The Russian offensive of seventh of September lasted five days.  On the twelfth of September the Russians pulled back, leaving more than twenty-thousand dead in front of the Turkish trenches on the  Plevne heights. 

              It may be recalled that the Czar had ordered the offensive with the intent to celebrate a victory concurrently with his own birthday.  It did not work.  He was disappointed.  He watched the melting away of his troops day after day.  He wept at the sight of the rout. 

             The Czar, having grasped he would not be able to capture Plevne by force of arms, ordered to further tighten the siege. 

             Osman Paşa correctly assessed the tactics the Russians contemplated to apply.   He was realistic enough to foresee that   no reinforcement and supplies would be available from then on,   the food and ammunition stock would soon deplete, and consequently the morale of the troops would be undermined.  The Paşa devised a plan to avert the situation before it was too late. 

             Osman Paşa was aware that there were Turkish garrison at  Vidin, Ruscuk and Şumnu; deployed in defensive posture.  Most importantly; there were Turkish troop contingents in significant strength to the south of the Hain Mountain Pass commanded by Şakir Paşa, and to the north of the Şıpka Pass, commanded by Veysel Paşa. 

            Osman Paşa’s plan rested on the premise that a strong defense line could be established if the troops locked up in Plevne were to be withdrawn in the direction of Orhaniye and Sofia to join with the forces in the south.  Moreover; the defense parameter to be so set up could be replenished by the central government.

            In that event the Russian forces would have to reckon with  the Turkish forces present in Vidin, Ruscuk and Şumnu.

           At the moment Plevne was a small island in the middle of a sea of enemy forces-  Russian, Roman and Bulgar- to the tune of half a million strong. 

           In view of the  risks involved in the implementation of the plan, Osman Paşa submitted it to the approval approval of the Sultan and the Central Government. 

          The team of messengers guided by Çerkes Hasan, bearing the plan, was dispatched to Istanbul. 

          Nevertheless, the Ottoman High Command, which directed the war from the Yıldız Palace,  failed to appreciate and assess the situation correctly.  239

           The metropolitan generals of the Ottoman army close to the imperial court were given to take vital decision about the conduct of the war, at the table in the palace, as if they were playing chess.  They whimsically interpreted the information communicated by the commanders in the battle front, and accordingly passed orders, which were most of the time irrelevant and unrealistic. 

            So the generals, that is the Paşas, at the Palace considered Osman Paşa’s report biasedly, rather than realistically.  The longer the defenders of Plevne withstood the Russian pressure, the longer the enemy would hhhave been kept away from Istanbul; the Paşas contended. 

            Superficially it appeared a reasonable argument.  However, Osman Paşa, the General in charge of the defense of Plevne, was trying to bring it home to the central government that his resources and stamina was nearing to end, that he had been running against time, that  the siege was closing in by day, and that he had little chance of receiving supplies.  His report explained all the fact in details. 

             No one at the central headquarters paid attention to  his message.  He was ordered to stay where he was, to sustain the defense. 

             Osman Paşa withstood for two month more.  By them the army had lost its stamina.  His arsenal had virtually depleted.  The wounded and the sick could not be treated for want of medical supplies.  Starvation had begun adversely influencing  the combat capability of the soldiers. 

              The Russian C-in-C, Grand Duke Nicholai, could more or less perceive the situation beyond the trenches around Plevne. Since two months the Turkish army had not been receiving supplies.  “The Turks must be hard pressed by now”, the Russian general estimated.  He conjectured that it was the right time to force the Paşa to surrender. The Grand Duke addressed a letter to Osman Paşa, praising him and his soldiers for their gallantry, and advising him to surrender. 

               Osman Paşa could estimate that the Russians too must be having problems due to the prolonged engagement.  Besides, in view of the approaching winter season, he could as well gain time by entering into negotiations pursuent to the Grand  Duke’s letter.  On the contrary; Osman Paşa rejected the Russian offer, may be due to the nervous situation of months long siege.  In stead of perishing in starvation and misery, he decided to launch an offensive to force out through the siege. 

                He conferred with his staff and commanding officers, and ordered them to prepare the troops to implement to plan, with due care to keep it absolutely secret. 

