The incidents in the east, in the Kabardey and Çeçen regions, had their impact on the moral of the people in the so-called peaceful areas such as the Kuban basin and the Coastal strip. In isolated localities with poor means of communication with outside world, the people maintained their daily life as usual, unaware of the situations elsewhere.  In contrast those who could follow the undesirable developments in the east or had access to the news had been highly agitated.

            Bastiko Pşımef and Geriyiko Şemız had personal experience about the tyranny, which the people in the east had been suffering.  They were profoundly disturbed by the events there. 

            There was not a slightest doubt about an impending Russian onslaught on western Caucasia once the claws of Russian military power had firmly grasped eastern and southern Caucasia. It was widely estimated that the fall of the Ottoman fortifications along the northern coast of the Black Sea would further aggravate the situation. 

            Pşımef wished concrete and viable measures be taken before it was too late.  What they ought to do foremost was to set a local government, he stressed. 

            There were, however, few people around to share his views.

            Geriyiko Şemız,  Geriyoko Ali, Şurukyiyo Duğuj, Indaryiko Nogay, Batmazyiko Ali were his most intimate associates.  The Geriyiko brothers, in addition being his relatives by marriage, have been more conveniently accessible.  However, he could not adequately communicate his ideas even to them. 

            The elders were more prejudiced.  They were not willing to exceed the limits of traditions. 

            Geriyiko Hazret had passed away.  Geriyiko Seyin was too old to yield to innovations.  He had firm faith in the correctness of the path the family had been following.  He would never condone a new approach. 

            Was it the case with the Geriyikos only?  All the leading families at the coast, the Indaryikos, Şurukyikos, Çipakos, Abbats, Havudukos, and other were no different.  They were guided by their intuitions rather than their intellect.  The interest of the family and its prestige overshadowed all other considerations, and were not permitted to be questioned.

            Pşımef’s father-in-law, Geriyiko Seyin was a well-to-do person with influence in Tsemez and its neighborhood.  His elder son Kasey was as conservative as his father, and cared for nothing but business and accumulating wealth.  His younger son Ali, however was different in temperament.  He was extrovert, visionary and daring. 

            With the support of Ali and Şemiz, Pşımef endeavored to solicit his father-in-law’s support in promoting his ideas.  To begin with he briefed him on the developments in Kabardey and stressed the need for certain measures.  “As you see the Paşa of Fort Anapa intends to come out of the fort.  In anticipation of the same we must establish our own self-rule”, Pşımef underlined. 

            Geriyiko Seyin, in fact,  justified his son-in-law.  However, he had misgivings about his ability to convince others along Pşımef’s ideas.  The relation among the families on the coast was based on a check and  balance.  Any violations of the established order or precedence was regarded as a factor disturbing the balance.  In that event friction emerged between the families involved, which in turn would completely disrupted the apparent communal unity. 

            Pşemef’s  plans were far-reaching and were beyond comprehension of Seyin and others.  Seyin talked about the regime on the coast; while Pşımef wanted all the tribes in the west be united under a single  government.  And more; he dreamed of a federal state comprising the whole of Caucasia. 

            In the presence of the elders he talked  restrained.  While talking to his friends he was at ease.  Despite his oratory and influence he could not convince his associates. 

            Geriyiko Şemız and Şurukyiko were not in a position to consider any further than the established order.  They were daring and aggressive persons, seeking adventure; but not good at entertaining new ideas. 

            Geriyiko Ali and Batmazyiko Ali were very much akin in temperament.  So they put up very well.  Pşımef liked both of them.  He called them the “Ali brothers”.

            One group of Pşımef ‘s associates had acquired individual freedom of action as their way of life.  Şemız was a typical representative of those in this category.  No one could predict where he could be at a given time.  He used to spend a greater part of the year away from his residence.  Sometimes by himself he would go to the Kuban Front-line, and would not return home for months At a time he would turn up on board of a vessel that entered  the harbor; and would cheerfully declare :“just returned from Istanbul”. 

            The second group were more rational.  They believed in “unity is strength”.   Geriyiko Ali in particular, organized his daily life according to a certain plan.  He would necessarily consult his associates before doing anything that would concern the community.

            Pşımef was fond of his friends irrespective of their thought, and their characteristics.  He had confidence in them.  He, however, looked for certain qualities and aptitude in the individuals who would assume leadership of the community. Most important of all he wanted to work with intellectual persons, persons who could think and could reason. 

            He spared no effort to have the concurrence of his associates on a given point, to unite them over an agreed program.  He would talk on Russia, on the Ottoman Empire, and on the incidents along the front line; and finally would concluded by inferring how much divided and helpless the Caucasians had been. 

            His friends, however, had been disgusted with his  rhetoric”.  Particularly Şemız wouldn’t listen him, would smirk as he started talking.  “The talkative Basti is back at his job again”, he would announce. 

            In such instances Pşımef would cut short.  He would regretfully gaze at his audience.  He was sorry for his people, who could not to see the approaching menace. 
 
 

O0O
 
 
 
 

            The new Basti quarters, built by Pşımef and his friends at the Kutak Village outside Tsemez, gradually expanded virtually into another village. The population comprised of  eighty souls in twelve independent households.  It developed  to an attractive colony,  the residents of which , excluding the vassal Nogays, had come from the Psıfabe Valley. 

