CHAPTER VI

My presence in the Sifkova country was not for long but I used itin full measure. First, I sent a man in whom I had confidence andwhom I considered trustworthy to my friends in the town that I hadleft and received from them linen¹, boots, money and a small case offirst aid materials and essential medicines, and, what was mostimportant, a passport in another name, since I was dead for theBolsheviki. Secondly², in these more or less favorable conditions Ireflected upon the plan for my future actions. Soon in Sifkova thepeople heard that the Bolshevik commissar would come for therequisition of cattle for the Red Army. It was dangerous to remainlonger. I waited only until the Yenisei should lose its massivelock of ice, which kept it sealed long after the small rivulets³ hadopened and the trees had taken on their spring foliage⁴. For onethousand roubles I engaged a fisherman who agreed to take me fifty-five miles up the river to an abandoned gold mine as soon as theriver, which had then only opened in places, should be entirelyclear of ice. At last one morning I heard a deafening⁵ roar like atremendous cannonade and ran out to find the river had lifted itsgreat bulk of ice and then given way to break it up. I rushed ondown to the bank, where I witnessed an awe-inspiring butmagnificent scene. The river had brought down the great volume ofice that had been dislodged in the south and was carrying itnorthward under the thick layer which still covered parts of thestream until finally its weight had broken the winter dam to thenorth and released the whole grand mass in one last rush for theArctic. The Yenisei, "Father Yenisei," "Hero Yenisei," is one ofthe longest rivers in Asia, deep and magnificent, especiallythrough the middle range of its course, where it is flanked andheld in canyon-like by great towering ranges. The huge stream hadbrought down whole miles of ice fields, breaking them up on therapids and on isolated⁶ rocks, twisting them with angry swirls,throwing up sections of the black winter roads, carrying down thetepees built for the use of passing caravans⁷ which in the Winteralways go from Minnusinsk to Krasnoyarsk on the frozen river. Fromtime to time the stream stopped in its flow, the roar began and thegreat fields of ice were squeezed and piled upward, sometimes ashigh as thirty feet, damming up the water behind, so that itrapidly rose and ran out over the low places, casting on the shoregreat masses of ice. Then the power of the reinforced watersconquered the towering dam of ice and carried it downward with asound like breaking glass. At the bends in the river and round thegreat rocks developed terrifying chaos⁸. Huge blocks of ice jammedand jostled until some were thrown clear into the air, crashingagainst others already there, or were hurled⁹ against the curvingcliffs and banks, tearing out boulders¹⁰, earth and trees high up thesides. All along the low embankments this giant of nature flungupward with a suddenness that leaves man but a pigmy in force agreat wall of ice fifteen to twenty feet high, which the peasantscall "Zaberega" and through which they cannot get to the riverwithout cutting out a road. One incredible feat¹¹ I saw the giantperform, when a block many feet thick and many yards square washurled through the air and dropped to crush saplings and littletrees more than a half hundred feet from the bank.

Watching this glorious withdrawal¹² of the ice, I was filled withterror and revolt at seeing the awful spoils which the Yenisei boreaway in this annual retreat. These were the bodies of the executedcounter-revolutionaries--officers, soldiers and Cossacks of theformer army of the Superior Governor of all anti-Bolshevik Russia,Admiral Kolchak. They were the results of the bloody¹³ work of the"Cheka" at Minnusinsk. Hundreds of these bodies with heads andhands cut off, with mutilated faces and bodies half burned, withbroken skulls¹⁴, floated and mingled¹⁵ with the blocks of ice, lookingfor their graves; or, turning in the furious whirlpools among thejagged blocks, they were ground and torn to pieces into shapelessmasses, which the river, nauseated¹⁶ with its task, vomited¹⁷ out uponthe islands and projecting sand bars. I passed the whole length ofthe middle Yenisei and constantly came across these putrifying andterrifying reminders¹⁸ of the work of the Bolsheviki. In one placeat a turn of the river I saw a great heap of horses, which had beencast up by the ice and current, in number not less than threehundred. A verst below there I was sickened beyond endurance bythe discovery of a grove¹⁹ of willows²⁰ along the bank which had rakedfrom the polluted stream and held in their finger-like droopingbranches human bodies in all shapes and attitudes with a semblanceof naturalness which made an everlasting²¹ picture on my distraughtmind. Of this pitiful gruesome company I counted seventy.

