Schamyl arriving at the head of his riders,—alas! for him, too late,—attacked the column of invasion as it was about coming out of the forests. Having intrusted his foot-soldiers to his principal murids, he had been going the rounds of the aouls, collecting his mounted men, and not expecting that the enemy would so soon turn back. Had he arrived on their line of march two days earlier, not a Russian of them all would have ever again seen a krepost. As it was, two thousand left their bones in the woods to be picked by wolves and vultures. The rest succeeded in reaching Girsel-aoul, a fortress on the line about fifty miles north of Dargo, but in sorry plight indeed. Preparations had been made there for a military triumph, with salvos of cannon, music, and colors flying; and the minister of war, Prince Tschernitscheff, had most inopportunely arrived to witness it; but instead he beheld the battalions marching in with faintly beating drums, the men haggard from fatigue and want of food, their uniform tattered and blood-stained, and the officers sadder still at the loss of so many brave soldiers sacrificed in vain.
When some months afterward the minister of war made to the emperor his report on the state of affairs in the Caucasus, General Grabbe was immediately recalled, and his chief, Governor-general Golowin, likewise.
XXXVI.
HIS DOMESTIC LIFE.
Schamyl's head-quarters continued for several years to be at Dargo, where aided by Polish deserters he built a residence somewhat superior in style to the houses generally seen in the eastern Caucasus. It was surrounded by a double row of strong palisades with a filling of small stones and earth, and was approached through a single gateway guarded by sentinels. Near this, on the inner side, stood a tower for defence, irregular in shape, and built of stone. Still beyond was the principal building in the inclosure inhabited by the Imam and his harem. Like the tower, this was constructed of stones not, as is usually the case, smeared on the sides by clay, but laid in a kind of mortar; was of two stories, with a stairway outside leading to the chambers; had a verandah on one side and a balcony on the other; and was covered by a flat roof from which frowned a couple of Russian six-pounders. There were also several smaller outbuildings for the servants, the guard, and for the storing of provisions. Of these there were always kept on hand a considerable quantity, such as maize, wheat, barley, and millet, all preserved in large casks hollowed out of logs. In the inclosure was likewise a fountain of water brought down from the hills, besides stalls for horses, pens for cattle, and coops for poultry. A number of murids were always on guard about the establishment; and when Schamyl went to the mosque they walked by his side with drawn shaskas.
If built in other respects like the Circassian dwellings, as is probable, the house would have but a single door, only a few small windows to admit the light, and these very likely of either parchment or paper. Generally the floor is of hard earth, which is kept cleanly swept, is sprinkled in hot weather with water, and is partially covered with mats. Around two or three sides of the room runs the divan; the chimney is constructed in an outer wall not projecting into the room as in the houses of the western Caucasus; and there is very little furniture. The divan, however, answers the purpose of both seat and bed; for while during the daytime the inhabitants sit upon it on their heels after the fashion of the Turks, at night with the addition of mattresses, pillows, and coverlets, it is a sufficiently convenient couch for the Asiatic, who lies down to rest without undressing. In summer many persons have their mattresses spread under the verandah; or, wrapping themselves in their felt bourkas, lie down to their repose under the trees. But in winter all sleep around the fire, the warmest corner being always occupied by the master of the house, an elder, or a guest, in case there be one.
If the proprietor is rich the divan will be furnished at considerable expense, it being the custom of eastern Asia to lavish expenditure more upon the furniture of the habitation than upon the habitation itself. Covered with red leather and stuffed with hair, the divan is supplied with cushions of some dark, rich silk, and bolsters sprigged with gold and silver; its mattresses are bordered with velvet; the coverlet is of quilted brocade, or a gay muslin of various colors studiously arranged, and fringed with satin; and there may even be clean white sheeting. Above the divan the walls will be hung with beautifully wrought matting or carpets brought from Stamboul. Small tablets likewise are sometimes placed around the room, inscribed with verses from the Koran in the Arabic characters. But the principal ornament of the walls are the arms, which, suspended from wooden pegs, gleam and flash in the fire-light—sabres, pistols, rifles, coats of mail, bows and quivers, besides bridles, saddles, and housings. For on entering the house, the warrior lays aside all his weapons save the poniard, and his guest does the same.
The apartments for females and children are always separate from the others, and are frequently in a building by itself. Here with no look-out from windows on the passing world, the news of which it would be an impropriety in a Circassian to question his wives about, they ply their tasks, spinning, weaving, embroidering, and knitting silver lace in an obscurity illumined by scanty rays of sunlight. The walls of these apartments are hung with dresses, not with arms. Strung also upon lines across the room are various specimens of female industry, as embroidered napkins, handkerchiefs, veils, silken bodices, and anteris glittering with threads of gold and silver; in the corners are piles of large boxes containing the bedding of the house; while on shelves are arranged china and glass ware, with various culinary utensils of brass, copper, or glazed pottery, kept for show, while the wooden are for use. Here also the loom has its place, at which are woven all the plainer stuffs worn in the family.