            Pşımef’s wife gave birth to five children, of which two died  in infancy.  His second son Ahmet was a healthy boy.  His daughter  Goşemef  was a charming girl. 

            Basti Janbek and Natho Melah, who had joined the group later, each had three children.  The Pşılı and the Nogay families in the Basti colony together were more populous than the rest.  Pşılı Ortan’s wife Tateme gave birth to one child each year. 

            Ortan was the architect and the most hard working member of the community.  He organized the labor.  He had the largest number of children in the colony.

            The Psifabe Colony, which in fact consisted of twelve families, in effect was a single family, thanks to the harmony and solidarity, which the  families individually maintained. 

            That was not what Bastiko Smayl had contemplated.  The developments strayed off the planned course.  Unanticipated additions were allowed.  Yeftale Famok, Bjafe Pezad and Koce Eşav had joined the colony on the invitation of  Pşımef.  They were followed by Natho Melah and Biyenko Bital.  They were by no means junior to Bastiko Pşımef; but yet had accepted him as their leader.

            Pşımef, though apparently was the chief of the colony, did not in effect assumed any substantial responsibility. Actually his mother directed the whole affair, and Pşılı Ortan was the one to see her instructions are carried out. 

            Goşemid was an old lady by now. Years of worry, hard work and the  age had deepened the creases on her face, and had tempered her impetuousness and impatience.  Nevertheless with her strong will power and  sound reasoning  she maintained her absolute authority.  Now she was more docile, accommodative and affectionate.  She showed her appreciation or dislike with the movement of her eye-brows. She seldom verbally expressed her reactios; for the people around her were accustomed to read on her face what she meant. 

            Şayze, Pşımef’s wife’s was Goşemid’s  most intimate companion.  She was a sociable and unpretentious  person.  She never behaved haughty or snobbish for having come from an affluent grand family.  She has been sincere and affectionate towards her mother-in-law and the rest of the community. 

            Almas, wife of Bjafe Famok, on the other hand, was the most hard-headed and snobbish of all the women in the Psıfabe colony. She was too much conscious of having brought up in a superior environment, which was reflected  in her condescending manner toward others.  She was scrupulous with Goşemid alone

            Excluding Dişase, Natho Melah’s wife,  none of the female members of the colony cared much about the self-conceited manner of Almas.  They tried to receive her condescending manner with forbearance. Dişase, however, could not tolerate it.  She had adapted herself to the life style and the social manners current at the coast within a short span of time.  She had the urge to let Almas appreciate that the people of the Psıfabe Valley too were a proud community with self-esteem.  From time to time, therefore, she retaliated Almas’s haughtiness. 

            Goşemid had lived for quite a good time in the crowded Basti World. She was experienced in that.  Therefore, she received such frictions in the colony with tolerance and understanding.  She could deal with such problems  merely by casting a glance at the actor. 

            Many years ago  the Geriyikos had sponsored founding an elementary school in Kutak, in the backyard of the village mosque, where the children were   educated in reading the Holy Qur’an, and subjects  pertaining to faith and good conduct. 

            Albek Hoca¹ had grown too old to carry on with his functions.  Geriyiko Seyin provided him with an assistant, a young hafiz²  from Istanbul, named Hasan Efendi. 

            Hasan Efendi was one of the clerics invited from Turkey to Caucasia by the Paşa of Fort Anapa.  Having stayed  for some time in Fort Soğucak  and in the harbor town of  Tsemez, he had picked up the Adiğe language.   He had taken residence at the Kutak village upon Seyin’s persistent request. 

            Hasan Efend’s wife also was able to read and write. The couple, together, have been engaged in teaching  without both male and female students being discriminated, except that the class-room barrack was partitioned to make room for separate compartment for boys and girls. 

            About twenty children from the Psıfabe colony attended the school.  All of them performed well. Pşımef’s son Ahmet, Serkuse Asna’s daughter Kubihan, and Pşılı Ortan’s son Şerl were the outstanding ones.

            Goşemid was particular about the care of the school going children.  She took pride in their performance.  At times she invited the senior ones at her house to read the holy Qur’an for her. 

            In her childhood she too had attended Imam Koblı’s school in Çığızaç. Now she could remember very little of what she was taught the.  However, she refreshed a few of the  prayer Suras,³ which she had learnt in her childhood; as the children recited them for her. 

            She has been in the coast for over twenty years  now.  Some times she missed her relatives terribly.  Since the death of her mother, however, it was not that difficult for her to suppress it. Yet she never seriously thought of visiting the Psıfabe Valley.  She had gotten used to be satisfied with the news brought to her by visitors from the Valley.  She maintained the decision she had taken right at the beginning while leaving her home. 

            Several of the elder members of her own family and that of the Bastis had expired in the meantime.  She had been profoundly grieved and had been  distressed by the sense of helplessness that troubled her on such occasions. 

            The expanding Basti quarter at Kutak and  the ever growing young population under her care seemed to have overshadowed her nostalgia for the Psıfabe Valley.  Whatever she had left behind was about to be erased from her memory.  At times she could not remember the faces of her dearest ones back at home. 

            Goşemid had accepted the bitter reality:  Everyone at the coast, including herself, had been sentimentally detached from the Psıfabe Valley.  The news exchanged through the travelers only helped to sustain the memory. 

