P F G A T C H E F o
PubHsTieclaceorctihq coActofParUame/U. Jan?1*1784. iyT.(ade7f. mlfteStrand.
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P U G A T C H E F. 6S
him; but luckily the colonel of the regiment, being in- c^ p.
formed of jh e tumult, repaired to the church at the head o f >— , — j
a ftrong guard, took him from the altar, and led him to
immediate execution.
A third was a peafant belonging to the Voronzof family,
who had defertecl from his village, and engaged as a common
Coffac among thofe who are fettled upon the Volga
at Dubofka : a body of thefe'Coffacs marching in the fpring
o f 1772 from Tzaritzin to join the Ruffian army, he affem-
bled them in a fmall poft-houfe, fituated in the lonely defert
between the Don and the Volga, and declared himfelf to be
Peter III. Having prevailed upon them tofalute him1 emperor,
and to take the oath o f allegiance, he even appointed
leveral officers of. ftate. A few hours after this tranfaction,
the commander o f the troop -unexpedtedly arriving confounded
the foldiers'by his prefende, feized the impoftor by
the hair, and by the affiftance o f the aftoniihed Coffacs
themfelves, who had juft declared in his favour, bound and
conducted him a prifoner to Tzaritfin. During his trial the
inhabitants o f the fortrefs, excited by the falfe reports o f his
followers, actually rofe in his favour, and were not without
great difficulty difperfed by colonel Zipletof, the commander
o f the place. The impoftor was then Carried to one o f the
iilands of the Volga, and knooted to death.
About the fame time a malefadtor, who had been tran-
fported to Irkutik, formed a'fimilar attempt, and had even
gained over an officer who had a penfion from the crown ;
but his fecret being foon difcovered, he underwent the fame
fate as thofe. before-mentioned.
Yemelka Pugatchef, the rebel whofe adventures are now
under conliderafion,, narrowly efcaped the fame ill fortune at
his firft appearance. This extraordinary man, fon o f the
Y o l ‘ i l l K Coffac