was left at the head of only a few hundred followers. But, if the
Cossack hordes could be easily dissipated, they could rally with equal
ease; and on several occasions, when the rebellion seemed to be
completely crushed, it suddenly burst out afresh, and Pugatscheff, who
was supposed to be hiding like a hunted criminal, appeared at the head
of a larger force than ever. Thus at one time scarcely 100 men
followed him to a retreat in the Ural Mountains: in a few days he was
at the head of 20,000 men, and took Casan by storm, with the exception
of the citadel, which resisted his most determined attacks. Here he
perpetrated the greatest atrocities, until the imperial troops arrived
and wrested the town from his grasp, seizing his artillery and his
ammunition. For a time his position appeared desperate, and he fled
across the Volga, but only to re-appear again at the head of an
enormous force, and, as a conqueror, fortress after fortress yielding
at his summons. At length a Russian army under Colonel Michelsohn
overtook him and gave him battle. Pugatscheff held a strong position,
had 24 pieces of artillery and 20,000 men, but his raw levies were no
match for the regular troops. His position was turned, and a panic
seized his followers, who deserted their guns and their baggage, and
fled precipitately, leaving 2000 dead and 6000 prisoners behind them.
Pugatscheff himself made for the Volga, closely pursued by the Russian
cavalry, who cut down the half of his escort before they could embark.
With sixty men he succeeded in escaping into the desert, and at last
it was evident that his game was played out. The only three outlets
were soon closed by separate detachments of the imperial troops, and
the fugitives were thus confined in an arid waste without shelter,
without provisions, and without water. The situation was so hopeless
that each man only thought of saving himself, and Pugatscheff's
companions were not slow to perceive that their sole chance of life
lay in sacrificing their leader. Accordingly, they fell upon him while