            Notwithstanding the frame of mind she so doggedly maintained, Goşemıd wanted her children should  be informed of certain facts.  Occasionally she narrated them stories about the Psıfabe Valley, about their village and about their relatives there; and suggested the virtues of visiting the old home. 

            Though she tried to appear dispassionate while talking to the children, she often failed to suppers her being homesick.  She had to make extra effort to avoid bursting into tears. 

            Goşemıd particularly measured her words in the presence of  the wives of Natho Melah  and Biyenko Bital, who had come from the Valley not long ago; so as not to excite their nostalgia.  The two ladies frequently complained of missing their relatives, and sobbed.
 
 

O0O 
 
 
 
 

        Business formed the principal means of income of the family.  Bastiko Pşımef had let his cousin Janbek to take over the business management; but had retained all the decision making authority in his own hand.  Although he was preoccupied in politics, and has been running from one meeting to the other; yet he could spare time to attend to the family’s affairs.  On important matters it was he who said the final word.

            In the process Janbek had been well trained in business.  He had acquired a good command over the affairs.  He did not suffice with trading the goods he received from the Psifabe Valley.  He bought assortments of goods brought from the hinterland to Tsemez for marketing, and exchanged the same with goods imported from abroad by foreign traders.  He also performed as a commission agent, acting as intermediary between the local producer, and native foreign traders.  As such he earned well. 

            Janbek had given emphasis on weapon business on behest of Pşımef.  Especially transaction of imported fire-arms formed a major part of his business.  Gradually he turned up to be one of the few businessmen who monopolized the weapon business in Tsemez. Batmaziyiko Kadir, his father-in-law.  had been of great help to him in the matter. 

            The advantage of business in fire-arms has not been the handsome profit alone.  To own a weapon was a privilege in Caucacia under the conditions of that time; and Pşımef made best use of the advantage.  Beside being a good speaker, he could oblige others by providing them with fire-arms.  The twin advantage helped him to align a number of people on his side, which rendered him one of the distinguished leaders in the coast.  He, therefore,  was in a position to mobilize hundreds and even thousands to take up arms  and set out for action in his company.

            Notwithstanding the power he commanded, Pşımef was down-to-earth.  He did not brag.  His life style was strictly according to the Adiğe traditions.  He was conscious of the fact that one could not make a force by himself.  Therefore he never aspired to become the number one. 

            Nevertheless he preached that the country should be centrally administered.  By that the did not mean he favored a one-man-rule. or the rule of a clique.  What he advocated was a democratic regime directed by a central organ that represented all the tribes. 

            During his first few years in the coast he had highly regarded the elders of the Geriyikos and the Indars. Most of those elders have passed away by now. But yet he venerated their spiritual value, including that of his own father-in-law.  Spiritually he derived  strength form them. 

            Likewise Pşımef had not forgotten his family elders he had left behind in the Psıfabe Valley many years before.  He still longed for the authoritative instructions of his uncles, no matter how advanced his own age was. 

            Neither his advanced age, nor  his wealth and power he mastered in the coast overshadowed the fact that he was a Basti and would remain a Basti.  He would not exceed the status the traditions had designed for him.  He had to stick to the targets, the objectives  his uncles had guided him to. 

            So he was firmly attached to his ancestral roots.  He maintained relations with his people back at home in the same vein now he did as in his early years in the coast. 

            His uncles being too old to visit the coast, maintained communication with the Bastis in the coast through trading caravans and messengers,  who regularly shuttled between the Valley and Tsemez.

            In the recent years Basti Sefer and Basti Perit has been leading the yearly caravans to Tsemez.  Occasionally Karbeç accompanied them. 

            Pşımef has been far from being satisfied with the existing level of contacts.  He wanted the caravan shuttle at least twice of three time a year.  He considered an obligation on his part to realize it.  However, it remained a wishful thinking.

            There were important factors which prevented his wish to materialize.  The people at both ends were aware of the growing disparity, which indeed carried away either wing of the divided family in the direction of their respective predominant life style.

            While the inhabitants of the Psıfabe Valley tended to preserve their   unsophisticated  characteristics, those in the coast had covered some ground towards a more civilized society. There has been a steady improvement in the behavior, implements, and clothing of the people in the coast. 

            Basti Sefer and the others of his kind on each visit to the coast observed  the change in the conduct of the Psıfabe community there; returned home  under the impact of a sort of a strange feeling, a sort of estrangement in relation to their people in the coast. 
 
 

O0O
 
 
 
 
 

            Like any other resident of the coast in 1820s, Pşımef too had received with distress and fear the policy of repression and intimidation implemented by the Russians in Kabardey.  While assessing the often inconsistent and contradictory news reaching him from the area, he had pondered as to the possible effects of the events there on the regions in the west. 

            He had been highly agitated by the operations conducted by Col. Katsirev and Prince Bekovich in the Bjeduğ Region and along the river Shagoşe.

            The Russian forces commanded by the said officers had reached the upstream basin of the river Shagoşe, trespassing the regions inhabited by the Bjeduğ, Mehoş and Kemguy tribes.  The timely intervention by the Paşa of Fort Anapa in the form of a stern Protest Note, which was delivered by Pşımef and a Janissary junior officer, had compelled the Russians to call off the operations. 

            The Russian forces, having turned to ruins the areas they had over-run, had withdrawn to the neighborhood of Miyekope.  In the process the Bjeduğ region received heavy losses both in terms of manpower and economic resources.

