We arrived at Uliassutai on the day of the return of the detachmentwhich had gone out to disarm the convoy of Wang Tsao-tsun. Thisdetachment had met Colonel Domojiroff, who ordered them not only todisarm but to pillage the convoy and, unfortunately, LieutenantStrigine executed this illegal and unwarranted command. It wascompromising and ignominious to see Russian officers and soldierswearing the Chinese overcoats, boots and wrist watches which hadbeen taken from the Chinese officials and the convoy. Everyone hadChinese silver and gold also from the loot. The Mongol wife ofWang Tsao-tsun and her brother returned with the detachment andentered a complaint of having been robbed by the Russians. TheChinese officials and their convoy, deprived of their supplies,reached the Chinese border only after great distress from hungerand cold. We foreigners were astounded that Lt.-Colonel Michailoffreceived Strigine with military honors but we caught theexplanation of it later when we learned that Michailoff had beengiven some of the Chinese silver and his wife the handsomelydecorated saddle of Fu Hsiang. Chultun Beyli demanded that all theweapons taken from the Chinese and all the stolen property beturned over to him, as it must later be returned to the Chineseauthorities; but Michailoff refused. Afterwards we foreigners cutoff all contact with the Russian detachment. The relations betweenthe Russians and Mongols became very strained. Several of theRussian officers protested against the acts of Michailoff andStrigine and controversies became more and more serious.

At this time, one morning in April, an extraordinary group of armedhorsemen arrived at Uliassutai. They stayed at the house of theBolshevik Bourdukoff, who gave them, so we were told, a greatquantity of silver. This group explained that they were formerofficers in the Imperial Guard. They were Colonels Poletika, N. N.

Philipoff and three of the latter's brothers. They announced thatthey wanted to collect all the White officers and soldiers then inMongolia and China and lead them to Urianhai to fight theBolsheviki; but that first they wanted to wipe out Ungern andreturn Mongolia to China. They called themselves therepresentatives of the Central Organization of the Whites inRussia.

The society of Russian officers in Uliassutai invited them to ameeting, examined their documents and interrogated them.

Investigation proved that all the statements of these officersabout their former connections were entirely wrong, that Poletikaoccupied an important position in the war commissariat of theBolsheviki, that one of the Philipoff brothers was the assistant ofKameneff in his first attempt to reach England, that the CentralWhite Organization in Russia did not exist, that the proposedfighting in Urianhai was but a trap for the White officers and thatthis group was in close relations with the Bolshevik Bourdukoff.

A discussion at once sprang up among the officers as to what theyshould do with this group, which split the detachment into twodistinct parties. Lt.-Colonel Michailoff with several officersjoined themselves to Poletika's group just as Colonel Domojiroffarrived with his detachment. He began to get in touch with bothfactions and to feel out the politics of the situation, finallyappointing Poletika to the post of Commandant of Uliassutai andsending to Baron Ungern a full report of the events in the town.

In this document he devoted much space to me, accusing me ofstanding in the way of the execution of his orders. His officerswatched me continuously. From different quarters I receivedwarnings to take great care. This band and its leader openlydemanded to know what right this foreigner had to interfere in theaffairs of Mongolia, one of Domojiroff's officers directly givingme the challenge in a meeting in the attempt to provoke acontroversy. I quietly answered him:

"And on what basis do the Russian refugees interfere, they who haverights neither at home nor abroad?"The officer made no verbal reply but in his eyes burned a definiteanswer. My huge friend who sat beside me noticed this, strode overtoward him and, towering over him, stretched his arms and hands asthough just waking from sleep and remarked: "I'm looking for alittle boxing exercise."On one occasion Domojiroff's men would have succeeded in taking meif I had not been saved by the watchfulness of our foreign group.

I had gone to the fortress to negotiate with the Mongol Sait forthe departure of the foreigners from Uliassutai. Chultun Beylidetained me for a long time, so that I was forced to return aboutnine in the evening. My horse was walking. Half a mile from thetown three men sprang up out of the ditch and ran at me. I whippedup my horse but noticed several more men coming out of the otherditch as though to head me off. They, however, made for the othergroup and captured them and I heard the voice of a foreignercalling me back. There I found three of Domojiroff's officerssurrounded by the Polish soldiers and other foreigners under theleadership of my old trusted agronome, who was occupied with tyingthe hands of the officers behind their backs so strongly that thebones cracked. Ending his work and still smoking his perpetualpipe, he announced in a serious and important manner: "I think itbest to throw them into the river."Laughing at his seriousness and the fear of Domojiroff's officers,I asked them why they had started to attack me. They dropped theireyes and were silent. It was an eloquent silence and we perfectlyunderstood what they had proposed to do. They had revolvers hiddenin their pockets.

"Fine!" I said. "All is perfectly clear. I shall release you butyou must report to your sender that he will not welcome you backthe next time. Your weapons I shall hand to the Commandant ofUliassutai."My friend, using his former terrifying care, began to unt............