Pugasceff thought himself a day's distance from his opponent, he found
him face to face outside the Fort of Ufa. Michelson proved again
victorious, but by this time his soldiers had not a decent piece of
clothing left, nor a wearable shoe, and each man had not more than two
charges. He therefore had to retreat to Ufa for fresh ammunition. It
appears that Michelson was just such a dreaded opponent to Pugasceff as
the man not born of a woman was to Macbeth. Immediately he disappeared
from the horizon, he arose anew, and at each encounter with the
pretender beat him right and left. When Michelson drove him away from
Ufa, Pugasceff totally defeated the Russian leaders approaching from
other directions, London, Melgunoff, Duve, and Jacubovics were swept
away before him, and he burned before their very eyes the town of
Birszk. With drawn sword he occupied the stronghold of Ossa, where he
acquired guns, and, advancing with lightning rapidity, he stood before
Kazan, which is one of the most noted towns of the province; it is the
seat of an Archbishop, and there is kept the crown which the Russian
Czars use at their coronation. This crown was required by the mock Czar.
If he could get hold of it, and the Archbishop of Kazan would place it
on his head, who could deny that he was the anointed Czar? Generals
Brand and Banner had but 1,500 musketry for the defense of Kazan, but
the citizens of the town took also to the guns to defend themselves from
within their ancient walls. The day before the bombardment, General
Potemkin, accompanied by General Larionoff, arrived at Kazan. The
Imperialists had as many generals and colonels in their camp as
Pugasceff had corporals who had deserted their colors, yet the horde led
by the rebel stormed the stronghold of the generals. Pugasceff was the
first to scale the wall, standard in hand, upon which the generals took
refuge in the citadel. Larionoff fled, and on his flight to Nijni
Novgorod did not once look back.