            Furthermore; while the Russians troops had established a stronghold in the vicinity of Miyekope township, a mounted Cossack band attacked Şelalar, and had faced a fierce resistance. 

            The Russian aggression against their territories was eefectively retaliated by the Prince of Bjeduğ  as well as by the Şapsığs inhabiting the Shagoşe basin.  They launched a surprise raid on the enemy settlements around Fort Yekatrinodar.  About ten Cossack settlements were burnt down, and whatever livestock available were herded away.

            Then came the Russian counter offensive.  Prince Bekovich had turned the affair to blood-feud.  He had long since forgotten  his own Adiğe background. He sent  a message to the Price of Bjeduğ threatening him: “ I am going to be there soon to hang you to death at the gate of your own residence!” 

            When the echo of the events outlined above reached the coast, all the leading personalities there were agitated.  They were nervous. 

            Geriyiko Şemız was a good friend of Prince Pşıkuy.  The veteran warrior was maddened over the Russian intimidation of the Prince.  Moreover; he was curious about Bekovish.  He had been patiently looking forward to seize an opportunity to confront the hireling. 

            Pşımef had hard time before he could appease Şemız, who Şemız was about to rush out for action with a force of about fifty mounted worriers only.  Pşımef stopped him.  He tried to persuade him to be rational.  It took some time before he cooled down. 

            Pşımef, the so-called Prince of Tsemez, suggested other alternatives: Prince Pşıkuy could manage  a possible attack at the Bjeduğ region.  They needed to mount a more effective assault.  It had to have a deterrent effect on the enemy. 

            Pşımef’s proposal was welcomed by both Şemiz and the others concerned.  It was decided to mount an independent action in the north.  Preparations for the same were begun right away. 

            A meeting was immediately held at the farm-house of the Zanikos, where the other leading personalities were to be consulted, and an action plan was to be drawn. 

            The Commander of Fort Anapa was also invited to the meeting.  The Ottoman Paşa strongly objected the proposed operation lest it should lead to termination of peace and an outbreak of  hostilities.  Zaniko Sefer also shared the Paşa’s fears. 

            The meeting which began in the form of forum to exchange  of opinion was developed into a platform of  fierce arguments. 

            Leaders such as Geriyiko Şemız and  Geriyiko Ali were extremely excited.  They were not prepared to listen to anyone.  They could offend the Paşa at any moment. 

            Pşımef addressed the meeting.  He tried to explain the situation and convince the Paşa as to how imperative the proposed operation had been.  He said,

            - Against us there is an Adiğe who has forgotten his origin.  Time and again he has entered our territories, followed by his hunting dogs.  If we do not teach him a lesson he would repeat the same deeds. 

            The famous Basti was silent for a moment.

            -  Please overlook what we would be doing.  Pretend you were not informed.  We have to represent the sentiment of our people.  We shall shoulder the responsibility of the operation, he said.

            The Paşa left Sefer Bey’s house while the meeting was in progress. 

            The leaders agree to start the operation in the middle of  January⁴ .  The   Adegum Plain was selected as the marshaling area.  Errand boys were immediately sent out to all directions to inform the people concerned about the developments. 

            On the fixed day several thousand horsemen gathered at the Adegum Plain.  They set out immediately. 

            There was a fishers’ camp at  the confluence of the Adegum stream in to the River Kuban.  The Fishermen  had been in good terms with the Cossacks in peace time.  At war, however, they could change side.  They could leave aside their preoccupation, supported the fighters. 

            It was very cold when the operation was started.    The rivers was frozen along the sides and partially elsewhere.  It was highly dangerous to spur the horse into the water.  The Adiğe horsemen crossed the river on the fishermen’s sails. 

            Pşımef had advocated a plan  which could be highly effective.  The persons who were to command the force had welcomed the plan. 

            According to the plan Havuduko  Mansur and Şurukyiko Duğuj, who were familiar with the area, were to make a show of strength in the area between Fort Yekatrinodar and Fort Pavloskaya, attracting the enemy attention on themselves.  The main force, however, was to hit Fort Marinskaya, in the middle of pockets of civilian population  to the west.  They were to retaliate the last Cossack plunder. 

            The treacherous hireling Prince Bekovich, who had earned his fame as cavalry commander, was the principal target of the operations. 

            Pşımef’s plan was literally executed. 

            The horsemen commanded by Havuduku Mansur and Şurukyiko Doğuj initially showed up in front of Fort Yekartrinodar.  Having set the Cossack villages to fire, they turned to the east.  As planned, they entangled the Russian troops at the fort behind them. 

            In the event of an emergency the Russian fort used to alert one another by means of gun fire.  Accordingly Fort Yekartrinodar was  first to fire alarm gun shots. Within a short time the entire front line resounded with gun fire.  The Russian forces from Taman to Stavropol all were put on alarm. 

            This what the Adiğe fighters cherished most.  A small group of fighters could disturb enemy fortifications throughout a several hundred kilometers long front line. 

            All the Russian forces and the Cossack militia from Fort Yekartrinodar to Poavloskaya were set to chase Havuduko Mansur and Şurukyiko Duğuj.  The brave and genius leaders, employing a hit and run tactic  moved towards the steppes in the north.  They engaged the forces chasing them for a long time without involvement in any serious confrontation. 

