Mongolia | Gov-Altai Aimag | Ülzii Bilegt

I had the GPS coordinates for Ülzii Bilegt and Sükhee had been here six or seven years ago with some scientists studying Gobi bears, so I did not anticipate any problems finding the place. It was just three miles as the crow flies from the mouth the canyon. The canyon floor was from fifty to 300 feet wide, and on either side rose unscalable cliffs. Sükhee said that the canyon was the only access to Ülzii Bilegt. If anyone had wanted to flush Dambijantsan out of his lair they would have to come this way. And the whole time they would be fully exposed on the barren canyon bottom. On a crag to the left we see a small stone tower. This was one of Dambijantsan’s lookout posts. Guards were stationed here to warn of the approach of soldiers or other unwanted intruders.

Canyon leading to Ülzii Bilegt

A little farther on a group of six ibex stood at the top of the unscalable cliffs. I suddenly had the odd notion that they only appeared to be ibex, but that they were actually sentinels standing guard over the approach to Ülzii Bilegt. Then I had the even odder notion that the Gobi Bear had been intended to scare us away but that we had not heeded the warning. My imagination was clearly running away with me. I starting shivering slightly. Was I catching a cold? In order to get a grip on reality I checked my GPS. We had been traveling for over an hour but Ülzii Bilegt was still two miles away as the crow flies. We had taken several hairpin turns and seemed to be just doubling back on ourselves. I asked Sükhee how much farther we had to go. He did not reply and I had to ask him again. Finally he said, “I do not know. Everything looks different from last time.”

Continuing up the canyon to Ülzii Bilegt

We rode for another hour and went around several more hairpin turns. Still no sight of any tooroi trees or ruins. Finally Tsogoo told us to stay put and he would scout on ahead by himself. The ridge to our right was climbable, and after Tsogoo left Sükhee said he would climb to the top of the spine of rock and try to see where we were. About fifteen minutes later Tsogoo reappeared about 500 yards up the canyon and shouted for us to bring the camels. Then Sükhee shouted from the top of the ridge that Ülzii Bilegt was right on the other side. The canyon had doubled back on itself again.

But now the camels refused to budge. They craned their necks and peered nervously around the ridges on both sides of the canyon. When we tried to pull them by their lead ropes they simply refused to move, bawling and shrieking the whole time. Did they sense a bear, or wolves, or something else? I did not know. Finally Uyanga lost all patience. She had been born a country girl and had grown up around livestock and she had clearly had enough of these obstreperous camels. She grabbed a good-sized tooroi limb and wading into the camels swinging left and right, whacking away at their flanks. With much bawling and caterwauling they finally started moving forward. We rounded the last hairpin turn and there in front of us was a stand of tooroi trees. This was the oasis of Ülzii Bilegt. Sükhee had come down the ridge on foot and met us there.

The oasis of Ülzii Bilegt

Grove of tooroi trees at Ülzii Bilegt

We lead the camels to the north side of the grove and start unloading them. Tsogoo said something to Sükhee and suddenly they had a furious exchange of words. They stopped for a bit, glowering, and then Sükhee said something. Now Tsogoo was furious. I thought for a moment the two men might get in a fist fight. Tsogoo and Sükhee had known each other all their lives and seemed to have been on the best of terms on the trip so far. I could not understand what was going on. Mojik explained that Tsogoo had told Sükhee he should stay with us and the camels when he himself had ridden on ahead, but instead Sükhee had decided to climb the ridge by himself, leaving us alone to deal with the camels. That was true, but it hardly seemed like an issue worth fighting over.

We got a fire going and Uyanga starting making a late lunch. I noticed there was something wrong with her. So far on this trip she had always seemed to be in good spirits, always laughing and joking with the camel men and Mojik. Even after the camel stampede and through the difficulties of cooking in the cold and wind she always seemed unperturbed. I myself had come to always expect her big radiant smile in any situation. Now she hunched by the fire, her mouth drawn down at the corners. She kept glancing up furtively at the surrounding ridges, as if afraid of what she see might see. “What’s wrong with her?" I asked Mojik. “She doesn’t like this place. She says there is something wrong here. She doesn’t want to camp here tonight. She wants to leave.” Not knowing what to make of this I went to pick out a place to sleep that night. Suddenly I hear Mojik and Uyanga yelling at each other. Uyanga is clearly angry. Mojik stomped off and begin to set up her own tent. I went over and asked what was going on. “Well, all I said to was that the food bags and cooking gear were thrown all around the camp and wouldn’t it be better if she tidied up a little bit. She yelled at me that she was in charge of the camp and cooking and that I should mind my own business.” Mojik and Uyanga had been on the best of terms up until now and the behavior of both girls seemed to be entirely out of character. Now it appeared the whole camp was out of sorts. It was almost as if there was something in the atmosphere that was discombobulating people.

