I BATUM DURING A STRIKE II
of the carriages passed unharmed, but the rest of the train was broken into splinters.
Under such circumstances the journey to Tiflis could not be particularly pleasant, but still we were quite determined to travel thither. Reports came in daily of parties of engineers having been attacked at their work by rebels, and of bloody collisions. The first train despatched to Tiflis was to be accompanied by a strong escort, and it was reported that 5000 men had been sent from Tiflis to guard the line.
On the evening of November 4. I again paid a visit to the Governor, who informed me that a train would probably start in three days, but that it would be long on the way, and that changes of trains were unavoidable with all the damaged sections and blown - up bridges. For greater certainty he telephoned to the chief engineer of the railway, and learned that the connection between Poti and Kutais was clear, and that one could probably travel on from Kutais to Tiflis.
I decided at once to go to Poti by the steamer which started the same evening for Odessa, and the Governor kindly furnished me with an order permitting me to travel in the first military train from Poti. I hurriedly sought out my two Russian fellow-travellers, and we had but just time to get our things together, pay the bill, and go on board, before the steamer made its way out to the dark sea.
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