            The main Adiğe forces, whose command and control Bastiko Pşımef also shared, destroyed about twenty enemy settlements around Marinskaya.  They sworded the males, took the female and children as prisoners, herded away the live-stock.  Protected by the rear-guards, the force withdrew without much loss.

            The main force and the spoil crossed the River. A small detachment, including Yaftale Famok, was left behind in the north to support Havuduko Mansur and Şurukyiko Duğuj.  The tactical plan required so. 

            Nevertheless there was a snag in the implementation of the plan. Havuduko Mansur and Şurukyiko Duğuj did not turn up at rendezvous at the appointed time.  They had to split up in two groups to detract the enemy chasing them.  It took a longer time to join again.  In addition, on their way back they had to fight with Cossack militia bands. 

            The detachment waiting for them in the marshes on the river bank had a hazardous night to pass in cold and hunger; for they could not lit fire for fear of being detected. 

            It was a very cold night.  The party in movement and the party in waiting both experienced an intolerably difficult night.  A few of the horsemen in hideout in the marshes on the bank of the river froze to death.  At least twenty horses met the same fate. 

            At dawn the riders of Havuduko Mansur and Şurukyiko Duğuj were sighted. They were being followed by Russian troops and some Cossacks. 

            The surface of the river had frozen; no one could be sure whether  one could walk over it to safety.  To wait for the enemy to catch up,  and to fight presented an equal degree of risk.   The Adiğe fighters had been badly hit by cold and exhaustion. 

            Havuduko Mansur and Şurukyiko Duğuj gazed at the fighters waiting there to support them.  Each of them had turned to  virtually an ice statue.  From the tassel of their head-wear and from the skirts of their coats dangled pieces of ice.

            Yeftale Famok stood in the foreground.  His jaw trembled and there were tics on his face.  His horse had died, so he carried the saddle on his shoulder.  Non of them was in a condition to fight. 

            Mansur lost no time to decide.  He gazed at the disorderly crowd around himself, and commanded loudly:

           -  We are going to walk over the frozen river to the other side.  Most of you have already done it on several occasions.  There is nothing to be afraid of. 

            He went on after a brief pause,

            -  Do not attempt to cross at one point.  Disperse!

            Those on foot and those on horse back followed Mansur’s instruction. They lined up side by side, extending to the left and  to the right; moved towards the river.

            The right flank had Duğuj in the middle.  The left flank, with Mansur in the middle, moved on when the right flank had advanced about  fifty meters.

            Yeftale Famok  had seen Havuduko Mansur  more than once from some distance, though he was familiar with his fame.  It the present campaign that lent him the opportunity of meeting him personally.  He gazed at Havuduko’s confidence inspiring face, and followed him. 

            Mansur gazed at Famok, who disregarding the line  closely followed him as if touching the tail of his horse. He smiled and addressed Famok:

            - You may get on my horse if you must!

            Famok moved his head up, meaning “No” and replied,

            -  Don’t worry.  I can walk!

            The Russian troops and the Cossacks by then had reached the Kuban Marshes.  Mansur, having assessed the situation commanded fighters to be quick, “ walk fast” he shouted once to his right and then to his left. 

            The Cossacks, who approached the waters, tearing the dried rushes apart, galloped over the frozen river at once, vociferously exciting one another.  They were all in all about fifty. To be on the safe side, some of them had dismount.  They had advanced about twenty or thirty meters when the ice cracked, and all of them suddenly  submerged into the icy waters of Kuban.  The Russian cavalrymen, who had just arrived at the bank of the river, could do nothing but to watch the tragedy, except emptying their already loaded rifles at the Adiğes in vain. 

            Despite the fare distance covered by the Adiğe fighters, a bullet found its way into the shoulder-blade of Yeftale Famok.  He crawled.

            Mansur bent down to pick up Famok from the ground without himself dismounting.  His horse, already in difficulty in trotting over the ice, became peevish.  So Mansur failed to catch Famok. 

            The riders nearby, who had noticed what had been going on, rushed to help. 

            Mansur shouted, “No! Do not come!”  In the meantime about six or seven riders had reached the spot.  The ice cracked at a number of places.  Famok, mansur and the seven riders  submerged under the ice along with their horses. 

            Havuduko Mansur managed to swim up and hold on a piece of ice soon afterwards.  An expert rider threw a lasso, keeping a safe distance;  and so rescued Mansur. 

            The others could not be rescued.  For a while one could sight the heads of a few horses up and down the surface.  Soon all were carried away by the strong water current under the ice. 

            Yeftale Famok and seven riders were drowned before the eyes of several hundreds of his comrades-in-arm.  This incident indeed formed the most tragic episode of the campaign. 

            Bastiko Pşımef and the other commanders had in the meantime camped outside the Kuban Marches, to on the south bank and waited for the rear-guards to catch up.  They were shocked at the news of the tragedy.

            Pşımef rode back to the bank of the river.  Gazed for some time at the spot where the crack had occurred.  He could not reason as to how an experienced fighter like Famok could be a victim of such an accident. 

            Across the river there had gathered several hundred Russian soldiers and Cossacks.  At several points they had set the rushes on fire; and provoked the Adiğe fighter through  gesticulation. 

            Şurukyiko Duğuj retaliated them in the same vain.  He and his men stood in readiness to counter any action that the enemy might attempt.

