were
procurable, also "Black and White" whiskey, which had been made in
Greece and bore a spurious label. This last was brought under the notice
of the military police, who compelled its withdrawal.

The products of the island seemed to be grapes and a few other fruits,
walnuts, wheat, barley, and a little cotton. Poultry were reared in some
numbers, and the eggs mainly went to the monasteries on the mainland, at
Mt. Athos, where the rules of the Order resident there forbade the
admission of females of any species. At one time the authorities on the
island derived a considerable revenue from the sale and export of a
certain red earth which, with much religious ceremony, was dug out at
stated times of the year and sealed in small packets. This, applied
internally and externally, was regarded as an antidote to poison and a
cure for snake bite.

A few flocks of long-wooled sheep roamed the hillsides. Many of these
were black. For tilling, primitive wooden ploughs, fitted with an iron
share, were used. These were drawn by oxen or, sometimes, by an ox and a
donkey, both animals usually in a very decrepit condition. The ordinary
means of conveyance was a curious old covered cart--also drawn by
donkeys.

Dotted about on the lower hills were windmills, with long wooden arms,
carrying the sails. The internal fittings and cog wheels were also wood.
These mills were used for grinding the corn that was not exported to the
mainland.

The island seemed to be well watered. One or two streams ran into the
Bay, and springs were plentiful. Some of these latter were built over
and provided with appliances for filling the carrying vessels. The
villages also had their wells, but the water in these was reported to be
polluted and to be the cause of outbreaks of fever.

There was almost a complete absence of trees, the natives having to
secure their fuel from the neighbouring islands. Animal life seemed to
consist of black and grey crows, jackdaws, a few hares, and moles, whose
mounds were numerous.

Like unto Egypt, each little village on the island had its cafes, where
the menfolk gathered and drank the thick sweet coffee. The 28th men
frequented these when desiring a rest in their walks. Sometimes they
visited the Greek churches--mostly old places, whitewashed, poorly
furnished, and with a good deal of tawdry decoration in the way of
pictures and tinsel. To the building at Portianos was an annexe half
filled with human skulls and