e forming of the plans to his mother,
while he thought only of his horses, of his arms and equipments, and
of the fury with which he would gallop in among the enemy when the
time should arrive for the battle to begin. His mother, in connection
with the chief officers of the army and counselors of state who were
around her, and on whom her husband Yezonkai, during his lifetime, had
been most accustomed to rely, arranged all the plans. They sent off
messengers to the heads of all the tribes that they supposed would be
friendly to Temujin, and appointed places of rendezvous for the
troops that they were to send. They made arrangements for the stores
of provisions which would be required, settled questions of precedence
among the different clans, regulated the order of march, and attended
to all other necessary details.

In the mean time, Temujin thought only of the approaching battle. He
was engaged continually in riding up and down upon spirited horses,
and shooting in all directions, backward and forward, and both to the
right side and to the left, with his bow and arrow. Nor was all this
exhibition of ardor on his part a mere useless display. It had great
influence in awakening a corresponding ardor among the chieftains of
the troops, and among the troops themselves. They felt proud of the
spirit and energy which their young prince displayed, and were more
and more resolved to exert themselves to the utmost in defending his
cause.

There was another young prince, of the name of Porgie, of about
Temujin's age, who was also full of ardor for the fight. He was the
chieftain of one of the tribes that remained faithful to Temujin, and
he was equally earnest with Temujin for the battle to begin.

At length the troops were ready, and, with Temujin and his mother at
the head of them, they went forth to attack the rebels. The rebels
were ready to receive them. They were thirty thousand strong,
according to the statements of the historians. This number is probably
exaggerated, as all numbers were in those days, when there was no
regular enrollment of troops and no strict system of enumeration.

At any rate, there was a very great battle. Immense troops of horsemen
coming at full speed in opposite directions shot showers of arrows at
each other when they arrived at the proper distance for the arrows to
take effect, and then, throwing down their bows and drawing their
sabres, rushed madly on, until they came together with an aw