            Havukudo Mansur survived  with injuries on his left leg, and his whole body stiff and numb.  Those experienced in dealing with such situations immediately undressed him, rubbed his body, mostly his chest; and massaged his limbs. for a long time.  Finally he was wrapped with a yamça⁵. 

            The famous leader recovered before long,  his left leg  crippled. 
 
 

O0O
 
 
 
 

            Generally speaking the operation directed by Bastiko Pşımef was successfully concluded.  The Russian intransigence in the Bjeduğ and the Kemguy regions and in the Shagoşe basin was amply retaliated.  There were certain mishaps too which could not be avoided. The loss of Yeftale Famok was a typical example. 

            The Famok incident was highly distressing for Pşımef.  His pride of having triumphantly returned from the campaign in north of the river Kuban, was overshadowed by the grief of the death of his dearest old friend.  He was nonplus, at a loss what to say and what to do. 

            He had lived his childhood, adolescence and youthful years together with  Famok in Çığızaç, Psıfabe Valley.  He had followed him to the coast.    The had shared a common fate,  had endured a lot of difficulties together. And now he was returning home without him.
 

             He had particularly wished Yeftale Famok and Biyenko Bital  to come along with him for the campaign. For both had been seasoned fighters by then.  Both had taken part in numerous raids. 

            Pşımef was virtually guilty conscious; had no heart to carry the inauspicious news home himself.  He asked Bital to proceed home in advance. 

            Famok’s wife, Sirse came from a middle class family of the coast.  She was a calm and sober lady.  She had won the affection and appreciation of every one in the colony for her cooperative nature. 

            Yeftale Famok and Sisre had six children.  Two had died in infancy.  The eldest of their surviving  issue, Hacımet, was past adolescence.  Next came Hamız.  Their daughters, Karej, Nefin and Skurin were as gracefully built as their sons. The former was popular for her virile temperament.   The latter two were yet in their early childhood, their look reflected intelligence.  Skurin too had a masculine temperament. 

            A heart rendering morning touched off as the inauspicious news reached Psıfabe colony in Kutak.  Sirse seemed to have reconciled with the loss of her husband in the beginning.  While the other women in the colony cried aloud, she sat quiet, her head covered with a black scarf.  The cries of his two daughters resounded the space.  The youngest one was too young to understand what had happened.  Hacımet and Hamız stood helpless outside the house, their eyes fixed far away.  Other children of the colony stood around the two brothers forming a large circle. 

            Goşemid was a symbol of patience and endurance.  She sat next to Sirse, her head upright, despite her advanced age.  Conscious that there could be no need to talk, she was silent. 

            To Goşemid the incident was not a surprise.  Each time when her son and others  went out for action, she took it for granted that one or more of them might not return.  That was an unavoidable  consequence of a fighting.  She knew she could lose her dear ones one by one in due course.  She had reconciled with her fate in advance.

            What scared her were not what happened in far away places.  Such events could inflict distress  lasting for not too long.  The surviving members could ensure continuity of the community, and the wounds could be redressed in due course.  The future could be  more  disastrous.   The consuming flames of the war could touch their own door step.  Then there could come the real calamity.  Everything could then be destroyed. 

            She could not suggest her son and his companions not to go away; not to be involved in dangerous activities.  To be so self-seeking was extremely disgraceful, and could provide a remedy for nothing.

            In fact, however, they did not do what they did seeking adventure.  They risked their own lives to thwart the threat against the very existence of the community, which intensified year by year and day by day.

            The menace finally faced was not of ordinary nature.  It was not transitory like the summer hail storm, the winter blizzard.  It was unlike the horde of plunderers  from the steppes, whose stories their fathers had narrated them.  The present menace meant to stay; demanded them to surrender whatever they possessed. 

            Biyenko Bital arrived in the village at noon time.  The news spread in all quarters in no time.  The Basti quarters in Kutak was crowded with visitors. 

            Many a young men from the Kutak village had volunteered to join the campaign.  The aged fathers and mothers, while morning for Famok, were anxious about their own sons too.  Therefore most of them had clustered around Bital. 

            Biyenko Bital was in difficulty to answer the quires of the grieved and anxious crowd; for he did not have the latest list of the missing persons.   He tried to console them by saying that the campaign was successful, and that except a few cases of freezing, there had been not much casualty. 

            As the initial excitement subsided, Bjafe Pezad and Serkuse Asha ushered the village priest and some of the elders to the guest-house. The two came in and out of the guest-house, and also watched what was going on in the courtyard. 

            Those who were left out of the guest house stood in groups, talking in subdued voice.  Natho Melah attended the visitors in the courtyard.

            Goşemid kept on sitting, deeply immersed in the painful thought, not attending to the wailing women.  She  got up when it was almost evening time.  She gazed at Şayze, her daughter-in-law, who seemed the most self controlled.  She signaled Şayze with a movement of head to follow her. 

            Pşılı Ortan stood at a little distance away from the groups of male visitors.  Next to him stood Pşılı Marde and his son Laşin.

            Ortan listened to the wailing of the women that sounded liked  humming, and at the same time watched the children of the colony who had gathered at the entrance of Famok’s house.  He was uneasy, for he did not know what to do.  He constantly chewed the tips of his over grown mustaches.

            Ortan lifted up his head lightly at the sight of Goşemıd and Şayze.  He felt his heart a bit relaxed.  He approached the ladies, and gazed at them with a look inquiring whether there was anything that he could do. 

