Some Mongol horsemen reached Uliassutai the following day after great hardship and exertion, having made only twenty-five miles in forty-eight hours.

Caravans were compelled to stop along the routes.

The Mongols would not consent even to attempt journeys with oxen and yaks which made but ten or twelve miles a day.

Only camels could be used but there were too few and their drivers did not feel that they could make the first railway station of Kuku-Hoto, which was about fourteen hundred miles away.

We were forced again to wait: for which?
Death or salvation?
Only our own energy and force could save us.