As the wind blew strongly from the
south, a cloud of dust precluded his view; but from the approach of
firing and the clash of arms, he was led to fear that his friends had
been defeated, and were retreating towards the camp. He instantly
quitted the lines to call out a reinforcement; but before he could
advance, Kosciusko and his squadron on the full charge appeared in
flank of the enemy, who suddenly halted, and wheeling round, left the
harassed Polanders to enter the trenches unmolested.
Thaddeus, covered with dust and blood, flung himself into his
grandfather's arms. In the heat of action his left arm had been
wounded by a Cossack. [Footnote: Cossacks. There are two descriptions
of these formidable auxiliaries: those of clear Tartar race, the
other mixed with Muscovites and their tributaries. The first and the
fiercest are called Don Cossacks, because of their inhabiting the
immense steppes of the Don river, on the frontiers of Asia. They are
governed by a hetman, a native chief, who personally leads them to
battle. The second are the Cossacks of the Crimea, a gallant people
of that finest part of the Russian dominions, and, by being of a
mingled origin, under European rule, are more civilized and better
disciplined than their brethren near the Caucasus. They are generally
commanded by Russian officers.] Aware that neglect then might disable
him from further service, at the moment it happened he bound it up in
his sash, and had thought no more of the accident until the palatine
remarked blood on his cloak.
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