The Young Carthaginian: A Story of The Times of Hannibal

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER XI: THE PASSAGE OF THE RHONE

  The army was now moving through the passes of the Pyrenees. The labourwas great; no army had ever before crossed this mountain barrier; roadshad to be made, streams bridged, and rocks blasted away, to allow thepassage of the elephants and baggage wagons. Opinions have differed asto the explosives used by the Carthaginian miners, but it is certainthat they possessed means of blasting rocks. The engineers of Hannibal'sforce possessed an amount of knowledge and science vastly in excess ofthat attained by the Romans at that time, and during the campaign thelatter frequently endeavoured, and sometimes with success, by promisesof high rewards, to induce Hannibal's engineers to desert and takeservice with them. A people well acquainted with the uses of sulphurand niter, skilled in the Oriental science of chemistry, capable ofmanufacturing Greek fire--a compound which would burn under water--maywell have been acquainted with some mixture resembling gunpowder.

  The art of making this explosive was certainly known to the Chinese invery remote ages, and the Phoenicians, whose galleys traversed the mostdistant seas to the east, may have acquired their knowledge from thatpeople.

  The wild tribes of the mountains harassed the army during this difficultmarch, and constant skirmishes went on between them and Hannibal's lightarmed troops. However, at last all difficulties were overcome, and thearmy descended the slopes into the plains of Southern Gaul.

  Already Hannibal's agents had negotiated for an unopposed passagethrough this country; but the Gauls, alarmed at the appearance ofthe army, and at the news which had reached them of the conquest ofCatalonia, assembled in arms. Hannibal's tact and a lavish distributionof presents dissipated the alarm of the Gauls, and their chiefs visitedHannibal's camp at Elne, and a treaty was entered into for the passageof the army.

  A singular article of this treaty, and one which shows the esteem inwhich the Gauls held their women, was that all complaints on the partof the natives against Carthaginian troops should be carried to Hannibalhimself or the general representing him, and that all complaints of theCarthaginians against the natives should be decided without appeal by acouncil composed of Gaulish women. This condition caused much amusementto the Carthaginians, who, however, had no cause to regret itsacceptance, for the decisions of this singular tribunal were marked bythe greatest fairness and impartiality. The greater part of the tribesthrough whose country the army marched towards the Rhone observed theterms of the treaty with good faith; some proved troublesome, but werewholly unable to stand against the Carthaginian arms.

  The exact route traversed by the army has been a subject of long andbitter controversy; but, as no events of very great importance occurredon the way, the precise line followed in crossing Gaul is a matter ofbut slight interest. Suffice that, after marching from the Pyrenees ata high rate of speed, the army reached the Rhone at the point whereRoquemaure now stands, a short distance above Avignon.

  This point had been chosen by Hannibal because it was one of the fewspots at which the Rhone runs in a single stream, its course being forthe most part greatly broken up by islands. Roquemaure lies sixty-fivemiles from the sea, and it was necessary to cross the Rhone at somedistance from its mouth, for Rome was now thoroughly alarmed, andScipio, with a fleet and powerful army, was near Marseilles waiting toengage Hannibal on the plains of Gaul.

  During the last few days' march no inhabitants had been encountered.The Arecomici, who inhabited this part of the country, had not beenrepresented at the meeting, and at the news of the approach of theCarthaginians had deserted their country and fled across the Rhone,where, joined by the tribes dwelling upon the further bank, theyprepared to offer a desperate opposition to the passage of the river.The appearance of this mass of barbarians, armed with bows and arrowsand javelins, on the further side of the wide and rapid river which hadto be crossed, was not encouraging.

  "It was bad enough crossing the Pyrenees," Malchus said to Trebon,"but that was nothing to this undertaking; it is one thing to climb aprecipice, however steep, to the assault of an enemy, another to swimacross at the head of the army under such a shower of missiles as weshall meet with on the other side."

  Hannibal, however, had prepared to overcome the difficulty. Messengershad been sent up and down the river to all the people living on theright bank, offering to buy from them at good prices every barge andboat in their possession, promising them freedom from all exactionsand hard treatment, and offering good pay to those who would renderassistance to the army in the passage. Hannibal's offers were acceptedwithout hesitation. That the army, which could, had it chosen, havetaken all their boats by force and impressed their labour, should offerto pay liberally for both, filled them with admiration, and they were,moreover, only too glad to aid this formidable army of strangers to passout of their country.

  The dwellers upon the Rhone at this period carried on an extensivecommerce, not only with the tribes of the upper river, but withMarseilles and the ports of Spain and Northern Italy, consequently alarge number of vessels and barges of considerable tonnage were at onceobtained.

