ffer him his homage.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE BATTLE OF PULTOWA.

1709

Invasion of the Swedes--Their progress through the country--Artificial
roads--Pultowa--Fame of the battle--Situation of Pultowa--It is
besieged--Menzikoff--Manoeuvres--Menzikoff most successful--King
Charles wounded--The Czar advances to Pultowa--The king resolves to
attack the camp--A battle determined upon--Military rank of the
Czar--His address to the army--The litter--The battle--Courage and
fortitude of the king--The Swedes defeated--Narrow escape of the
Czar--He discovers the broken litter--Escape of King Charles--Dreadful
defeat--Flight and adventures of the king--He offers now to make
peace--The king's followers--Peter's reply--Carriage for the
king--Flight to the Turkish frontier--Sufferings of the retreating
army--Deputation sent to the Turkish frontier--Reception of the
messenger--Boats collected--Crossing the river--Bender--Fate of the
Swedish army--The prisoners--Anecdote of the Czar--The Czar's
habits--Disposition of the prisoners--Adventures of the King of
Sweden--Military promotion of the Czar

In the mean time, while these transactions had been taking place among
the Russians, the King of Sweden had been gradually making his way
toward the westward and southward, into the very heart of the Russian
dominions. The forces of the emperor, which were not strong enough to
offer him battle, had been gradually retiring before him; but they had
devastated and destroyed every thing on their way, in their retreat, so
as to leave nothing for the support of the Swedish army. They broke up
all the bridges too, and obstructed the roads by every means in their
power, so as to impede the progress of the Swedes as much as possible,
since they could not wholly arrest it.

The Swedes, however, pressed slowly onward. They sent off to great
distances to procure forage for the horses and food for the men. When
they found the bridges down, they made detours and crossed the rivers
at fording-places. When the roads were obstructed, they removed the
impediments if they could, and if not, they opened new roads.
Sometimes, in these cases, their way led them across swampy places
where no solid footing could be found, and then the men would cut down
an immense quantity of bushes and trees growing in the neighborhood,
and make up the branches into bundles called _fascines_. They would
lay these bundles close together on the surface of the swamp, a