               There were seventy-two field guns and forty-two-thousand soldieries on the Turkish side; as against four-hundred -and-fifty guns and one-hundred and fifty-thousand troops on the Russian side.  Hence a balance of forces was out of question.  Nevertheless Osman Paşa was determined to try his chance. 

               It was out of question for the Turkish army to move to the north.  Hence; the Grand Duke had deployed the bulk of his force to the southern approaches of Plevne, and thereby had entirely cut off Osman Paşa’s communication lines. 

              On December 4, 1877 Osman Paşa launched a decoying offensive operation to the north.  It was followed by the actual offensive directed to the south, deploying the bulk of the available force.  Artillery bombardment was followed by infantry attack with bayonets.

              Osman Paşa personally directed the operation in the south.  He encouraged his men by appearing in the forefront on horseback. 

             His aid de camp was martyred before his eyes. It made him further daring, fearlessly diving into the fierce battle.   340 

             Osman Paşa broke though the first two defense lines; but while trying his chance  through the third line, he was wounded, and had to surrendered. 

             The Russian troops entered Plevne on December 10. 

            There was no substantial barrier left to halt the Russian army.  On the day following the fall of Plevne, Süleyman Paşa was defeated and thrown back at Maçkar. 

            The Principalities of Serbia and Karadağ had been in the waiting for opportunities.  Serbia declared war with the Ottoman Empire.  For at that juncture there were not Ottoman forces to respond their challenge. 

              The Ottoman forces in Vidin, Ruscuk and Şumnu still maintained defensive positions, in anticipation of a Russian attack.  The Russian C-in-C ordered the bulk of his forces to bypass them, and to march towards the south, leaving behind a force just enough to pin down those pockets of the Ottoman presence.

              On January 4, General Gurko routed the Ottoman forces commanded by Şakir Paşa, before the Hain Mountain Pass, and subsequently captured Sofia. 

              Veysel Paşa, with his force consisted of ninety-three field guns and forty-one battalions, had been waiting to the south of the Şıpka Pass to brace the Russian thrust.  He failed to stop the advancing enemy force commanded by Generals Skobeleff and Radetzky.

              Süleyman Paşa could stand for only three days defending Filibe.  He retreated in the direction of the Rodop Mountains.

             There was no barrier left to check the Russian onslaught.  The Russian forces entered Edirne on January 20.

                                      O0O
 

            The Bulgar guerrilla bands, ,who were supported by the Russian forces, and whose excesses escalated as the defense of Plevne dwindled, maintained wide spread voilence, terrorizing the civilian population. 

            The Dobruca Region was practically evacuated.  The Turks, Tatars and Circassians moved out,  in large groups, partly towards the south and partly towards the Black Sea coast.  Most of the refugees crowded at the ports of Varna and Köstence could not find any vessels to boar and escape.  They walked along the shore down to Burgaz. 

            In the hinterland, the ones, who followed the Yenipazar route, took asylum in the neighborhood of Şumnu.  They were subjected to relentless raids by the Bulgar guerrilla bands. 

          The entire habitations south of the River Danube lived through a period of civil war.  The villages and farms were set on fire, and the population were massacred irrespective of age and gender. 

          Within a short time the Circassians got organized under leadership of men who had gained combat experience during the war in Caucasia.  They retaliated the massacre perpetrated by the Bulgar bands with equal ferocity. 

         The beaten Bulgar guerrilla bands would seek shelter with the Russian military, and would attacked again, accompanied by Russian Cossack cavalry. to avenge. 

           The intensity of military activities in the counties of Vidin, Kula and Lom were relatively low than elsewhere.  Nevertheless the area heavily suffered on account of  the raids of the guerrilla bands.  The Circassians and the Bulgars had fierce confrontations.  Then there too followed the exodus. 

            The Turkish and Circassian refugees moved together, guarded by armed Circassian militia detachments.  Fierce clashes occurred at several points between the Bulgar bands, raiding the refugee convoys, and the armed Circassian guards. 

            The Muslim inhabitants of the counties and villages of Lofça and Tırnova, to the north of the Balkan Mountains were subjected to horrible massacre and atrocity.   Young women were molested, the elders and children were murdered. 