  To add to the means of transport the whole army were set to work, and,assisted by the natives, the soldiers cut down trees, and, hollowingthem out roughly, formed canoes capable of carrying two or three men.So industriously did the troops work that in two days enough canoeswere made to carry the army across the river; but there was still theopposition of the natives to be overcome, and when the canoes werefinished Hannibal ordered Hanno, one of his best generals, to start witha division at nightfall up the bank of the river.

  Hanno marched five miles, when he found a spot where the river wassmooth and favourable for the passage. The troops set to at once tocut trees; rafts were formed of these, and the troops passed over. TheSpanish corps, accustomed to the passage of rivers, simply stripped, andputting their broad shields of hides beneath them, passed the river byswimming. Once across Hanno gave his men twenty-four hours' rest, andthen, calculating that Hannibal's preparations would be complete, hemarched down the river until he reached a hill, whose summit was visiblefrom Hannibal's camp at daybreak. Upon this he lit a signal fire.

  The moment the smoke was seen in the camp Hannibal gave orders for thetroops to embark. The light infantry took to their little canoes, thecavalry embarked in the larger vessels, and, as these were insufficientto carry all the horses, a great many of the animals were made to enterthe river attached by ropes to the vessels. The heavier craft startedhighest up, in order that they might to some extent break the roughnessof the waves and facilitate the passage of the canoes.

  The din was prodigious. Thousands of men tugged at the oars, the roughlymade canoes were dashed against each other and often upset, while fromthe opposite bank rose loudly the defiant yells of the natives, preparedto dispute to the last the landing of the flotilla. Suddenly these criesassumed a different character. A mass of smoke was seen to rise from thetents of the enemy's camp, and Hanno's division poured down upon theirrear. The Arecomici, taken wholly by surprise, were seized with a panic,and fled hastily in all directions, leaving the bank clear for thelanding of Hannibal. The whole of the army were brought across at onceand encamped that night on the river.

  In the morning Hannibal sent off five hundred Numidian horse toreconnoitre the river below, and ascertain what Scipio's army, which wasknown to have landed at its mouth, was doing. He then assembled his armyand introduced to them some chiefs of the tribes beyond the Alps, whohad a day or two before arrived in the camp with the agents he hadsent to their country. They harangued the soldiers, an interpretertranslating their speeches, and assured them of the welcome theywould meet in the rich and fertile country beyond the Alps, and of thealacrity with which the people there would join them against the Romans.

  Hannibal himself then addressed the soldiers, pointed out to them thatthey had already accomplished by far the greatest part of their journey,had overcome every obstacle, and that there now remained but a fewdays' passage over the mountains, and that Italy, the goal of all theirendea
vours, would then lie before them.

  The soldiers replied with enthusiastic shouts, and Hannibal, afteroffering up prayers to the gods on behalf of the army, dismissed thesoldiers, and told them to prepare to start on the following day. Soonafter the assembly had broken up the Numidian horse returned in greatconfusion, closely pressed by the Roman cavalry, who had been sent byScipio to ascertain Hannibal's position and course. The hostile cavalryhad charged each other with fury. A hundred and forty of the Romans andtwo hundred of the Numidians were slain.

  Hannibal saw that there was no time to be lost. The next morning, atdaybreak, the whole of his cavalry were posted to the south to cover themovements of the army and to check the Roman advance. The infantry werethen set in motion up the bank of the river and Hannibal, with a smallparty, remained behind to watch the passage of the elephants, which hadnot yet been brought across.

  The elephants had not been trained to take to the water, and theoperation was an extremely difficult one. Very strong and massive raftswere joined together until they extended two hundred feet into theriver, being kept in their place by cables fastened to trees on the bankabove them. At the end of this floating pier was placed another raftof immense size, capable of carrying four elephants at a time. A thickcovering of earth was laid over the whole, and on this turf was placed.The elephants were then led forward.

  So solid was the construction that they advanced upon it withouthesitation. When four had taken their place on the great raft at theend, the fastenings which secured it to the rest of the structure werecut, and a large number of boats and barges filled with rowers began totow the raft across the river. The elephants were seized with terror atfinding themselves afloat, but seeing no way of escape remained tremblingin the centre of the raft until they reached the other side. When it wassafely across, the raft and towing boats returned, and the operation wasrepeated until all the elephants were over.

  Some of the animals, however, were so terrified that they flungthemselves from the rafts into the river and made their way to shore,keeping their probosces above the surface of the water. The Indians whodirected them were, however, all swept away and drowned. As soon as theelephants were all across Hannibal called in his cavalry, and with themand the elephants followed the army.

