Plymouth advertiser. [volume] (Plymouth, Ohio) 1853-1988, 1854-09-23

the Gar Peters last will and testament |
The modern war of Clrcussian independ.
ence, began in 1929. Mahommed the
Mollah, was then the chief Cadi or Judge
of Jarach, n place situated in the small |
province Of Kuriu, in the highlands of
Lesghis,an, This wisest Mollah, or
priest, of his district had many disciples,
who were trained up by him as his sue
ceSsors in the ministry, to spread tho
doctrines Of the Koran. One uf the
most jealous Of these vas Khas- -Mahom,
med, who shortly appeared in the field, n,
the head of large body of the faithful,
| TO resist, exterminate, and drive forth the
Russians from their country, where they
had defled the mosques, ill-trented The
women, and stirred up general aversion
and hatred. kind of religious revival
was at the same time Preached by Ma
hommed the Mollah, and lIadji IsmaiI,
another earnest mahcmhedan, which
rapidly spread amongst the people, and
the preservation of their liberties was in
this revival sublimed into an act Of duty
and Of worship. |! was proclaimed, Gall
yout aims, all your wa,chngs and pray
ers, all your pilgrimages to Mecca, avail
you naughl, 50 long as the eye Of Mus
covile looks upon ,hom. Who can serve
both Allah and the Muscovies :" And
then the people responded with all their
might, "Moslem ! war agains, the infdel I!
| Death and destruction to the Gaiour -
The Russian general heard of these do
| ngs, and sent force to seize the MolIah
Mahommed but he escaped them. And
| then burst ont the war in Eastern Circas-
sia, which has ragged ever since, 1t has
! now extended over a period of nearly
hirty years, and still the brave Circas.
SLAMS are unsubdued, are indeed, stronger
| than ever.
The first Circassian war.chief was
Khasi- Mahommed. or AIoIlah. above
mentioned. He defeated the Russians
several battles, beseiged and destroyed
several of their stronghoIds, but was at
las, pursued by the Russians, and besieged
in Cimri, where he shut himself up with
his followers. The Russian artillery
battered the place to pieces, but they did
not obtain possession Of it till The Nos.
lens were shot and buvonet,ei to the last
man. The Mollah was found dead. sur.
rounded by the corpses of sixty Of his
followers and at his feet lay his chief
Murid, Schamyl, with two bullets and
bayonet wound in his body, apparently
dead also. TIE Russians carried away
the corpse of the Molah. but left that of
Schamyl, who surviyed.-hs first appar.
emily miraculous escape. In month
afterwards, he was the active lieutenant
Of khasi- -Mollah's successor, Hamsad
Beg. This chief, however, wanted zeal,
vigor and military genius. He accom-
plished nothing against the Russians, but
made many personal enemies among the
tribes by his cruellies, and was shortly
after assassina!ed by some of the out
ragged chiefs, who. af,Ca numbering him,
= surrounded the wooden fort in which his
murds had taken shelter, fired the place,
| and all within it perished-save Schamyl,
) whose escape from the fire and sword of
; his enemies was the second miracle of
his life. This was in 1884, since which
year Schamyl has been the recognised
leader and hero of the brave Circassians
} battling the Russians for twenty wears,
and beating them in O hundred battles,
from which he has emerged scalheless, as
} it by repeated miracles. No wonder
tha. his people regard him as protected
by superhuman power-hailing him as
) their prophet>hero,a ,and invincible Moluh.
Schamyl acquired his most valuable
: knowledge in the school of adversely and
defeat. By being beaten, he OF length
: learned the art Of beating the Russians.
After fighting bloody battle with the in
: vaders. in which he was defeated with
the loss of 1900 men, at Arguani, in
) 1880, Schamyl retreated across the noun.
tains to his fortalice at Akhulgo, a place
} built upon lofty rocks, fortified by trench.
es, earthen parapets and covered ways.
! Hither he was followed by the Russians
and their artillery, under General Grabbe,
who determined on storming the place.
The stormers fell back with a loss of Two.
thirds of their number and the Russian
artillery played on fercer than ever. An
other terrible assault was made, and the
Russians succeeded in obtaining possess
sion of some of the outworks of the for.
tress. For the next four days Akhulgo
was scene of indescrbaole horror. The
Russians fought with ferocious bravery !;
the Circassians, men and women, mad
i. with rage and despair, and hopeless Of
life, made their las. aim the destruction
Of as many as possible Of the accursed
Muscovites. The Russians gradually
/ forced themselves into the fortress, but
/ their loss ives terrible. The Circassian
women assembled on the rocks above,
united their strength in detaching huge
stones from the cliff and rolling them
down the steep, crushing many Russians
J in their fall. And when the women a!
last found that their resistance, like that Of
their bands, was in vain, they hurled
their children down the abyss and leaped
'after them. The place was taken, but
Schamyl again escaped. The writer 10