After his arrival, in the month of April 1773, in the town of laitzkoy, Pugatchef attended a secret meeting of discontented Cossacks; and being well aware of their excitement and thirst of revenge, he industriously circulated a rumour that the late czar, supposed to be murdered, would not fail shortly to make his appearance amongst them; and soon after, having been apprised of the secret abode of their chiefs who had escaped from the late destruction of the town by General Freyman, he went boldly to them, asserting that he was the Czar Peter III. himself; that he had escaped from the daggers of his paid assassins; and that the news of his death was invented by his enemies; he therefore claimed their protection.
These savage and oppressed Cossacks had never seen Peter III. The crafty impostor flattered their vices; adopted their creed; and promised to avenge their wrongs. They recognised him unanimously as their lawful sovereign; swore blind obedience to him, and promised to sacrifice their lives in his cause: and numerous bands of their brethren enrolled themselves under his orders. Placing himself at their head, Pugatchef immediately attacked the newly-established colonies on the banks of the Irghis, composed chiefly of the Polish political exiles, as well as of men artfully entrapped into those cold and dreary regions. They yielded to the first call, and some of them swelled the rebel ranks. He took their arms, horses, and provisions; did them no harm; and mastered his natural cruelty for a time.
After this easy success, Pugatchef directed his steps towards laitzkoy. It seems to have been imprudent to attack, with savage and untrained bands, experienced and victorious soldiers, commanded by skilful officers, well aware of their advantages, and especially interested in the defence of that place. Some deficiency in the fortifications however induced Pugatchef to turn his eyes towards it. Arrived under its walls, he summoned, officially, the governor to surrender the town to Peter III., czar of Russia; and, after having received a peremptory refusal to comply with his demand, he issued immediate orders to take the place by storm. Repulsed everywhere, he converted the siege into a blockade, hoping to render himself master of the town by famine: but he was again disappointed by the extraordinary perseverance of the garrison. The inhabitants, reduced to the last extremity, after consuming the most disgusting animals, were at last relieved by the arrival of some Russian troops; which obliged Pugatchef to retreat.
Checked, but not dispirited, by this slight reverse, he marched against the Cossacks of the Iletz, the greater part of whom joined his standard. Soon after, he made liimself master of two forts, Basyrnaya and Ossernaya, as well as of the important town of Tateschtcheva; the wooden walls of which he destroyed by fire. The governor of Ossernaya, Major Charlof, was newly married to a young and beautiful woman, strongly attached to her husband. Her beauty made an impression on the daring Cossack, who, excited by her refusal to satisfy voluntarily his passion, ordered her husband to be hanged, the officers to be butchered; and then, after ravishing the lady, delivered her over to the brutality of his soldiers.
As soon as the governor of Orenburg was apprised of the success of the rebellion, he despatched in great haste, a large body of troops, under Colonel Bulof, to fight the rebels. Bulof was expecting to be reinforced by the corps of General Tchernishef, sent from Simbirsk, but their movements were badly managed. Pugatchef, possessing by nature military capacities improved by experience in warfare, prevented their junction, and marching against Bulof, cut him in pieces. He then, without losing an instant, attacked Tchernishef who, surrounded and entrapped by false rumour into a difficult position, surrendered and perished. Pugatchef in these two victorious battles ordered all who refused to join his ranks to be put to the sword. Being well aware that the most important part of a good general is not only to gain a victory, but to take the proper advantage of it, he directed his steps toward Orenburg.