At last the mountain of ice passed by, followed by the muddyfreshets that carried down the trunks of fallen trees, logs andbodies, bodies, bodies. The fisherman and his son put me and myluggage into their dugout made from an aspen tree and poledupstream along the bank. Poling in a swift current is very hardwork. At the sharp curves we were compelled to row, strugglingagainst the force of the stream and even in places hugging thecliffs and making headway only by clutching the rocks with ourhands and dragging along slowly. Sometimes it took us a long whileto do five or six metres through these rapid holes. In two days wereached the goal of our journey. I spent several days in this goldmine, where the watchman and his family were living. As they wereshort of food, they had nothing to spare for me and consequently myrifle again served to nourish me, as well as contributing somethingto my hosts. One day there appeared here a trainedagriculturalist. I did not hide because during my winter in thewoods I had raised a heavy beard, so that probably my own mothercould not have recognized me. However, our guest was very shrewdand at once deciphered me. I did not fear him because I saw thathe was not a Bolshevik and later had confirmation²² of this. Wefound common acquaintances and a common viewpoint on currentevents. He lived close to the gold mine in a small village wherehe superintended public works. We determined²³ to escape togetherfrom Russia. For a long time I had puzzled over this matter andnow my plan was ready. Knowing the position in Siberia and itsgeography, I decided²⁴ that the best way to safety was throughUrianhai, the northern part of Mongolia on the head waters of theYenisei, then through Mongolia and out to the Far East and thePacific. Before the overthrow²⁵ of the Kolchak Government I hadreceived a commission to investigate Urianhai and Western Mongoliaand then, with great accuracy, I studied all the maps andliterature I could get on this question. To accomplish thisaudacious plan I had the great incentive²⁶ of my own safety.

1 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

2 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

3 rivulets   

n.小河，小溪( rivulet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rivulets of water ran in through the leaks. 小股的水流通过漏洞流进来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rivulets of sweat streamed down his cheeks. 津津汗水顺着他的两颊流下。 来自辞典例句

4 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

5 deafening   

adj. 振耳欲聋的, 极喧闹的 动词deafen的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The noise of the siren was deafening her. 汽笛声震得她耳朵都快聋了。
• The noise of the machine was deafening. 机器的轰鸣声震耳欲聋。

6 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

7 caravans   

（可供居住的）拖车（通常由机动车拖行）( caravan的名词复数 )； 篷车； （穿过沙漠地带的）旅行队（如商队）

参考例句：

• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles that are pulled by horses. 旧式的吉卜赛大篷车是由马拉的涂了颜色的木质车辆。
• Old-fashioned gypsy caravans are painted wooden vehicles. 旧时的吉普赛大篷车是涂了颜色的木质车辆。

8 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

9 hurled   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。
• The strong wind hurled down bits of the roof. 大风把屋顶的瓦片刮了下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

12 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

13 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

14 skulls   

颅骨( skull的名词复数 )； 脑袋； 脑子； 脑瓜

参考例句：

• One of the women's skulls found exceeds in capacity that of the average man of today. 现已发现的女性颅骨中，其中有一个的脑容量超过了今天的普通男子。
• We could make a whole plain white with skulls in the moonlight! 我们便能令月光下的平原变白，遍布白色的骷髅！

15 mingled   

混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系]

参考例句：

• The sounds of laughter and singing mingled in the evening air. 笑声和歌声交织在夜空中。
• The man and the woman mingled as everyone started to relax. 当大家开始放松的时候，这一男一女就开始交往了。

16 nauseated   

adj.作呕的，厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I was nauseated by the violence in the movie. 影片中的暴力场面让我感到恶心。
• But I have chewed it all well and I am not nauseated. 然而我把它全细细咀嚼后吃下去了，没有恶心作呕。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海

17 vomited   

参考例句：

• Corbett leaned against the wall and promptly vomited. 科比特倚在墙边，马上呕吐了起来。
• She leant forward and vomited copiously on the floor. 她向前一俯，哇的一声吐了一地。 来自英汉文学

18 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

19 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

20 willows   

n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木

参考例句：

• The willows along the river bank look very beautiful. 河岸边的柳树很美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Willows are planted on both sides of the streets. 街道两侧种着柳树。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

22 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

23 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

24 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

25 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

26 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。