  The Romans did not arrive at the spot until three days after theCarthaginians had left. Scipio was greatly astonished when he found thatHannibal had marched north, as he believed that the Alps were impassablefor an army, and had reckoned that Hannibal would certainly march downthe river and follow the seashore. Finding that the Carthaginians hadleft he marched his army down to his ships again, re-embarked them, andsailed for Genoa, intending to oppose Hannibal as he issued from thedefiles of the Alps, in the event of his succeeding in making thepassage.

  Four days' march up the Rhone brought Hannibal to the point where theIsere runs into that river. He crossed it, and with his army entered theregion called by Polybius "The Island," although the designation is anincorrect one, for while the Rhone flows along one side of the triangleand the Isere on the other, the base is formed not by a third river, butby a portion of the Alpine chain.

  Malchus and his band had been among the first to push off from theshore when the army began to cross the Rhone. Malchus was in a roughlyconstructed canoe, which was paddled by Nessus and another of his men.Like most of the other canoes, their craft soon became waterlogged,for the rapid and angry current of the river, broken and agitated by solarge a number of boats, splashed over the sides of the clumsy canoes,which were but a few inches above the water. The buoyancy of the woodwas sufficient to float them even when full, but they paddled slowly andheavily.

  The confusion was prodigious. The greater part of the men, unaccustomedto rowing, had little control over their boats. Collisions werefrequent, and numbers of the boats were upset and their occupantsdrowned. The canoe which carried Malchus was making fair progress, but,to his vexation, was no longer in the front line. He was urging thepaddlers to exert themselves to the utmost, when Nessus gave a suddencry.

  A horse which had broken loose from its fastenings behind one of thebarges was swimming down, frightened and confused at the din. It waswithin a few feet of them when Nessus perceived it, and in anothermoment it struck the canoe broadside with its chest. The boat rolledover at once, throwing its occupants into the water. Malchus grasped thecanoe as it upset, for he would instantly have sunk from the weight ofhis armour. Nessus a moment later appeared by his side.

  "I will go to the other side, my lord," he said, "that will keep thetree from turning over again."

  He dived under the canoe, and came up on the opposite side, and givingMalchus his hand across it, there was no longer any fear of the logrolling over. The other rower did not reappear above the surface.Malchus shouted in vain to some of the passing boats to pick him up, butall were so absorbed in their efforts to advance and their eagerness toengage the enemy that none paid attention to Malchus or the others inlike plight. Besides, it seemed probable that all, if they stuck totheir canoes, would presently gain one bank or other of the river.Malchus, too, had started rather low down, and he was therefore soon outof the flotilla.

  The boat was nearly in midstream when the accident happened.

  "The first thing to do," Malchus said when he saw that there was nochance of their being picked up, "is to rid myself of my armour. I cando nothing with it on, and if the tree turns over I shall go down likea stone. First of all, Nessus, do you unloose your sword belt. I willdo the same. If we fasten them together they are long enough to go roundthe canoe, and if we take off our helmets and pass the belts through thechin chains they will, with our swords, hang safely."

  This was with some difficulty accomplished.

  "Now," Malchus continued, "let us make our way to the stern of thecanoe. I will place my hand on the tree there, and do you unfasten theshoulder and waist straps of my breast and backpieces. I cannot do itmyself."

  This was also accomplished, and the two pieces of armour laid on thetree. They were now free to look round. The rapid stream had alreadytaken them half a mile below the point where the army were crossing, andthey were now entering a spot where the river was broken up by islands,and raced along its pent up channel with greater velocity than before,its surface broken with short angry waves, which rendered it difficultfor them to retain their hold of the tree.

  For a time they strove by swimming to give the canoe an impetus towardsone bank or the other; but their efforts were vain. Sometimes theythought they were about to succeed, and then an eddy would take the boatand carry it into the middle of the stream again.

  "It is useless, Nessus," Malchus said at last. "We are only wearingourselves out, and our efforts are of no avail whatever. We must becontent to drift down the river until our good luck throws us into someeddy which may carry us near one bank or the other."

  It was a long time, indeed, before that stroke of fortune befell them,and they were many miles down the river before the current took themnear the eastern bank at a point where a sharp curve of the river threwthe force of the current over in that direction; but although they werecarried to within a few yards of the shore, so numbed and exhaustedwere they by their long immersion in the cold water that it was withthe greatest difficulty that they could give the canoe a sufficientimpulsion to carry it to the bank.

