CHAPTER XIV

THE RIVER OF THE DEVIL


Ulan Taiga with Darkhat Ola lay behind us. We went forward very rapidly
because the Mongol plains began here, free from the impediments of
mountains. Everywhere splendid grazing lands stretched away. In places
there were groves of larch. We crossed some very rapid streams but they
were not deep and they had hard beds. After two days of travel over
the Darkhat plain we began meeting Soyots driving their cattle rapidly
toward the northwest into Orgarkha Ola. They communicated to us very
unpleasant news.

The Bolsheviki from the Irkutsk district had crossed the Mongolian
border, captured the Russian colony at Khathyl on the southern shore
of Lake Kosogol and turned, off south toward Muren Kure, a Russian
settlement beside a big Lamaite monastery sixty miles south of Kosogol.
The Mongols told us there were no Russian troops between Khathyl and
Muren Kure, so we decided to pass between these two points to reach Van
Kure farther to the east. We took leave of our Soyot guide and, after
having sent three scouts in advance, moved forward. From the mountains
around the Kosogol we admired the splendid view of this broad Alpine
lake. It was set like a sapphire in the old gold of the surrounding
hills, chased with lovely bits of rich dark forestry. At night we
approached Khathyl with great precaution and stopped on the shore of the
river that flows from Kosogol, the Yaga or Egingol. We found a Mongol
who agreed to transport us to the other bank of the frozen stream and to
lead us by a safe road between Khathyl and Muren Kure. Everywhere along
the shore of the river were found large obo and small shrines to the