Bosco Tre Case is very easy to reach and to examine. The road is clear, up to where the mass of lava has blocked the railway. The officers of the municipality, three in number, were standing at the entrance of the road into the village, with a plate, asking contributions from the tourists, who were driving through in numbers. The lava, a black, rough mass, covering fields, and what had been houses, was still smoking. But its path was not very wide, this village only being destroyed, and on each side of it the fields were in their usual state. The destruction in the path of the lava was absolutely complete, of course. I could not find any Red Cross people there, so I drove on to Pompeii, and took the next train to Ottajano. As we went up toward Ottajano, the ashes began to show in the fields. At first only a thin gray dust, they increased as we ascended. It was a pitiful sight, the vineyards and orchards dying in the ashes. It was like a tremendous snowfall, with drifts here and there, but smooth in most places. For miles, the vineyards are three feet deep in ashes. Here and there, women and children, with small baskets on their heads, were laborously carrying away the ashes and dumping them on the side of the roads. But it would be about as easy to empty Lake Erie with a tablespoon. At Ottajano, I found the army and the Red Cross in full control. Seven hundred homeless people are here cared for. One thousand have been sent to friends or to America, or scattered here and there where work can be found for them. The Red Cross people said that it was impossible to tell how long those who remained would have to be looked after. Perhaps six months would not be enough. Three hundred was too large an estimate, they said, of those killed in the eruption; but certainly over one hundred had perished, and very likely many more. The soldiers and the men were at work digging ashes, and casting them away on tiny freight cars. The women were sitting in groups, with nothing to do. Some sewing is now being given out by the Red Cross. The houses are full of ashes to the second story, and the roofs either gone altogether, or broken and unsafe from the weight of the ashes on them. The Red Cross gives out rations and clothes and seems to be extremely well conducted. There are various officials and Sisters of Mercy, all working constantly and with great system.