             Incredible acts of brutality were committed in the plains to the south of the mountains.  The towns of Tatarpazarcğı, Filibe and Eski Zağra were set on fire and destroyed, despite the presence of Turkish garrisons in the nearby Sofia and  Kızanlık.

            The Bulgar guerrilla bands who guided General Gurko’s troops, committed unthought of atrocities in the villages they raided. 

            The Bulgars, who raided the village of Güllü, in the county of  Eski Zağra,  after massacring the male population, gathered the females and forced them to convert to orthodox church, raped the young girls, dumped them all into a barn and scorched them to death. 

           The summer and autumn of the year 1877 was a period of destruction and pillage.  The Muslim population were not only deprived of security of life and chastity, but they were condemned to starvation; because the Russian  army and the Bulgar bands seized all of their domestic animals and   crops. 

          All the atrocities and deprivations were designed and implemented seeking one purpose: to force the Muslim population move out of Bulgaria by terrorizing the people. 

            The Russians and the Bulgars succeeded in their scheme.  The people migrated from their land in hundreds of thousands.  Even before the fall of Plevne, the roads and trails leading to Istanbul were packed with miserable refugees. 

           The barbarity committed were beyond human tolerance.  The Greeks and Jews also were terrorized.  They too found it safe to escape. 

          But who were the Bulgars, who treated the Turks and other Muslim so treacherously?

          The Bulgars originally belonged to the Turki race.  During the fourth and fifth centuries they existed in the upstream basin of the river Volga. 

          Under the pressure of  the Hazars a large part of the Bulgars there migrated to the west, to the southern basin of the river Danube. In due course of time, the Bulgars culturally assumed a Slavic identity in the aftermath of their adhesion  to the orthodox church in the year 864  under the leadership of   King Bogoris. 

          The faith was the main factor which identified them.  The Orthodox faith and its way of life were superimposed on the characteristics of the Bulgars.  Later on they absorbed their erstwhile relatives- the Peçeneks, Kumans and Kıpçaks, who followed them into Bulgaria. 

          Now  the Bulgars, a  people of Turkic ancestry, were set to destroy their own distant relatives. 

           A phenomenon which should be taken as a deterrent example.

          The present Bulgar generation might not be aware of a fact related to a very distant past.  But what about the tranquil co-existence of more than five centuries in the course of the Ottoman rule?  How could they be expected to forget the recent past, when they were allowed to flourish their religion and culture, a tolerance tolerance by virtue of which they have been able to preserve their national identity? 

          Had the Ottoman Turks treated the Bulgars otherwise, like so many other contemporary ruling peoples have had done towards their subject peoples, there wouldn’t have existed a Bulgar nationality toay. 

           The Bulgarian experiment was an illustration of the failure of the  policy of nationalities of the Ottoman Empire.  It   turned out detrimental to the empire’s own interests.  In the case of Bulgaria, the fervent Orthodoxy  fired by Slavic nationalism seem to have overridden other ethical values. It created a monster of a people set to massacre their neighbors, and to molest the chastity of the females who had been so nicely co-existing.  The Bulgars were brainwashed and denuded of their morale values, which otherwise would have stirred their conscience.

            So suggested the heinous atrocities committed by the Bulgars.

                                                 O0O
 

            In the aftermath of the fall of Plevne, a horrible chaos ensued.  The terror unleashed by Cossack and Bulgar guerrilla bands further escalated. To the victims, immigration seemed as the only means of survival. 

           The havoc in the Dabruca Region had displaced over two-hundred-thousand persons move out to the Şumnu area, from there they walked further on to the south under severe winter conditions. 

           In the areas to the south-west of Danube the situation was no different.   The Turks, Tatars and Circassians, in confused masses, moved like a flood towards Sofia, and from there towards the east. 

          The Ottoman administration, by then, had totally collapsed in Bulgaria.  In the places overrun by the Russian army, the civil service officials were arrested. 

          Now the nearest target of the Russian army was Istanbul, the seat of the Ottoman Empire.  The roads and trails being congested with refugees, the pace of the advancing Russian troops slowed down. 

