we arrived at narabanchi late at night on the third day out. as wewere approaching, we noticed several riders who, as soon as theyhad seen us, galloped quickly back to the monastery. for some timewe looked for the camp of the russian detachment without findingit. the mongols led us into the monastery, where the hutuktuimmediately received me. in his yurta sat chultun beyli. there hepresented me with hatyks and said to me: "the very god has sentyou here to us in this difficult moment."it seems domojiroff had arrested both the presidents of thechambers of commerce and had threatened to shoot prince chultun.
both domojiroff and hun boldon had no documents legalizing theiractivities. chultun beyli was preparing to fight with them.
i asked them to take me to domojiroff. through the dark i saw fourbig yurtas and two mongol sentinels with russian rifles. weentered the russian "noyon's" tent. a very strange picture waspresented to our eyes. in the middle of the yurta the brazier wasburning. in the usual place for the altar stood a throne, on whichthe tall, thin, grey-haired colonel domojiroff was seated. he wasonly in his undergarments and stockings, was evidently a littledrunk and was telling stories. around the brazier lay twelve youngmen in various picturesque poses. my officer companion reported todomojiroff about the events in uliassutai and during theconversation i asked domojiroff where his detachment was encamped.
he laughed and answered, with a sweep of his hand: "this is mydetachment." i pointed out to him that the form of his orders tous in uliassutai had led us to believe that he must have a largecompany with him. then i informed him that lt.-colonel michailoffwas preparing to cross swords with the bolshevik force approachinguliassutai.
"what?" he exclaimed with fear and confusion, "the reds?"we spent the night in his yurta and, when i was ready to lie down,my officer whispered to me:
"be sure to keep your revolver handy," to which i laughed and said:
"but we are in the center of a white detachment and therefore inperfect safety!""uh-huh!" answered my officer and finished the response with oneeye closed.
the next day i invited domojiroff to walk with me over the plain,when i talked very frankly with him about what had been happening.
he and hun boldon had received orders from baron ungern simply toget into touch with general bakitch, but instead they beganpillaging chinese firms along the route and he had made up his mindto become a great conqueror. on the way he had run across some ofthe officers who deserted colonel kazagrandi and formed his presentband. i succeeded in persuading domojiroff to arrange matterspeacefully with chultun beyli and not to violate the treaty. heimmediately went ahead to the monastery. as i returned, i met atall mongol with a ferocious face, dressed in a blue silkoutercoat--it was hun boldon. he introduced himself and spoke withme in russian. i had only time to take off my coat in the tent ofdomojiroff when a mongol came running to invite me to the yurta ofhun boldon. the prince lived just beside me in a splendid blueyurta. knowing the mongolian custom, i jumped into the saddle androde the ten paces to his door. hun boldon received me withcoldness and pride.
"who is he?" he inquired of the interpreter, pointing to me withhis finger.
i understood his desire to offend me and i answered in the samemanner, thrusting out my finger toward him and turning to theinterpreter with the same question in a slightly more unpleasanttone:
"who is he? high prince and warrior or shepherd and brute?"boldon at once became confused and, with trembling voice andagitation in his whole manner, blurted out to me that he would notallow me to interfere in his affairs and would shoot every man whodared to run counter to his orders. he pounded on the low tablewith his fist and then rose up and drew his revolver. but i wasmuch traveled among the nomads and had studied them thoroughly--princes, lamas, shepherds and brigands. i grasped my whip and,striking it on the table with all my strength, i said to theinterpreter:
"tell him that he has the honor to speak with neither mongol norrussian but with a foreigner, a citizen of a great and free state.
tell him he must first learn to be a man and then he can visit meand we can talk together."i turned and went out. ten minutes later hun boldon entered myyurta and offered his apologies. i persuaded him to parley withchultun beyli and not to offend the free mongol people with hisactivities. that very night all was arranged. hun boldondismissed his mongols and left for kobdo, while domojiroff with hisband started for jassaktu khan to arrange for the mobilization ofthe mongols there. with the consent of chultun beyli he wrote towang tsao-tsun a demand to disarm his guard, as all of the chinesetroops in urga had been so treated; but this letter arrived afterwang had bought camels to replace the stolen horses and was on hisway to the border. later lt.-colonel michailoff sent a detachmentof fifty men under the command of lieutenant strigine to overhaulwang and receive their arms.
