ng been a fugitive for some time, Temudjin at length moved to the
southeast, to the borders of Lake Kara, into which flows the river
Uldra; there he was joined by some Kunkurats, and he once more moved
on to the sacred Mongol lake, the Dalai Nur. Thence he indited the
following pathetic letter to Wang Khan:

"1. O Khan, my father, when your uncle, the Gur Khan, drove you for
having usurped the throne of Buyuruk, and for having killed your
brothers Tatimur Taidshi and Buka Timur, to take refuge at Keraun
Kiptchak, where you were beleaguered, did not my father come to your
rescue, drive out, and force the Gur Khan to take refuge in Ho Si (the
country west of the Hwang-ho), whence he returned not? Did you not
then become Anda (_i.e._, sworn friend) with my father, and was not
this the reason I styled _you_ 'father'?

"2. When you were driven away by the Naimans, and your brother, Ilkah
Sengun, had retired to the far east, did I not send for him back
again; and when he was attacked by the Merkits, did I not attack and
defeat them? Here is a second reason for your gratitude.

"3. When in your distress you came to me with your body peering
through your tatters, like the sun through the clouds, and worn out
with hunger, you moved languidly like an expiring flame, did I not
attack the tribes who molested you; present you with abundance of
sheep and horses? You came to me haggard. In a fortnight you were
stout and well-favored again. Here is a third service we have done
you.

"4. When you defeated the Merkits so severely at Buker Gehreh, you
gave me none of the booty; yet shortly after, when you were hard
pressed by the Naimans, I sent four of my best generals to your
assistance, who restored you the plunder that had been taken from you.
Here is the fourth good office.

"5. I pounced like a jerfalcon onto the mountain Jurkumen, and thence
over the lake Buyur, and I captured for you the cranes with blue claws
and gray plumage, that is to say, the Durbans and Taidshuts. Then I
passed the lake Keule. There I took the cranes with blue feet; that
is, the Katakins, Saldjuts, and Kunkurats. This is the fifth service I
have done you.

"6. Do you not remember, O Khan, my father, how on the river Kara,
near the mount Jurkan, we swore that if a snake glided between us, and
envenomed our words, we would not listen to it until we had received
some explanation? yet you suddenly left me without asking me to
explain.

"7. O Khan, my f