Anna Louise Tittman Memoir - University of Illinois Springfield

Anna Tittman
At Tsitsikar we mt an Arrerican engheer namd Martinson p conplded of
the lack of appreciation of the Russian people. He is regponsible f4r the
regulation of telephone and telegraph wi~e facilities froq Khailar to
Tsltsikar. The market around the station was similar to a1 those others
seen through the corntry. Chinese coolies of the dirtiest type (chuckles)
sell cigarettes, eggs, live fowls, portions of mat half qooked from dirQ
boxes and baskets. Somt5mes one sees watemlon, but these are of a vew
small variety, about one fourth as large as the smllest united States Melons
Af'ter leaving Tsitsikar we dashed over an enomus plain %here we seldom
saw any mark of civilization. In a few smll patches we occasionally saw
some wild hay reaped into stacks. We crossed over the No4wie River which
is very, very long, on a bridge of splendid construckion. It's cloudy today;
no pictures taken.
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Saw cities of mudhouses with md walls around. Another nqticable feature is
the abundance of Jap troops through the region. At Anda @nd also at Barirn
we saw the Jap flag over the station entrance." Just v n e , now, putting
a Jap Tlag on a Russian building.
"S_eptember 6, 1919; The cauntry begins to get hilly againc For a 1% tim
we traveled throw a valley about three quar*ters of a mile wide. bk are
rully twenty-four hams behind our expected schedule and ttkg fwther
behind all the tim. The wind is very fast and M o w $ this region and
makes it very necessary for the engine to proceed at a slfm rate of speed.
We took a w&dk over Barim. Found lots of brick houses, ole story, built in
logical order, fences about them, flowers and vegetables
houses were nunbered. It was sorewhat of a swrprlse to
used, as nuber 36 or rimer 38, and .so forth. There were; two parks. One
with an open air theatre and a bandstand. Lots of nice t es about everywhere.
Reached Buchuta about 8: 00 p.m. Remained mtil ten. I r&de on the front
of the engine mrn the point about seven verst from Buchuta and the scenery
was very lovely. At Buchuta, Mrs. Strange, wife of an Arrprican engiqeer,
mt the traln. It seemed good to see an Am~Lcan woman @er two s of
separation k.om them. Met a Czech trxin camying all thelr supplie and
much of their amy tmard VladZvostok. HeaFd again of the starving train
which went thm@ here last Smday--A train full of Bols
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eviki had een
boarded up, Fn the car, and sent without food for the peo le to die 'of starvation.
This train was opened by the Amrican Red Cross t Nikolsk. * Som
were left to die and others were fed. " Nailed up, a d y u, without food
and everythjn@;. I have a pkctp somepihere, I guess I h it, mere--they
were just sta?ved and in the train persons lying in--one 's face I remmber
Q. Did you see the train?
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A. I had a picture of it.
Q. Did you take the picture?
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