CHAPTER VII

After several days we started through the forest on the left bankof the Yenisei toward the south, avoiding the villages as much aspossible in fear of leaving some trail by which we might befollowed. Whenever we did have to go into them, we had a goodreception at the hands of the peasants, who did not penetrate¹ ourdisguise; and we saw that they hated the Bolsheviki, who haddestroyed many of their villages. In one place we were told that adetachment of Red troops had been sent out from Minnusinsk to chasethe Whites. We were forced to work far back from the shore of theYenisei and to hide in the woods and mountains. Here we remainednearly a fortnight, because all this time the Red soldiers weretraversing the country and capturing in the woods half-dressedunarmed officers who were in hiding from the atrocious vengeance² ofthe Bolsheviki. Afterwards by accident we passed a meadow where wefound the bodies of twenty-eight officers hung to the trees, withtheir faces and bodies mutilated. There we determined³ never toallow ourselves to come alive into the hands of the Boisheviki. Toprevent this we had our weapons and a supply of cyanide ofpotassium.

Passing across one branch of the Yenisei, once we saw a narrow,miry pass, the entrance to which was strewn with the bodies of menand horses. A little farther along we found a broken sleigh withrifled boxes and papers scattered⁴ about. Near them were also torngarments and bodies. Who were these pitiful ones? What tragedywas staged in this wild wood? We tried to guess this enigma⁵ and webegan to investigate the documents and papers. These were officialpapers addressed to the Staff of General Pepelaieff. Probably onepart of the Staff during the retreat of Kolchak's army went throughthis wood, striving to hide from the enemy approaching from allsides; but here they were caught by the Reds and killed. Not farfrom here we found the body of a poor unfortunate woman, whosecondition proved clearly what had happened before relief camethrough the beneficent bullet. The body lay beside a shelter ofbranches, strewn with bottles and conserve⁶ tins, telling the taleof the bantering⁷ feast that had preceded the destruction of thislife.

The further we went to the south, the more pronouncedly hospitablethe people became toward us and the more hostile to the Bolsheviki.

At last we emerged from the forests and entered the spaciousvastness of the Minnusinsk steppes, crossed by the high redmountain range called the "Kizill-Kaiya" and dotted here and therewith salt lakes. It is a country of tombs, thousands of large andsmall dolmens, the tombs of the earliest proprietors⁸ of this land:

pyramids of stone ten metres high, the marks set by Jenghiz Khanalong his road of conquest and afterwards by the cripple Tamerlane-Temur. Thousands of these dolmens and stone pyramids stretch inendless rows to the north. In these plains the Tartars now live.

They were robbed by the Bolsheviki and therefore hated themardently. We openly told them that we were escaping. They gave usfood for nothing and supplied us with guides, telling us with whomwe might stop and where to hide in case of danger.

After several days we looked down from the high bank of the Yeniseiupon the first steamer, the "Oriol," from Krasnoyarsk toMinnusinsk, laden⁹ with Red soldiers. Soon we came to the mouth ofthe river Tuba, which we were to follow straight east to the Sayanmountains, where Urianhai begins. We thought the stage along theTuba and its branch, the Amyl, the most dangerous part of ourcourse, because the valleys of these two rivers had a densepopulation which had contributed large numbers of soldiers to thecelebrated Communist Partisans¹⁰, Schetinkin and Krafcheno.

A Tartar ferried us and our horses over to the right bank of theYenisei and afterwards sent us some Cossacks at daybreak who guidedus to the mouth of the Tuba, where we spent the whole day in rest,gratifying ourselves with a feast of wild black currants andcherries.

1 penetrate   

v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解

参考例句：

• Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
• The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。

2 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

3 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。

4 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

5 enigma   

n.谜，谜一样的人或事

参考例句：

• I've known him for many years,but he remains something of an enigma to me.我与他相识多年，他仍然难以捉摸。
• Even after all the testimonies,the murder remained a enigma.即使听完了所有的证词，这件谋杀案仍然是一个谜。

6 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！

7 bantering   

adj.嘲弄的v.开玩笑，说笑，逗乐( banter的现在分词 )；（善意地）取笑，逗弄

参考例句：

• There was a friendly, bantering tone in his voice. 他的声音里流露着友好诙谐的语调。
• The students enjoyed their teacher's bantering them about their mistakes. 同学们对老师用风趣的方式讲解他们的错误很感兴趣。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 proprietors   

n.所有人，业主( proprietor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These little proprietors of businesses are lords indeed on their own ground. 这些小业主们，在他们自己的行当中，就是真正的至高无上的统治者。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Many proprietors try to furnish their hotels with antiques. 许多经营者都想用古董装饰他们的酒店。 来自辞典例句

9 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

10 partisans   

游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙

参考例句：

• Every movement has its partisans. 每一运动都有热情的支持者。
• He was rescued by some Italian partisans. 他被几名意大利游击队员所救。