Michael Strogoff | Page 7

the
chief of police.
"The criminals? Oh, General, I give those up to you! They are the vilest,
I grant, of the human race. They belong to no country. But the
insurrection, or rather, the rebellion, is not to oppose the emperor; it is
raised against Russia, against the country which the exiles have not lost
all hope of again seeing--and which they will see again. No, a Russian
would never unite with a Tartar, to weaken, were it only for an hour,
the Muscovite power!"
The Czar was right in trusting to the patriotism of those whom his
policy kept, for a time, at a distance. Clemency, which was the
foundation of his justice, when he could himself direct its effects, the
modifications he had adopted with regard to applications for the
formerly terrible ukases, warranted the belief that he was not mistaken.
But even without this powerful element of success in regard to the
Tartar rebellion, circumstances were not the less very serious; for it was
to be feared that a large part of the Kirghiz population would join the
rebels.
The Kirghiz are divided into three hordes, the greater, the lesser, and
the middle, and number nearly four hundred thousand "tents," or two
million souls. Of the different tribes some are independent and others
recognize either the sovereignty of Russia or that of the Khans of Khiva,
Khokhand, and Bokhara, the most formidable chiefs of Turkestan. The
middle horde, the richest, is also the largest, and its encampments
occupy all the space between the rivers Sara Sou, Irtish, and the Upper
Ishim, Lake Saisang and Lake Aksakal. The greater horde, occupying
the countries situated to the east of the middle one, extends as far as the
governments of Omsk and Tobolsk. Therefore, if the Kirghiz
population should rise, it would be the rebellion of Asiatic Russia, and
the first thing would be the separation of Siberia, to the east of the
Yenisei.
It is true that these Kirghiz, mere novices in the art of war, are rather

nocturnal thieves and plunderers of caravans than regular soldiers. As
M. Levchine says, "a firm front or a square of good infantry could repel
ten times the number of Kirghiz; and a single cannon might destroy a
frightful number."
That may be; but to do this it is necessary for the square of good
infantry to reach the rebellious country, and the cannon to leave the
arsenals of the Russian provinces, perhaps two or three thousand versts
distant. Now, except by the direct route from Ekaterenburg to Irkutsk,
the often marshy steppes are not easily practicable, and some weeks
must certainly pass before the Russian troops could reach the Tartar
hordes.
Omsk is the center of that military organization of Western Siberia
which is intended to overawe the Kirghiz population. Here are the
bounds, more than once infringed by the half-subdued nomads, and
there was every reason to believe that Omsk was already in danger. The
line of military stations, that is to say, those Cossack posts which are
ranged in echelon from Omsk to Semipolatinsk, must have been broken
in several places. Now, it was to be feared that the "Grand Sultans,"
who govern the Kirghiz districts would either voluntarily accept, or
involuntarily submit to, the dominion of Tartars, Mussulmen like
themselves, and that to the hate caused by slavery was not united the
hate due to the antagonism of the Greek and Mussulman religions. For
some time, indeed, the Tartars of Turkestan had endeavored, both by
force and persuasion, to subdue the Kirghiz hordes.
A few words only with respect to these Tartars. The Tartars belong
more especially to two distinct races, the Caucasian and the Mongolian.
The Caucasian race, which, as Abel de Remusat says, "is regarded in
Europe as the type of beauty in our species, because all the nations in
this part of the world have sprung from it," includes also the Turks and
the Persians. The purely Mongolian race comprises the Mongols,
Manchoux, and Thibetans.
The Tartars who now threatened the Russian Empire, belonged to the
Caucasian race, and occupied Turkestan. This immense country is
divided into different states, governed by Khans, and hence termed

Khanats. The principal khanats are those of Bokhara, Khokhand,
Koondooz, etc. At this period, the most important and the most
formidable khanat was that of Bokhara. Russia had already been
several times at war with its chiefs, who, for their own interests, had
supported the independence of the Kirghiz against the Muscovite
dominion. The present chief, Feofar-Khan, followed in the steps of his
predecessors.
The khanat of Bokhara has a population of two million five hundred
thousand inhabitants, an army of sixty thousand men, trebled in time of
war, and thirty thousand horsemen. It is a rich country, with varied
animal,