Michael Strogoff | Page 9

built for the performance of feats of
strength. It would have been a difficult task to move such a man against
his will, for when his feet were once planted on the ground, it was as if
they had taken root. As he doffed his Muscovite cap, locks of thick
curly hair fell over his broad, massive forehead. When his ordinarily
pale face became at all flushed, it arose solely from a more rapid action
of the heart. His eyes, of a deep blue, looked with clear, frank, firm
gaze. The slightly-contracted eyebrows indicated lofty heroism--"the
hero's cool courage," according to the definition of the physiologist. He
possessed a fine nose, with large nostrils; and a well-shaped mouth,
with the slightly-projecting lips which denote a generous and noble
heart.
Michael Strogoff had the temperament of the man of action, who does
not bite his nails or scratch his head in doubt and indecision. Sparing of
gestures as of words, he always stood motionless like a soldier before
his superior; but when he moved, his step showed a firmness, a

freedom of movement, which proved the confidence and vivacity of his
mind.
Michael Strogoff wore a handsome military uniform something
resembling that of a light-cavalry officer in the field-- boots, spurs, half
tightly-fitting trousers, brown pelisse, trimmed with fur and
ornamented with yellow braid. On his breast glittered a cross and
several medals.
Michael Strogoff belonged to the special corps of the Czar's couriers,
ranking as an officer among those picked men. His most discernible
characteristic--particularly in his walk, his face, in the whole man, and
which the Czar perceived at a glance--was, that he was "a fulfiller of
orders." He therefore possessed one of the most serviceable qualities in
Russia--one which, as the celebrated novelist Tourgueneff says, "will
lead to the highest positions in the Muscovite empire."
In short, if anyone could accomplish this journey from Moscow to
Irkutsk, across a rebellious country, surmount obstacles, and brave
perils of all sorts, Michael Strogoff was the man.
A circumstance especially favorable to the success of his plan was, that
he was thoroughly acquainted with the country which he was about to
traverse, and understood its different dialects-- not only from having
traveled there before, but because he was of Siberian origin.
His father--old Peter Strogoff, dead ten years since-- inhabited the town
of Omsk, situated in the government of the same name; and his mother,
Marfa Strogoff, lived there still. There, amid the wild steppes of the
provinces of Omsk and Tobolsk, had the famous huntsman brought up
his son Michael to endure hardship. Peter Strogoff was a huntsman by
profession. Summer and winter-- in the burning heat, as well as when
the cold was sometimes fifty degrees below zero--he scoured the frozen
plains, the thickets of birch and larch, the pine forests; setting traps;
watching for small game with his gun, and for large game with the
spear or knife. The large game was nothing less than the Siberian bear,
a formidable and ferocious animal, in size equaling its fellow of the
frozen seas. Peter Strogoff had killed more than thirty-nine bears--that

is to say, the fortieth had fallen under his blows; and, according to
Russian legends, most huntsmen who have been lucky enough up to the
thirty-ninth bear, have succumbed to the fortieth.
Peter Strogoff had, however, passed the fatal number without even a
scratch. From that time, his son Michael, aged eleven years, never
failed to accompany him to the hunt, carrying the ragatina or spear to
aid his father, who was armed only with the knife. When he was
fourteen, Michael Strogoff had killed his first bear, quite alone--that
was nothing; but after stripping it he dragged the gigantic animal's skin
to his father's house, many versts distant, exhibiting remarkable
strength in a boy so young.
This style of life was of great benefit to him, and when he arrived at
manhood he could bear any amount of cold, heat, hunger, thirst, or
fatigue. Like the Yakout of the northern countries, he was made of iron.
He could go four-and-twenty hours without eating, ten nights without
sleeping, and could make himself a shelter in the open steppe where
others would have been frozen to death. Gifted with marvelous
acuteness, guided by the instinct of the Delaware of North America,
over the white plain, when every object is hidden in mist, or even in
higher latitudes, where the polar night is prolonged for many days, he
could find his way when others would have had no idea whither to turn.
All his father's secrets were known to him. He had learnt to read almost
imperceptible signs-- the forms of icicles, the appearance of the small
branches of trees, mists rising far away in the horizon, vague sounds in
the air,