The Boy Travellers in The Russian Empire / Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with Accounts of a Tour across Siberia, Voyages on the Amoor, Volga, and Other Rivers, a Visit to Central Asia, Travels among the Exiles, and a Historical Sketch of the Empire from Its Foundation to the Present Time

by Thomas Wallace Knox

"The Trans-Caucasian Railway was begun in 1871; its starting-point was at Poti, which has a poor harbor and stands in marshy ground, so that fevers and malaria are altogether too common. In 1878 Russia came into possession of Batoum, which has a good harbor, and immediately a branch line sixty miles long was built from that city to connect with the railway. Now nearly all the business has gone to Batoum. Poti is decaying very rapidly, but for military reasons it is not likely to be abandoned.

"By the treaty of Berlin Batoum was made a free port, and the Russians were forbidden to fortify it; but they have kept the Turkish fortifications, and not only kept them uninjured, but have repaired them whenever there were signs of decay. On this subject the following story is told:

"The casemated fortress which commands the port required to be strengthened in certain points, and the contractors were asked for estimates for the work. One man presented an estimate which he headed 'Repairs to Fortifications.' The general commanding the district immediately sent for the contractor, and said to him,

"'There are no fortifications in Batoum; they are forbidden by the treaty of Berlin. Your estimates must be for "garrison-barrack repairs." Remember this in all your dealings with the Government.'

RUINED FORTRESS IN THE CAUCASUS.

"We were only a few hours in Batoum, as we embraced the opportunity to embark on one of the Russian Company's steamers for Sebastopol and Odessa. Batoum is growing very rapidly, and promises to be a place of great importance in a very few years. The old town of the Turks has given place to a new one; the Russians have destroyed nearly all the rickety old buildings, laid out whole streets and avenues of modern ones, extended the piers running into the sea, drained the marshes that formerly made the place unhealthy, and in other ways have displayed their enterprise. We were told that there is a great deal of smuggling carried on here, but probably no more than at Gibraltar, Hong-Kong, and other free ports in other parts of the world.