CHAPTER XIV

　　Ulan Taiga with Darkhat Ola lay behind us. We went forward veryrapidly because the Mongol plains began here, free from theimpediments of mountains. Everywhere splendid grazing landsstretched away. In places there were groves¹ of larch². We crossedsome very rapid streams but they were not deep and they had hardbeds. After two days of travel over the Darkhat plain we beganmeeting Soyots driving their cattle rapidly toward the northwestinto Orgarkha Ola. They communicated to us very unpleasant news.

The Bolsheviki from the Irkutsk district had crossed the Mongolianborder, captured the Russian colony at Khathyl on the southernshore of Lake Kosogol and turned, off south toward Muren Kure, aRussian settlement beside a big Lamaite monastery³ sixty miles southof Kosogol. The Mongols told us there were no Russian troopsbetween Khathyl and Muren Kure, so we decided⁴ to pass between thesetwo points to reach Van Kure farther to the east. We took leave ofour Soyot guide and, after having sent three scouts⁵ in advance,moved forward. From the mountains around the Kosogol we admiredthe splendid view of this broad Alpine⁶ lake. It was set like asapphire in the old gold of the surrounding hills, chased withlovely bits of rich dark forestry⁷. At night we approached Khathylwith great precaution and stopped on the shore of the river thatflows from Kosogol, the Yaga or Egingol. We found a Mongol whoagreed to transport us to the other bank of the frozen stream andto lead us by a safe road between Khathyl and Muren Kure.

Everywhere along the shore of the river were found large obo andsmall shrines⁸ to the demons⁹ of the stream.

"Why are there so many obo?" we asked the Mongol.

"It is the River of the Devil, dangerous and crafty," replied theMongol. "Two days ago a train of carts went through the ice andthree of them with five soldiers were lost."We started to cross. The surface of the river resembled a thickpiece of looking-glass, being clear and without snow. Our horseswalked very carefully but some fell and floundered before theycould regain¹¹ their feet. We were leading them by the bridle¹². Withbowed heads and trembling all over they kept their frightened eyesever on the ice at their feet. I looked down and understood theirfear. Through the cover of one foot of transparent¹³ ice one couldclearly see the bottom of the river. Under the lighting¹⁴ of themoon all the stones, the holes and even some of the grasses weredistinctly visible, even though the depth was ten metres and more.

The Yaga rushed under the ice with a furious speed, swirling¹⁵ andmarking its course with long bands of foam¹⁶ and bubbles. Suddenly Ijumped and stopped as though fastened to the spot. Along thesurface of the river ran the boom of a cannon¹⁷, followed by a secondand a third.

"Quicker, quicker!" cried our Mongol, waving us forward with hishand.

Another cannon boom and a crack ran right close to us. The horsesswung back on their haunches in protest, reared and fell, many ofthem striking their heads severely¹⁸ on the ice. In a second itopened up two feet wide, so that I could follow its jagged coursealong the surface. Immediately up out of the opening the waterspread over the ice with a rush.

"Hurry, hurry!" shouted the guide.

With great difficulty we forced our horses to jump over thiscleavage and to continue on further. They trembled and disobeyedand only the strong lash¹⁹ forced them to forget this panic of fearand go on.

When we were safe on the farther bank and well into the woods, ourMongol guide recounted to us how the river at times opens in thismysterious way and leaves great areas of clear water. All the menand animals on the river at such times must perish. The furiouscurrent of cold water will always carry them down under the ice.

At other times a crack has been known to pass right under a horseand, where he fell in with his front feet in the attempt to getback to the other side, the crack has closed up and ground his legsor feet right off.

The valley of Kosogol is the crater²⁰ of an extinct volcano. Itsoutlines may be followed from the high west shore of the lake.

However, the Plutonic force still acts and, asserting the glory ofthe Devil, forces the Mongols to build obo and offer sacrifices athis shrines. We spent all the night and all the next day hurryingaway eastward²¹ to avoid a meeting with the Reds and seeking goodpasturage for our horses. At about nine o'clock in the evening afire shone out of the distance. My friend and I made toward itwith the feeling that it was surely a Mongol yurta beside which wecould camp in safety. We traveled over a mile before making outdistinctly the lines of a group of yurtas. But nobody came out tomeet us and, what astonished us more, we were not surrounded by theangry black Mongolian dogs with fiery²² eyes. Still, from thedistance we had seen the fire and so there must be someone there.

We dismounted from our horses and approached on foot. From out ofthe yurta rushed two Russian soldiers, one of whom shot at me withhis pistol but missed me and wounded my horse in the back throughthe saddle. I brought him to earth with my Mauser and the otherwas killed by the butt²³ end of my friend's rifle. We examined thebodies and found in their pockets the papers of soldiers of theSecond Squadron of the Communist Interior Defence. Here we spentthe night. The owners of the yurtas had evidently run away, forthe Red soldiers had collected and packed in sacks the property ofthe Mongols. Probably they were just planning to leave, as theywere fully¹⁰ dressed. We acquired two horses, which we found in thebushes, two rifles and two automatic pistols with cartridges²⁴. Inthe saddle bags we also found tea, tobacco, matches and cartridges--all of these valuable supplies to help us keep further hold on ourlives.

Two days later we were approaching the shore of the River Uri whenwe met two Russian riders, who were the Cossacks of a certainAtaman Sutunin, acting²⁵ against the Bolsheviki in the valley of theRiver Selenga. They were riding to carry a message from Sutunin toKaigorodoff, chief of the Anti-Bolsheviki in the Altai region.