We ate our dinner in silence. At one point Tsogoo got up, walked about fifty feet away and stood there peering at the surrounding ridges. He came back and sat down. “There’s something wrong with this place,” he said. After our meal I walked over to a slightly raised level area between the grove of tooroi trees and the cliffs. There I discovered a curious stone design laid out on the ground. A square had been outlined with black stones. On one side there was a opening with rocks on either side. In the middle of the square was a flat rock that looked like an altar of some kind. I remember reading that Dambijantsan made his people at Gongpochuan construct mandalas out of rocks laid out on the desert. Was this some kind of similar construction? I called Tsogoo over and asked him what it was. He approached to within fifty feet, took a look, said “I don’t know, ” then turned and walked away. I had the feeling he did not even want to come close to this rock design, whatever it was.

The stone design

Leaving the camp to stew I went off to find the ruins of Dambijantsan’s house, which were supposed to be up the valley a half mile or so. I tried to analyze my feelings. I remembered the strange sensation I had riding up the canyon, the feeling that we were being watched by the ibex, and it was true that the black crumbly hills on either side of the valley seemed foreboding, somehow menacing. What had Dambijantsan done here? What thought traces still lingered at this place? I knew from informants I had talked to earlier that summer in Bayankhongor that some people believe Dambijantsan’s spirit still exists and to this day haunts his former hangouts. I had dismissed these tales but here in this strange place they suddenly take on a new meaning.

I remembered what I had read about Dambijantsan’s fortress at Gongpochuan. Owen Lattimore, who visited there in 1926, wrote,

“In the fortress itself there is a cramped and sinister feeling. I did not feel happy. Withered in the light of the noonday sun almost to the dingy color of the hill on which they stood, and lying so empty and quiet in that utter emptiness of marsh and hill, brief patches of living land and long stretches of desolation, the rifled ruins seem to be oppressed by something uncanny. I did not wonder that the few frequenters of the wilderness should avoid them and whatever ghosts they harbor.”

The Roerich Expedition visited the ruins at Gongpochuan in 1927. The Roerichs were also struck by something sinister. Their camel men would not even approach the ruins of Dambijantsan’s fortress. Roerich wrote:

“The men who were usually quite disciplined, made a flat refusal. They said they were ready to fight Chinese, Tibetans, or Mongols, but they would never enter the fortress of Ja Lama or fight with his men.”

I finally find the ruins of Dambijantsan’s stone cabin. It was here that he had lived while robbing caravans. Nearby are some ovoos of exactly the same barrel-like construction we had seen on the trail here.

Ruins of Dambijantsan’s house

Above the cabin, along the face of a black cliff, is a stone fortification which overlooks the approach to Dambijantsan’s cabin. His men were stationed here to protect him. I sit for an hour at the fortifications overlooking Dambijantsan’s house, trying to imagine what had happened here. Crows wheel in the air above the ruins. Dambijantsan had two pet crows which he had trained to talk. Zeskhüü in Ekhiin Gol had told me about a legend that Dambijantsan could travel through the air with the spirits of his crows. The assassins who had killed Dambijantsan had also killed his crows. After the assassins had left some of his followers put the dead crows under the armpits of his body so that their spirits could continue to ride together on the winds of the Gobi.

Fortifications against the base of the cliff

Fortifications

Looking down the valley from the fortifications

Curiously enough that night I slept the sleep of the Just. I did not dream anything nor did I wake up during the night. The others reported that they had heard rocks falling off the nearby cliffs and Tsogoo noted that the camels had been restless all night. It turned out to be a warm day, with a faultless dome of azure sky overhead. We had a big lunch of khorkhog, mutton cooked in a pot with stones which had been heated in the fire. It was probably the best meal we had on the trip. This raised everyone’s spirits. Yesterday’s disagreements and arguments seem to have dissipated. I for one did not want to leave so quickly. After all we had ridden seven long days to get here. Tsogoo pointed out that the camels were tired and could use a day’s rest too, so we decided to stay another night. Uyanga did not looked 100% pleased, but her radiant smile was slowly returning.

Khorkhog

There is no spring here at Ulzii Bilegt but Tsogoo says that in the old days there were several wells. Sükhee went up to Dambijantsan’s cabin and dug a hole, hitting water at about three feet deep. This watercourse here was probably once reason why Dambijantsan built his cabin where he did.

The small well dug by Sükhee

The next morning we left early. Uyanga and Mojik were all smiles. The moment we turned and headed down the canyon the camels with their uncanny perception knew we were on the return leg of our journey and stepped out at a sprightly gait, their heads held high, even though we had six more days to ride. Even they looked happy. Two hours later we had emerged from the canyon leading to Dambijantsan’s hideout. I could only hope that whatever we found there had been left behind.

Mojik and Uyanga all smiles as we are about to leave Ülzii Bilegt