filled with the thought that, if my horse’s strength failed in his struggle with the stream, I must perish.  All my attention was turned to his efforts and to his quivering fear.  Suddenly he groaned loudly and I noticed he was sinking.  The water evidently was over his nostrils, because the intervals of his frightened snorts through the nostrils became longer.  A big block of ice struck his head and turned him so that he was swimming right downstream.  With difficulty I reined him around toward the shore but felt now that his force was gone.  His head several times disappeared under the swirling surface.  I had no choice.  I slipped from the saddle and, holding this by my left hand, swam with my right beside my mount, encouraging him with my shouts.  For a time he floated with lips apart and his teeth set firm.  In his widely opened eyes was indescribable fear.  As soon as I was out of the saddle, he had at once risen in the water and swam more calmly and rapidly.  At last under the hoofs of my exhausted animal I heard the stones.  One after another my companions came up on the shore.  The well-trained horses had brought all their burdens over.  Much farther down our colonist landed with the supplies.  Without a moment’s loss we packed our things on the horses and continued our journey.  The wind was growing stronger and colder.  At the dawn of day the cold was intense.  Our soaked clothes froze and became hard as leather; our teeth chattered; and in our eyes showed the red fires of fever:  but we traveled on to put as much space as we could between ourselves and the Partisans.  Passing about fifteen kilometres through the forest we emerged into an open valley, from which we could see the opposite bank of the Yenisei.  It was about eight o’clock.  Along the road on the other shore wound the black serpent-like line of riders and wagons which we made out to be a column of Red soldiers with their transport.  We dismounted and hid in the bushes in order to avoid attracting their attention.

All the day with the thermometer at zero and below we continued our journey, only at night reaching the mountains covered with larch forests, where we made big fires, dried our clothes and warmed ourselves thoroughly.  The hungry horses did not leave the fires but stood right behind us with drooped heads and slept.  Very early in the morning several Soyots came to our camp.

“Ulan? (Red?)” asked one of them.

“No!  No!” exclaimed all our company.

“Tzagan? (White?)” followed the new question.

“Yes, yes,” said the Tartar, “all are Whites.”

“Mende!  Mende!” they grunted and, after starting their cups of tea, began to relate very interesting and important news.  It appeared that the Red Partisans, moving from the mountains Tannu Ola, occupied with their outposts all the border of Mongolia to stop and seize the peasants and Soyots driving out their cattle.  To pass the Tannu Ola now would be impossible.  I saw only one way—­to