In which Michael Strogoff and his companions arrive at the deserted town of Krasnoiarsk, only to find it abandoned as part of a strategic retreat to deny the Tartars any resources, leaving them to face the formidable task of crossing the wide and swift Yenisei River without the aid of boats. Ingeniously, they transform their kibitka into a makeshift raft supported by bottles of koumyss, braving treacherous whirlpools and a perilous current in their determined passage across the river’s turbulent waters.