         The road from Filibe to Istanbul had been completely blocked by thousands of carriages moving on in multiple columns. The refugees, starved and poorly dressed,  mostly without shoes  or stockings, were walking on sow and ice.  in most cases the carriages were pulled by young females. Selanik, Edirne and the villages in the neighborhood were full of refugees.  Some of the refugee convoys had approached Istanbul.

            The Sultan and his Government were perplexed.  They were at a loss to know whether to attend to the Russian army   bridgehead at Yeşilköy or the flood of refugees in distress. 

             The British Consulates in Kalas, Köstence, Varna, Burgaz, Ruscuk, Sofya, Filibe, Edirne and Selanik had been regularly in touch with Mr. Layard, their Ambassadors in Istanbul.  He was up-to-date with the developments. 

            The war correspondents of the British newspapers also contributed a great deal in the flow of information.  They simultaneously maintained communication with the Embassy in Istanbul and their head office in London. 

          The administrative mechanism having collapsed in Bulgaria, the Ottoman Government was deprived of their sources of information.  They had to depend on the British Embassy for information relevant to the developments in Bulgaria. 

          The Ottoman Government, inviting the attention of the British Government to the Russian violations of the international norms of conducting war, complained that hundreds of thousands of peoples had been forced to migrate and the remaining ones had been subjected to atrocities; and requested for urgent intervention of  Britain to stop the inhuman practices. 

           The European powers were already informed of the situation timely and in details by their respective diplomatic missions in Bulgaria and through the news agencies. 

           The earliest initiative to mobilize international opinion had come early in summer from Lady Burdette, wife of the British Consul in Edirne.  This philanthropist lady, moved at the pathetic sight of the  refugees, set up a foundation to provide comfort for the refugees.  She collected relief contributions from domestic and foreign sources. 

           Nevertheless the situation deteriorated by day.  Serbia and the Karadağ Principality challenged the southern borders of the State. 

           The Serbs captured Niş, and joined forces with the Russian army.

           The Tatars and Circassian refugees from the Dobruca regions set up temporary camps in Macedonia. 

            The Government of Greece tendered a diplomatic note to the Ottoman Government to the effect that the refugees in Macedonia presented a threat to the Greeks, and must be immediately removed from the area.
The Russian army was preparing to enter Istanbul.  The situation caused a great sensation in the capital.  The students of higher religious learning staged a big protest demonstration in the Beyazit Square.  The event was supported by the Muslim clergy and faculty members. 

             The Extraordinary session of  Assembly of Representatives was convened for the first time to debate the war.  Sultan Abdulhamit was there at his special lodge to follow the proceedings. 

            The members of the Assembly were extremely annoyed because they had been consulted neither at the start of the war nore in the course of it.  The Representative Astarclar Kethudası¹   Mehmet Efendi directly voiced the complaint:

           -  We are being consulted belatedly.  While the disaster could be averted, we were not consulted.  What can we say now,  when the situation is out of control.  The Assembly of Representatives should not shoulder the responsibility of a situation they had been excluded from. 

               So was the lead-in paragraph of the strongly critical statement of Ahmet Efendi.

              The Sultan was extremely incensed by the statement.  He ordered Sait Paşa to clarify the position. 

            Sait Paşa stated that the War was declared on a general consensus, that the Royal Palace had not issued any orders to the Commanders, and there were no intervention on the part of the Sultan in the conduct of the war, excepting a few advisory interventions in certain insignificant matters relevant to troop dispositions.

           Ahmet Efendi was not satisfied.  He insisted on his views. 

          Sultan Abdulhamit got up from his seat, and shouted,  “I have called this Assembly to meet!  That gentleman does not know it!”  Then he delivered a lengthy speech, and left the Chamber² . 

           The Russian Commander-in-Chief as well as the Czar were not decisive as to whether Istanbul be captured  or not.  The troop strength available for the operation was not at a level required to take control of a metropolitan of about a million population.  They were not sure as to what sort of problems they would encounter there. They feared being bogged down in street warfare. 

           In the meantime a British fleet passed through the Dardanelles Strait and anchored off shore Mondanya, as a token of support of the Ottoman State.  Grand Duke Nicholai changed his mind.  He deferred entering Istanbul. The Ottoman Government, under the compelling circumstances, agreed to sign an armistice at Yeşilköy, to be followed by peace negotiations. 

