Note 103 — XI

The Cossacks inhabited the plains of Ukrania, and the borders of the Borysthenes (Dniester). These savage hordes, who lived by plunder and pillage, were sometimes called Zaporogues (inhabitants of the cataracts). Most of the Polish noblemen in this part of the country had in their pay some hundreds of these brigands, who caused the greatest terror. They belonged to those who paid them best, and the cruelties committed by the Cossacks in Catherine’s pay during the massacres in Ukrania exceeded the greatest horrors that can be imagined. (See, for more ample details, Comte de la Garde’s Voyage in Ukrania.)