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 CHAPTER IX

STALKED AND STALKING

ONDITIONS and events in Manchuria did not permit me to remain idle for long, though I was still very lame and had unfortunately become a subtle barometer for the registration of every change in the weather. An approaching storm, the rise and fall in the atmospheric pressure, any sudden change in temperature, rain or cold wind—all these occasioned more or less severe pains in my injured hip. However, war has her exigencies, which in this case forced me to discontinue my cure sooner than the medical art could possibly sanction.

A few days after the defeat at Liaoyang I received orders to institute a search for coal in the neighbourhood of Harbin, and to make careful analyses of any deposits found to ascertain whether they would be suitable for locomotive use. The cause of the urgency of the orders was the fact that, through the defeats at Liaoyang and on the Liaotung Peninsula, Russia had lost a number of good coal mines, especially the very productive and valuable one at Fushun. Two skilled miners, specialists in drilling, a good drill and thirty Chinese workers were immediately put at my disposal. A small steamer loaded all my expedition and its belongings, consisting of our food supplies, pumps, tools, pyroxylin and a quantity of timber, as it was very difficult along the river above Harbin to secure adequate lumber supplies at short notice. 94