          The Russian negotiators, Count Ignatif and Nellidof, tabled heavy terms, claiming that Russia had lost one hundred thousand men, and had spent two million Rubles. 

          The chief negotiators for the Ottoman side were Foreign Minister Saffet Paşa and Sadullah Bey, the then Ottoman Ambassador in London.  Most of the Russian demands were accepted by the Ottoman side. 

           Kars, Ardahan, Batum and Doğu Bayazit were ceded to Russia.  Romania, Karadağ (Montenegro) and Serbia were declared independent; and Bulgaria was granted the status of an Ottoman protectorate principality.

           The Ottoman State was condemned to pay a war reparation to the tune of four-hundred-million rubles. 

            Though not a part of the text of the agreement, it was tacitly agreed in principle that the refugees would be allowed to return to their home, and would be protected by the Russian troops against any potential pressure from Bulgarian quarters. 

           The Ottoman authorities wanted the Turks stay in Bulgaria. Hence the government made great efforts to persuade the refugees to return home.

           The efforts partially worked.  Some of the refugees were repatriated.  In the process there occurred a great confusion.  Families, communities and villages were divided and split up due to indecision.

                                       O0O

             It may recalled that in the aftermath of the crossing of the River Danube by the Russian forces in the spring of 1877  a great upheaval had occurred in the southern basin of the river, in and around Dobruca, Silistre, Ruscuk and Nığbolu.  Thousands of displaced people had begun flowing    to the south, in large groups like a flood. The presence of a Turkish garrison in Şumnu had rendered the area secure zone.  So the refugee groups consisted of  the Turks, Tatars and Circassians, had taken shelter there.

             With the fall of Plevne, the emboldened Bulgar guerrilla bands had intensified attacks on the Muslim inhabited villages and the refugee camps in the neighborhood.  The unrest and the atrocious assaults by the Bulgars forced the refugees camping in Şimnu to hit the roads once again. 

              While a part of the refugees followed the Pazar-Varna trail along the sea shore,  a part of them moved towards Tırnova and the course of the Yantra stream.  Yet another larger group   attempted to cross the Greater Balkan Mountains through the Şıpka Pass. 

             The refugees, who passed through the Yantra Valley, influenced the Circassian population in the area.  The Circassian popular leaders were in favor of moving out to safety before it was too late. 

              It was the middle of January.  A very severe cold had gripped the area, which was covered with a thick layer of snow.  The weather conditions did not permit the healthy grown up people to venture on a travel, what to speak of females and children. 

             Havuduko Bislan and Sinan Naur were in favor of moving out along with the refugees arriving from Şumnu.  Yaftale Hamız supported the idea, and urged that the opportunity should not be missed. 

            Basti Osman advocated that it would be unwise to hit the roads under the adverse weather conditions, and without having a clear idea as to what were taking place. They decided to hold a meeting with the Thametes³ .

           Osman invited all the elders in the neighborhood to attend the meeting.

           Turkov Hamit, Şirmitiko Ahmet and Aleşko Janket, the leaders of the Circassian refugees from the Dobruca region arrived in Bastihabl in the company of about ten elder members of the group.  Then there came another group headed by Havuduko Bislan and Sinan Naur.

            The weather was very cold.  The blizzard blinded the eyes.  The now swept by wind had rendered the trails impassable. 

            The visitors were ushered to Basti Osman’s guest house. The guests  were in their thick woolen Yamças⁴ , their heads covered with Sarhons⁵.   Yet the youth of the Basti district had to help them to dismount their horses.

           The guest house had been built of timber.  The log walls offered little protection against the cold wind passing in through seams.  The fireplace built with blocks of stone,  had been fed with thick logs.  The red and blue flames towering up into the chimney, fell short of warming the room. 

           The guests did not take off their yamças for some time.  A group of youth headed by Pşılı Hakul served them with hot boza and honey.  Not long before everyone was feeling at home. 

