The Italian soldier was found everywhere throughout the earthquake district. He was called upon to perform the hardest work and the most trying tasks. Heat, cold and rain were alike to him. Living in the rudest shelters and subsisting upon the most meager fare, he was uniformly cheerful, good natured and obliging. His brave uniform and military trappings were in sharp contrast to his hard life and to his simplicity about which there was something winning and childlike. He received no sympathy nor expected any. I had many occasions to ask information or other assistance from the soldiers and found them always ready to go far beyond any mere demand of duty in meeting my wishes. When far from headquarters, I sometimes went to the shelter of the nearest group of soldiers for food. With a hospitality which was almost pathetic, the men would bring forth the best they had from their cupboards and chests and set it before me with apologies for its meagerness. The usual supply of food I found consisted of dry bread and the native mild wine of the country. Occasionally a small can of meat or fish was found in their stock, but this was evidently regarded as a luxury only to be brought forth on special occasions. _Many Small Earthquakes._ The people of the country bordering on the Straits of Messina have always been accustomed to earthquakes. Slight tremors of the earth are likely to occur at any moment, as the record of any year would show. Since the disaster of December 28th last these small incidents are fraught with a new importance and frequently carry terror to the hearts of the population. Since the great earthquake many small ones have occurred. There may be two or three in a day and then a period of several days with no perceptible tremor. Occasionally one of these little earthquakes comes with a sharp bang and a swift rattle which distinguishes it from its milder and less noticeable fellows. In such instances the people rush wildly from their huts and shelters calling out anxiously to each other and exhibiting signs of the keenest alarm. Especially in the night is the terror pronounced. After a few minutes, finding that no harm has been done, the excited people become calm, retire once more to their shelters, and the clamor gradually quiets down. Some odd effects of these earthquakes at night are observed. The commonest beasts of burden are the small donkeys. There are literally thousands of these animals in and about Southern Italian towns. Whenever a rather sharp earthquake occurs at night every donkey immediately sets up an excited braying and for a few moments the air for miles resounds with their unearthly noise.