“As I looked on, the hero’s might
Shone forth in that terrific fight;
’Twas on Muhammad-Kula’s[167] plain—
Such fight I ne’er shall see again.
His arrows hurtling in swift course,
His breast enkindled with strange force,
He drew from out its sheath his blade—
‘Rather than weary life give death,
Free from captivity,’ he saith,
And fierce assault upon Ermák he made.