           The trend of general situation seemed to justify Osman.  He made a resume of the situation.  “May God be merciful to those on the way or on the heights!” Osman said to begin his speech:

         -  Some of the Thametes say “Let us join the migration!”  There are aged ones and sick ones among us.  How could we move and cover such a long distance in such a bad weather condition? We all would perish on the way! We would suffer more than we would otherwise do in the event of a Bulgar attack!

              Turkov Hamit supported him.  He said,

          -  Basti is right.  But we don’t live so comfortably as you do in here. We are living in tents or in barracks with low ceiling.  Our younger ones can’t sleep at night due to the cold.

              He paused and gazed around.  He went on:

           -  It makes no difference to us whether we stay on or move out.

            Osman gathered that he would not be able to persuade anyone on the pretext of the bad weather condition.  He pondered for a moment to find a more plausible argument.  He recalled the past.

            Osman, with his eyes cast down, assumed an anxious countenance, and continued speaking.

        -   Let us recollect our last days in Caucasia!  What did we do then? Unlike what we are doing now, then we left the homeland without consultation, without arriving at a common decision.  As a result we happen to be dispersed all over the Ottoman domain. 

             Basti Osman paused, gazed at his audience one by one, and continued, 

          -  We had large families. Now we are split up into thousand and one pieces.  Where are other pieces of our families now? Has any one of you heard what happened to them?  A similar fate seems to be in store for us once again.  We don’t know what sort of situations we would face on the way. 

            He paused and took a deep breath, and went on,

         -  So to say, we had fled from the Russians.  But the Russians have tracked us down in here.

            Şirmtiko Ahmet, a huge person, knitted his eyebrows, raised himself on his knees, and roared, “Basti!”

            Ahmet elongated the  “ti”  of  “Basti” to indicate that his patience was about to deplete.  He added,

         - Don’t keep on hitting in the bush! Tell us straight whatever you have got in mind!

           Osman smiled and replied, 

         -My point is clear enough,  I tried to point out certain things that bother me.  I don’t want to embark upon another adventure of dubious consequence.  It is only fourteen years since we have been here.  We labored and acquired dwelling and means of sustenance.  I hate to abandon all these, and go away.

           He paused, pondered, and continued:

       -  Moreover; don’t think the end of the world has come because a wing of the Turkish Army has been routed!  The Sultan is the Caliph of all  the Muslim World.  Don’t think  that he would let the Russians stay here.  You know it; the son of the King of Egypt  has come here with his troops to fight for the Sultan.  Others will also be coming.  Considering all these, I think we better wait and see how events would settle down. 

            Turkov Hamit, Şimitiko Ahmet and the other leaders were narrow minded persons, unaware of world politics.  They were confused by what Osman said last.  Though uttered a few incoherent words, they yielded to Osman’s proposal. They agreed to stay on for the time being. 

                                      O0O
 

            To woo the leaders, Osman made a few additional suggestions.  They were to send out reconnoitering teams, were to act in the light of their findings. 

            Every one present at the meeting was satisfied with Osman’s concluding statement.  If migration was inevitable, it was to take place during the spring season.  So was the consensus. 

            Turkov and his men were to reconnoiter the Black Sea coastal region.  Havuduko Bislan and Sinan Naur were to investigate the situation in the neighborhood of Tırnova; and if possible they would ride through the Şıpka Pass and study the position in the south. 

            By the end of February the weather improved, though slightly.  The reconnoitering teams set out for the specified destinations. 

           Yeftale Hamız, the most daring and vigorous member of Bastihabl community, tended to join Havuduko’s team.  Osman did not permit him to go out.  “God forbid! What would I do alone by myself in the event of an enemy attack?” he objected.  So he reluctantly agreed to stay in.

               Notwithstanding the verbal assurances of Basti Osman, his people were not at rest.  They felt insecure.  The Bulgars had turned to a blood thirsty enemy.  Convinced that the Bulgars would not let them alone in peace,  they wanted to get away soonest possible. 

             During the war they had met a few Circassians who had come from Anatolia, leaving their wives and children behind without any concern about their safety.  They were happy with their lot.  They had informed them that there was ample fertile ground to settle down in Anatolia. 

