After defeat, the Hakuch moved to the mountains. The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Caucasian Army, in his report dated 14 June 1865 to the Russian Ministry of War, stated that the Hakuchs preferred to die rather than leave their lands, and that they were fighting to the death by hiding their families and children in deserted and secluded corners and caves.T.V. Polovinkina, Çerkesya Gönül Yaram, Ankara, 2007, p. 282 The number of Hakuch rebels sheltering in the mountains was reported by another Russian commander as 8-9 thousand in June 1865.Jineps, 2006, Eylül-1, p.16-18 When the Hakuch realised they would lose, they would prefer mass suicide over being captured by Russians. They saw death as liberation and preferred it over life in captivity. Before going to battles they for sure knew they would lose, they took poison that would affect them in a matter of hours. This way, even if they tried to live and surrendered, they would die by poison.
