Stenko Razin, after having gained several victories over the Russians, began at last to meet with nothing but reverses: defeated by Prince Boratynskoy, and pursued by the very same Dolgorouki who had caused STENKO RAZIX. 67 his brother to be hanged in the Ukraine, he was overtaken by him just as he was, with his Cossacks, at the gates of Moscow, which would have been thrown open to him, had he not lost too much time in pillaging the provinces — a fatal delay, as the result proved, for Stenko, who, not having sufficient time to concentrate his army against Dolgorouki, was by that general surprised, and 15,000 men, the elite of his Cossack soldiers, suddenly fallen upon by superior numbers, were cut to pieces. Three times broken, three times they recovered the battle, but, panic-stricken at this unlooked-for disaster, the rebels fell from the height of confidence to the extremity of discouragement. The peasants returned to their several homes, the barbarian hordes fell off one after the other, and disappeared in the deserts, whilst the Cossacks, incessantly pursued by their victorious and implacable foes, who gave them no quarter, opposed but an ineffectual resistance. All the roads, towns, villages, passes, rivers, lakes, ponds, barns, and houses, were full of their mutilated bodies.
In the ancient town of Arsamas, in the country of the Morduates, the terrible Prince Sergue Dolgorouki established his head-quarters. In the suburbs of that town, on a level ground, was a large square field, where was established the merciless tribunal which pronounced judgment and immediate execution on the rebels. There was a tent, and some clergy of the Greco-Russian church, where mass was daily celebrated. Before the chapel was the likeness of the czar, before whom every one was compelled to kneel. Behind the chapel was a rack, and on both sides of the rack were several rows of gallows, some miles in length, and instruments of torture ready for the unfortunate victims. The punishments were in accordance with the degree of culpability and station in society of the rebels. In the first row of gallows the most guilty were executed; after being subjected to the rack they were quartered alive. The leaders had their right hand and left leg cut off, and were afterwards impaled on long spikes, and left to their horrible fate. Their groans were heard for miles, and their bodies feasted the eyes of the panic-stricken population. In the second row of gallows they were only quartered, and their sufferings were at least shorter. In the third row, the parties were simply beheaded. In the fourth row, they were merely hanged. In the fifth, they ran the gauntlet and the knout. All the ecclesiastics were burned. There were separate gallows for women, married and maiden. Even children, from thirteen years, were subjected to great cruelty. Married couples were occasionally hanged on the same gallows, as well as whole families. During the space of three months 13,000 human beings were executed in the presence of Dolgorouki. Stenko Razin''s nephew and his particular friend were quartered.