            Goşemid too was at a loss what to do. At her place there was a funeral without a coffin.  Hoping that she could seek the advice of  Albek Hoca and Hasan Efendi, the Village Imam, as to what had to be done under the circumstances, she decided to have a talk with the Muslim priests. 

            She could not go in to the guest-house; for it was too crowded there.  She sent in Ortan and summoned Serkuse.  She asked him to convey her query to the priests. 

            In the meantime Şayze had started to prepare the evening meal.  He was being assisted by Pşılı Ortan’s wife Tatme, and other young girls.  Pşılı Laşin’s wife Hafidze and Şamir’s wife Selime had lighted fire in the hearth under the shed.

            Under normal conditions the neighbors did not neglect the deceased’s household.  They used to feed them. However, the neighbors could not be expected  to feed such a large household as the one in the present case.  So Şeyze had her sleeves rolled up. 

            The best way to feed the large gathering was to cook  paste⁶. 

            Goşemıd lighted two oil candles in the living room, excited the fire in room hearth.  She detailed her grandson Goşemef to watch at the door and let her know as the priests approached the house. 

            By the dusk most of the male visitors at the courtyard had dispersed.  Most of the women gathered at the residence of Famok too had gone.  Yet there were a considerable number visitors at the  site. 

            A short while later the two priests arrived at  Pşımef’s residence.  They were accompanied by Bjafe Pezad Serkuse Asha and Pşımef’s elder son Ismail.

            Goşemıd received the priests at the door.  She ushered them in, and asked them to be seated on the sofa she pointed at. 

            Hasan Efendi had learnt the Adiğe traditions.  He insisted Goşemid to take her seat at the upper end of  the sofa as she was elder than the priests.  He delayed taking his seat till Goşemıd sat down. 

            Bjafe Pezad sat next to Albek Hoca.  Serkuse Asha and Ismail remained standing side by side to the right of the door. 

            Goşemıd gazed at Albek Hoca inquiringly, and said, “As you see we are profoundly distressed!”

            After a brief pause she went on,

            - What is important at the moment is that we do not know what to do. 

            Albek Hoca, with his eyes cast on the floor, offered condolence, and wished endurance for the family of the deceased.  He went on:

            -  You do not worry.  We will do what are necessary to be done.  Following the night prayer the congregation will   recite holy Qur’an  and pray for Famok’s soul.  God Almighty has promised paradise to those who fight for the sake of their faith and their homeland.  The deceased’s spouse and children should take pride in having lost him fighting for the holy cause. 

            Goşemıd’s query was not exactly on that point.  She painfully smiled.  Then in an utterly distressed tone she said,

            - Wouldn’t this poor man have a grave? 

            Bewildered as he was by the question, the Hoca gazed at  Hasan Efendi.  The war has been going on for several years now.  The bodies of hundreds of Adiğe fighters had been left in the steppes in the north across the River Kuban.  No one had ever raised the question of graves for them.  It was the first instance as far as he was concerned. 

            Upon Albek Hoca’s implied suggestions that he should offer his comment,  Hasan Efendi interjected, mildly coughing.  He said:

            - Why not!  Even though we do not have the remains of the deceased with us,  we would offer a funeral prayer for him and raise a grave of him.  What is matters is the soul.  Any good wish, homage and service conveyed through our own supplication would reach his soul. 

            Albek Hoca, waving his head, affirmed the statement:

            -  Indeed so! It could be arranged.

            Goşemıd did not exactly get what Hasan Efendi had meant.  She did, however,  understood that a grave could be raised for Famok.  That was enough for her to disarray her distress a bit. She offered her gratitude 

            - I am satisfied.  May God bless you!, she said.

She was pleased to know that Famok could have a grave.  She could show it to his children and say, “Here is the grave of your father!”. 

            The priests returned to the guest-house.  After ablution they offered the evening prayer, recited Fatiha⁷  and dedicated the same to Famok’s soul. Then they went out and joined the group preparing for the evening meal.

            The youth had lit a big bonfire in the court yard.  By turn they fed  the fire to late hours in the night, when no more visitors were left there.
 
 

O0O
 
 
 
 

            The Adiğe forces, having carried out the operations as planned, gathered at the south bank of the river Kuban, then marched towards the upstream basin of the river Adegum, and halted at the Zanikos’ farm in the base of the Vestagoy Valley. Here they were supposed to make an assessment of the operation and  apportion the spoils.

            It had been a successful raid. They had terrorized Russian defense lines for two days and two nights.  They had seized several thousand livestock.  The Cossack Stanitsas had been destroyed.  The moral of the Russian troops in the area had thus been badly shaken.  The causalities suffered in the process had been very small as compared to what had been achieved. 

            Most of the leaders, who had been in command, had assessed the operation as such. 

            Pşımef, however, looked at things from a different angle.  He was the architect of the operations, and was not satisfied with the outcome:  civilian targets were hit; military targets with guns and artillery, except a few border posts,  were not touched.  They were not able to approach to the major forts. 

            Zaniko Sefer agreed with Pşımef’s assessment.  Besides; he had supported the proposal of the Ottoman Paşa, Commander of the Anapa Guards,  to call off the operation.   He was  disappointed by the leaders who had out right rejected the idea.

            Serfer Bey advocated that It was impossible to break through the Russian lines without a regular military force equipped with artillery and infantry.  He considered it was imperative for the Ottoman Army, so equipped, to come to the coast. 

