When we reached the ferry, six versts from Orenburg, we were greeted by charming views: the fast-flowing but narrow river — the Ural. After crossing the river and climbing the hill, we saw Orenburg on the right, with the spires of mosques and roofs of Tatar houses visible in the distance on the left. Nearby, there were Teptyar forges, some sheds and houses scattered here and there. Close to the city, there is the summer residence of the military governor Perovsky, which formerly belonged to Suchtelen. Since long, it has passed from one governor to another. The entire view is very pleasing to the eye, especially after traveling along a deserted road with no villages, mountains, or forests between stations. Everything is smooth and open, with the steppe merging into the sky.

Pushkin arrived unexpectedly and unannounced. <…> I went with him to the historic village of Byordy, told him all I had heard and learned about the area and the circumstances of Pugachev’s siege of Orenburg. I showed him the St. George bell tower in the suburbs, where Pugachev raised a cannon to fire on the city, the remains of fortifications between the Orsk and Sakmar gates attributed to Pugachev by legend, and the grove behind the Ural River from which the thief tried to break into the fortress on the ice from that side… I also told him about the old women of Byordy who still remember ‘Pugachev’s golden chamber, ’ which was a brass-plated hut.