They informed us that along the whole Russian-Mongolian border theBolshevik troops were scattered²⁶; also that Communist agitators²⁷ hadpenetrated to Kiakhta, Ulankom and Kobdo and had persuaded theChinese authorities to surrender to the Soviet²⁹ authorities all therefugees from Russia. We knew that in the neighborhood of Urga andVan Kure engagements were taking place between the Chinese troopsand the detachments of the Anti-Bolshevik Russian General BaronUngern Sternberg and Colonel Kazagrandi, who were fighting for theindependence of Outer Mongolia. Baron³⁰ Ungern had now been twicedefeated, so that the Chinese were carrying on high-handed in Urga,suspecting all foreigners of having relations with the RussianGeneral.

We realized that the whole situation was sharply reversed. Theroute to the Pacific was closed. Reflecting very carefully overthe problem, I decided that we had but one possible exit left. Wemust avoid all Mongolian cities with Chinese administration, crossMongolia from north to south, traverse the desert in the southernpart of the Principality of Jassaktu Khan, enter the Gobi in thewestern part of Inner Mongolia, strike as rapidly as possiblethrough sixty miles of Chinese territory in the Province of Kansuand penetrate²⁸ into Tibet. Here I hoped to search out one of theEnglish Consuls³¹ and with his help to reach some English port inIndia. I understood thoroughly³² all the difficulties incident tosuch an enterprise but I had no other choice. It only remained tomake this last foolish attempt or to perish without doubt at thehands of the Boisheviki or languish³³ in a Chinese prison. When Iannounced my plan to my companions, without in any way hiding fromthem all its dangers and quixotism, all of them answered veryquickly and shortly: "Lead us! We will follow."One circumstance was distinctly in our favor. We did not fearhunger, for we had some supplies of tea, tobacco and matches and asurplus of horses, saddles, rifles, overcoats and boots, which werean excellent currency for exchange. So then we began to initiatethe plan of the new expedition. We should start to the south,leaving the town of Uliassutai on our right and taking thedirection of Zaganluk, then pass through the waste lands of thedistrict of Balir of Jassaktu Khan, cross the Naron Khuhu Gobi andstrike for the mountains of Boro. Here we should be able to take along rest to recuperate³⁴ the strength of our horses and ofourselves. The second section of our journey would be the passagethrough the western part of Inner Mongolia, through the LittleGobi, through the lands of the Torguts, over the Khara Mountains,across Kansu, where our road must be chosen to the west of theChinese town of Suchow. From there we should have to enter theDominion of Kuku Nor and then work on southward to the head watersof the Yangtze River. Beyond this I had but a hazy³⁵ notion, whichhowever I was able to verify from a map of Asia in the possessionof one of the officers, to the effect that the mountain chains tothe west of the sources of the Yangtze separated that river systemfrom the basin of the Brahmaputra in Tibet Proper, where I expectedto be able to find English assistance.

1 groves   

树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The early sun shone serenely on embrowned groves and still green fields. 朝阳宁静地照耀着已经发黄的树丛和还是一片绿色的田地。
• The trees grew more and more in groves and dotted with old yews. 那里的树木越来越多地长成了一簇簇的小丛林，还点缀着几棵老紫杉树。

2 larch   

n.落叶松

参考例句：

• This pine is called the larch.这棵松树是落叶松。
• I shall be under those larch trees.我将在那些落叶松下面。

3 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

4 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。

5 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

6 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

7 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

8 shrines   

圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All three structures dated to the third century and were tentatively identified as shrines. 这3座建筑都建于3 世纪，并且初步鉴定为神庙。
• Their palaces and their shrines are tombs. 它们的宫殿和神殿成了墓穴。

9 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

12 bridle   

n.笼头，束缚；vt.抑制，约束；动怒

参考例句：

• He learned to bridle his temper.他学会了控制脾气。
• I told my wife to put a bridle on her tongue.我告诉妻子说话要谨慎。

13 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

14 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

15 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

16 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。

17 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

18 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

19 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

20 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

21 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

22 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

23 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

24 cartridges   

子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头

参考例句：

• computer consumables such as disks and printer cartridges 如磁盘、打印机墨盒之类的电脑耗材
• My new video game player came with three game cartridges included. 我的新电子游戏机附有三盘游戏带。

25 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

26 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。

27 agitators   

n.（尤指政治变革的）鼓动者( agitator的名词复数 )；煽动者；搅拌器；搅拌机

参考例句：

• The mud is too viscous, you must have all the agitators run. 泥浆太稠，你们得让所有的搅拌机都开着。 来自辞典例句
• Agitators urged the peasants to revolt/revolution. 煽动者怂恿农民叛变（革命）。 来自辞典例句

28 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。

29 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

30 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

31 consuls   

领事( consul的名词复数 )； （古罗马共和国时期）执政官 （古罗马共和国及其军队的最高首长，同时共有两位，每年选举一次）

参考例句：

• American consuls warned that millions more were preparing to leave war-ravaged districts. 美国驻外领事们预告，还有几百万人正在准备离开战争破坏的地区。
• The legionaries, on their victorious return, refused any longer to obey the consuls. 军团士兵在凯旋归国时，不肯服从执政官的命令。

32 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

33 languish   

vi.变得衰弱无力，失去活力，（植物等）凋萎

参考例句：

• Without the founder's drive and direction,the company gradually languished.没有了创始人的斗志与指引，公司逐渐走向没落。
• New products languish on the drawing board.新产品在计划阶段即告失败。

34 recuperate   

v.恢复

参考例句：

• Stay in the hospital for a few more days to recuperate.再住院几天，好好地恢复。
• He went to the country to recuperate.他去乡下养病去了。

35 hazy   

adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的

参考例句：

• We couldn't see far because it was so hazy.雾气蒙蒙妨碍了我们的视线。
• I have a hazy memory of those early years.对那些早先的岁月我有着朦胧的记忆。