Shadow of a Hero

LEGEND

The Death of Lash the Golden

NOW THE ARMY of Selim surrounded Potok, and the army of Restaur Vax waited in the hills, and each feared to fight the other where they were. So Restaur Vax called a council of chieftains and said, ‘I have word from Potok that unless we come to their help they will surrender within the week.’

The chieftains said, ‘Selim has thrice our numbers, and great guns beside. How can we fight him in the valley before the walls of Potok?’

Restaur Vax said, ‘We will do it thus. We will attack at dawn, from between the Knees of Athur.¹ Selim has outposts on the ridges, and first we will capture those, and our Captain of Artillery will set up her guns there to hinder the gathering of Selim’s bazouks, and we will be upon them before their great guns are laid ready.’

‘Still they will be too many,’ said the chieftains.

‘Very like,’ said Restaur Vax, ‘and they will drive us off and pursue us, and we will retreat between the Knees of Athur as far as Tresti, where we will have strong positions dug ready, and there we will turn and make a stand. And Lash the Golden will command the rearguard, to hold them until we are ready. And we will have our best marksmen hidden along the slopes, and they will fire into the flanks of the bazouks, as will the Captain of Artillery, and so the odds will be levelled, and being Varinians fighting for Varina, we will surely win. Now, will you be men, or will you see Potok fall?’

So they agreed, and each chieftain chose from his clan the best marksmen, and among those chosen by the Kas Kalaz was the man Paulu. On the Eve of St Jafur they came quietly down from the mountains and mustered at Tresti, where they prepared positions to turn and fight. Then they stole silently down towards Potok.

Before dawn the Kas Kalaz stormed the eastern ridge and Van Jirri stormed the western ridge and the Captain of Artillery set up her guns and as the sun rose, the men of Varina hurled themselves against the encampment around Potok and slaughtered many bazouks, while the Captain of Artillery hindered the gathering of the rest from around the city. But at last they came, in great numbers, marching to surround the Varinians. Then Restaur Vax gave the order to retreat and withdrew his army between the Knees of Athur while Lash the Golden, commanding the rearguard, hindered the pursuit.

When they were not yet fully in between the ridges Selim, riding with his Commanders, looked about him and saw how the land lay and said, ‘This is a trap. Let us halt and clear the mountain sides before we pursue further.’

Then Lash the Golden, seeing they no longer pursued him, halted his men also and said, ‘These Turks are cowards. See, they outnumber us yet two to one, and still they dare not follow us. Let us encourage them a little.’

So saying, he strode back towards the Turks and stood on a little mound and mocked them for their cowardice, while they, daring to come no nearer, fired hotly upon him but did not hit, at which he mocked them the more.

Now the man Paulu, lying upon the mountain side and seeing this, said in his heart, ‘If a bullet were now to strike Lash, who but I would know who fired the shot? Thus the house of Kalaz would not be shamed.’ So he took aim and fired and hit Lash below the shoulder-blade, and Lash gave a loud shout and fell down.

Thereon the Turks were encouraged, and, forgetting Selim’s order, they charged forward between the Knees of Athur, and the men of Varina met them from the positions they had prepared, and the Captain of Artillery fired her guns into their flanks, and the marksmen shot among them until the barrels of their muskets were too hot to hold, and there was great slaughter. Notwithstanding, the battle stood in doubt, for the bazouks were so many, until Selim, riding past the mound where Lash lay, saw the body of a man with yellow hair lying face down. Rejoicing that one of his chief enemies was slain, he ordered that the body should be turned over, to be certain that it was indeed Lash.

Now Lash was not dead, but sore wounded and dying. He had fainted with the loss of blood, but being moved he woke and saw the shape of a Turk leaning above him. Then he drew from his bosom a small pistol he carried there always, and quickly fired, and the ball struck Selim in the eye, so that he fell from his horse, and by the time his body touched the ground he and Lash were both dead.²

At that the cry went up that Selim was slain, and the Turks lost all their courage and fled, and the Varinians pursued them with great slaughter, until the valley between the Knees of Athur was scarlet with their blood.

When the victory was sure, Restaur Vax gave orders that a search be made for the body of Lash the Golden, and it was found, with the body of Selim Pasha dead beside it. So Restaur Vax came and knelt and lifted the body of his companion up by the shoulders and held it to his chest and wept and spoke praise for the hero.³ But even as he spoke he felt the wound beneath his hand, and thus knew that Lash had been shot from behind.

Still speaking, he looked at the gathered chieftains and caught the glance of the Kas Kalaz and saw how his face was troubled, and how he in his turn glanced towards the man Paulu, who looked away. Thus Restaur Vax knew what had been done. Nevertheless he spoke to a finish and laid the body back and rose, hiding his bloodstained hand within his coat, and said no word.

¹ The Knees of Athur are two spurs of the mountain with a valley between, level and fertile at first, but narrowing to a precipitous defile. The Battle of Tresti took place here in 1826.

² Alexo Lash is known to have died at Tresti. According to Marie McMahon he was commanding the rearguard during the retreat from an unsuccessful attempt to raise the siege of Potok when he was cut off and surrounded, but the group fought on to the last man. The respite they provided may have been sufficient for Restaur Vax to rally his forces for the decisive counter-attack. The rumour that he was killed by treachery on the part of Kalaz emanates from Lash’s own clan.

³ Somewhat surprisingly, though Restaur Vax makes many references, and wrote several complete poems, to other comrades of his in the War of Independence, there is no mention of Alexo Lash.