He made himself
master of all the country which stretches as far as the Ischim,
terrifying by his vengeance those who dared resist him, and sparing
those who lay down their arms. In the country of Sargaty there lived an
illustrious old man, a former Tartar chief, a hereditary judge of all
the tribes since the first khan of Siberia. He made the act of
submission as well as Prince Etichai, who governed the city of Tehend.
The latter, bearing tribute to Iermak, presented his young daughter,
betrothed to the son of Kutchum. But the hetman, a rigid observer of the
laws of chastity, sent the young girl home. Near the mouth of the
Ischim, a bloody quarrel arose between the soldiers of Iermak and the
wild inhabitants of that wretched country, in which five brave Cossacks
lost their lives. Their memory is still celebrated in the melancholy
songs of Siberia. The little town of Tachatkan also fell into the power
of the Russians. Their chief did not judge it advisable to attack a more
important place, founded by Kutchum, on the banks of the lake Aussaklu.
He penetrated as far as the shore of Chische, where the deserts begin;
imposed tributes on this new conquest, and returned to take to Isker the
spoils which were to be his last trophies.
FIRST COLONY OF ENGLAND BEYOND SEAS
A.
Pages:
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352