XXXVI. His Domestic Life XXXVII. Prince Woronzoff at Dargo XXXVIII. Schamyl's Proclamation to the Kabardians XXXIX. His Invasion of the Kabardas XL. His System of Government XLI. Recent Events

LIFE OF SCHAMYL.

I.
THE LAND OF SCHAMYL.
Circassia--under which name the country occupied by a great number of tribes of which the Circassians are one, is best known to foreigners--lies in the Caucasus, a range of mountains which, running in the direction between north-west and south-east, extends from the shores of the Black Sea to those of the Caspian, and divides by its wall of rock the two continents of Europe and Asia.
The traveller approaching these mountains from the steppes inhabited by the Cossacks subject to Russia, beholds at a distance of thirty miles a single white conical summit towering high above the otherwise level horizon. This is the peak of Elbrus, the loftiest in the Caucasian chain, and called by the natives the Dsching Padischah, or great spirit of the mountains. Next, is seen the no less solitary top of Kasbek, situated further eastward, and its snows tinged by the first red rays of the morning. Then, the whole line of summits, "the thousand peaked," rises to view; and finally, a lower range covered with forests, and hence called the Black Mountains, draws its dark and irregular outline against the higher snows beyond.
The waters shed from the northern declivities of the Caucasus, are received by two principal rivers, the Kuban and the Terek; while those which flow down on the south side are gathered into the Rion and the Kur, or ancient Cyrus. Of these streams the Kuban is the largest, and empties itself as does the Rion, into the Black Sea; the other two running eastward to the Caspian.
The western portion more especially of the Black Mountains is heavily wooded. Gigantic oaks spread their branches above cliffs and summits, where in less favored climes only the cold pine would be able to find a scanty subsistence; while the spray of the Black Sea is dashed against the immense stems of the blood-wooded taxus, and the red and almond-leaved willows sweep with their long branches the waves. The box here is a giant of the forest; the stern of the juniper measures often fifteen feet in circumference; and the vine climbing to the top of the lofty elm sends its tendrils across to the neighboring beech, hanging festoons from tree-top to tree-top, and almost