            Pşımef was shocked at news about Yeftale Famok’s tragic fate.  He could not think of anything else.  He departed the group without waiting for  the distribution of the spoils and the conclusion of the debate on the assessment of the operations.  He mounted his horse and set out for home.

            He spent one night at the place of Şupaş,  the aged fatherly guardian of Duğuj.  His son had participated in the operations, but had not by then returned home.  There he took some rest and also informed the old man about his son. 

            He reached Kutak the following day in the evening.  He found the tempest stirred over the death of Famok had subsided. The distressed ones were silent.  The wailing that had  been uninterruptedly continued for three days of morning had ended. 

            Pşımef was received by his mother and the male members of the colony.  Pşılı Marde and Ortan quietly stood a few paces behind.  The children were clustered in groups by the buildings.   Famok’s two sons and three daughters also were there with the children.  Hacımet, his eldest son too stayed away from the elders. 

            Pşımef Dismounted his horse, and quietly embraced his mother.  Goşemıd too did not utter a word.  She gazed at her son, eyes filled with tears.  The overwhelming agony was amply apparent at everybody’s look. 

            The mother and the son side by side passed trough the wide courtyard and entered the house.  Others followed them. 

            Pşımef’s face and hands had darkened due to exposure to extreme  cold.  His mustaches and his thick hair had grayed. 

            His son reminded her of her husband Lasmar.  Psımef, though was a bit slimmer than his father, she found him very much resembling his father.  Exhaustion and distress had lightly hunched his back and depressed his shoulders. 

            Goşemıd wanted her son to tell her the details of the tragic end of Yeftale Famok.  She searched her mind for proper words to start a conversation. 
-  So you have returned home having buried our Vunekoş⁸  in the cold waters of Kuban. 

            To any touchy person Goşemıd’s words could insinuate a bit of accusation and  perhaps reprimand.  In fact she did not mean that at all.  She meant to express how helpless everybody could have been under the circumstance.

            Pşımef hang his overcoat and his rifle on the peg on the wall, and took a seat on the sofa to the right side of the room.  On the sofa to the left side sate Goşemıd, and next to her Bajafe Pezad. Koce Eşav, Sekuse Asha and others too entered the room and got seated at random.  They gazed at Pşımef in anticipation of his account. 

            Basti Pşımef, however, stole away his eyes, fixing them on the red and blue flames in the fireplace, insinuating that he had “no account to offer”. 

            He jerk as his mother said, “So you have returned home having buried our Vunekoş in the cold waters of Kuban!”, and focused his attention to her.  He cast a regretful look at her; and then in a hoarse and tired voice briefly narrated his own version of the incident.

            -  It was not Yeftale alone that submerge in the Kuban waters. With him were drowned many a distinguished comrades of ours.  Not only that.  We have left  frozen bodies of our comrades-in-arm beyond the Kuban.  In their place we have brought a lot of wretched  dirty creatures. 

            It was dusk.  In the meantime Şayze was in the kitchen. With slow and tender movements she was busy in preparing the evening meal; occasionally warning the children in a low voice to be quiet. 

            Pşımef  had a brief rest, took his dinner and accompanied by his mother visited Famok’s wife Sirse at her house. 

            Sirse was in an distressing condition.  Her eyelids were swollen of too much weeping.  She received the visitors with her eyes cast down;  her children clustered behind her;  and Skurın, the youngest one, firmly holding her skirt. 

            Hacımet and Hamız  behaved like a grown up boys; fed the fireplace, and stood by the door in reverence. 

            By then Pşımef had cast off chagrin.  At Famok’s place he presented a different posture.  He offered his condolence to Sirse, and assured her that she need not worry about the future of her children.  He stressed that Famok had laid down his life for the sake of his people, and that he would always be remembered.

            The grieved lady bowed her head.  She quietly listened to what Pşımef told her.  She didn’t utter a single word in response. 

            Within the next few days all the volunteers of the camaign returned to their respective homes. The Geriyiko brothers,  Şemız and Ali, paid a visit to Famok’s wife, offered her  their condolence, and presented her with  gifts. “We owed these to him!” they declared. 
            Famok’s death was the first instance of bereavement in the Pasıfabe colony in Kutak, though about eight or ten infants had been buried that far in the Kutak Graveyard.  The little humps of earth had since sunk, and were covered by weed. 

            They built a large symbolic grave for Famok.  A plate of  hard wood was erected at either end of the grave.

            The symbolic burial ceremony was attended by a large number of people, headed by Albek Hoca and Hasan Efendi.  Geriyiko Seyin, supporting to the arm of his son Ali, was present at the graveyard.   He and many other famous Adiğe worriers, who had taken part in the last campaign, were lined up before the empty grave  to pay homage to their comrade.

            The Gaip Namaz⁹ was led by Hasan Efendi. Albek Hoca offered homage,  a sort of an official citation.  “Famok has departed from among us only physically; but not spiritually,” he concluded.

            The symbolic burial of Pamok pleased Goşemıd most.  She felt the spiritual satisfaction of having performed an important obligation. 

            A few days after the burial ceremony  Goşemıd visited Famok’s grave, accompanied by his children.  All along the way she was holding Sukurin, the youngest child, in her fold. 

            Goşemıd showed the mound of freshly  dug out earth  to the children,

            -  “That is the grave of your father!”, she said.