             The intimidation by the Bulgars, on the one hand; and the attractive opportunities available in Anatolia, on the other hand; stirred the Circassians in the Yantra Basin.  Every household got busy to prepare for the impending move.  The trend appeared irreversible. 

            In the Basti district, and even in Basti Osman’s own house, migration to Anatolia formed the only topic of discussion. His wife Skurun and the other females talked about nothing but what to take and what to leave.  They were to decide in the light of such discussions.

            Basti Osman was aware of what had been going on.  Yet he remained reticent all the time.  Inability to see the future ruined him. 

            Finally Skurun broached the subject. 

           One evening she privately inquired her husband, “What is holding you back to get out of this place after all that have happened so far?” She went on,

         - You did the same thing Years ago in Caucasia.  You had been foot-dragging and watching people going out of the country; and at last you brought us to this hell of a place on earth. 

           Osman had offered his night prayer, and had stretched on the bed.  He stared at his wife, and attempted to answer his her. But then changed his mind.  He decided not get nervous.  He turned his back. 

          Skurun never spared her words; but at the same time  she had been respectful to her husband.  Her aggressive manner was part of her inherent nature. 

          She went on speaking, though with a rather softened tone. 

        -  There are so many people who have invested their hopes in you.  If you were to disappoint them now, they would not listen to you any more.  I want to remind you. 

           She paused for a moment, then continued,

        -  Be it hard to stand, let me tell you one thing:  We  are no more in Caucasia.  The supremacy of the Bastis is over.  Neither here, nor  wherever we may go, we shall not have a different status then others. You must reconcile yourself with the new situation. 

            May be Osman was the most accommodative specimen of his race.  Nevertheless the Basti pride dominated his personality.  He burst out, “What nonsense you are talking”.  He sat up. 

             Skurun was sitting before the fireplace, her head resting on her right knee, her eyes fixed on the fire.  She was contented having said what she wanted to. 

            Basti decided to stop the argument.  He wished “Good Night”, rested his head on the pillow.  He tried to sleep, but couldn’t.  He was still awake when his wife went to bed. 

            Basti Osman review what his wife had told him.  She was right.  The Adiğes had entered in a new phase of their existence.  The rules had to be abided.  Otherwise disappointment and frustration would result. 

            He had clearly noticed certain changes in the behavior of his community since their arrival in Bulgaria.  Yaftale Hamız, for instance, was no longer as sedate as he used to be in Caucasia.  He opposed him almost on every issue, and acted arbitrarily. The change in his attitude could not simply be attributed to his being elder to Osman by age.   He could obviously state his own views. He could guide Osman.  His strong exceptions, and impolite objections were indicative of the change in his personality and understanding.

             All the four families residing in the Basti district were relatives.  Bajafe Musa was Osman’s brother-in-law.  He had a rather compliant temperament.   Koce Neov was Osman’s brother-in-law and a close maternal relative him. Serkuse Hüseyin was a son of Osman’s aunt.  Therefore, it was but natural, according to the Adiğe tradition, if they behaved differently than Yeftale Hamız, vis-à-vis Osman.

              Osman reviewed the events of the recent years, while stretched on his bed.  His father Basti Pşımef was one of the celebrated leaders of Western Caucasia; at times in command often of thousands of men; and on several occasions had directed campaigns.   Osman himself, however,  was following Havuduko Bislan and Sinan Naur, today. 

             The passivity in Osman’s temperament could not be attributed alone to his peace loving nature.  Indeed he did not like war or dispute.  That was understandable.  But he could maintain the spiritual legacy of his father.  He could hold on the mandate over his community. Things did not turn out that way.He  initiated discussions at the community’s meetings, but could not maintain control over the meetings as debate progressed; and others made the final decision on the course of action to be taken. 

             Osman repeatedly pondered on the admonishing words of his wife from time to time.  He decided not to adversely react to her advice. 

           About a forthright later the reconnoitering teams, who had gone to the west and to the south, returned.  The brought the news that all the Circassians in Bulgaria were set to migrate. 

             A more surprising news was that hundreds of thousands of Turks, Tatars and Circassians had swarmed at the gates of Istanbul several month ago.  A part of the refugees had already crossed the  Straits of Bosphorus and Dardanelles.