  At last, however, their feet touched the bottom, and they struggled toshore, carrying with them the arms and armour; then, letting the canoedrift away again, they crawled up the bank, and threw themselves down,utterly exhausted. It was some time before either of them spoke. ThenMalchus said:

  "We had best strip off our clothes and wring them as well as we can;after that they will soon dry on us. We have no means of drying themhere, so we must lie down among some bushes to shelter us from thisbitter wind which blows from the mountains."

  The clothes were wrung until the last drop was extracted from them andthen put on again. They were still damp and cold, but Malchus and hiscompanion had been ac
customed to be drenched to the skin, and thoughtnothing of this. They were still too exhausted, however, to walkbriskly, and therefore lay down among some thick bushes until theyshould feel equal to setting out on the long tramp to rejoin theircompanions. After lying for a couple of hours Malchus rose to his feet,and issuing from the bushes looked round. He had resumed his armourand sword. As he stepped out a sudden shout arose, and he saw within ahundred yards of him a body of natives some hundred strong approaching.They had already caught sight of him.

  "Nessus," he exclaimed, without looking round, "lie still. I am seen,and shall be taken in a minute. It is hopeless for me to try to escape.You will do me more good by remaining hid and trying to free me fromtheir hands afterwards."

  So saying, and without drawing his sword, Malchus quietly advancedtowards the natives, who were rushing down towards him with loud shouts.Flight or resistance would be, as he had at once seen, hopeless, and itwas only by present submission he could hope to save his life.

  The natives were a portion of the force which had opposed Hannibal'slanding, and had already killed several Carthaginians who had, likeMalchus, struggled to the bank after being upset in the passage. Seeingthat he attempted neither to fly nor to defend himself, they rushed uponhim tumultuously, stripped him of his arms and armour, and dragged himbefore their leader. The latter briefly ordered him to be broughtalong, and the party continued their hurried march, fearing that theCarthaginian horse might at any moment pursue them. For the rest of theafternoon they marched without a halt, but at nightfall stopped in awood.

  No fires were lit, for they knew not how close the Carthaginians mightbe behind them. Malchus was bound hand and foot and thrown down in theirmidst. There was no sleep that night. Half the party remained on watch,the others sat together round the spot where Malchus lay anddiscussed the disastrous events of the day--the great flotilla of theCarthaginians, the sudden attack in their rear, the destruction of theircamp, the capture of the whole of their goods, and the slaughter anddefeat which had befallen them.

  As their dialect differed but little from that of the Gauls in theCarthaginian service, Malchus was enabled to understand the greater partof their conversation, and learned that the only reason why he was notput to death at once was that they wished to keep him until beyond therisk of pursuit of the Carthaginians, when he could be sacrificed totheir gods formally and with the usual ceremonies.

  All the time that they were talking Malchus listened anxiously for anysudden outbreak which would tell that Nessus had been discovered. Thatthe Numidian had followed on their traces and was somewhere in theneighbourhood Malchus had no doubt, but rescue in his present positionwas impossible, and he only hoped that his follower would find that thiswas so in time and would wait for a more favourable opportunity. Thenight passed off quietly, and in the morning the natives continued theirmarch. After proceeding for three or four hours a sudden exclamationfrom one of them caused the others to turn, and in the distance ablack mass of horsemen was seen approaching. At a rapid run the nativesstarted off for the shelter of a wood half a mile distant. Malchus wasforced to accompany them. He felt sure that the horsemen were a partyof Hannibal's cavalry, and he wondered whether Nessus was near enough tosee them, for if so he doubted not that he would manage to join them andlead them to his rescue.

  Just before they reached the wood the natives suddenly stopped, for,coming from the opposite direction was another body of cavalry. Itneeded not the joyous shouts of the natives to tell Malchus that thesewere Romans, for they were coming from the south and could only be aparty of Scipio's cavalry. The natives halted at the edge of the woodto watch the result of the conflict, for the parties evidently saw eachother, and both continued to advance at full speed. The Roman trumpetswere sounding, while the wild yells which came up on the breeze toldMalchus that Hannibal's cavalry were a party of the Numidians.

  The Romans were somewhat the most numerous; but, had the cavalry opposedto them consisted of the Carthaginian horse, Malchus would have hadlittle doubt as to the result; he felt, however, by no means certainthat the light armed Numidians were a match for the Roman cavalry. Theparty had stopped but a quarter of a mile from the spot where the rivalbands met, and the crash of bodies driven violently against each otherand the clash of steel on armour could be plainly heard.

  For a few minutes it was a wild confused melee, neither party appearingto have any advantage. Riderless steeds galloped off from the throng,but neither party seemed to give way a foot. The whole mass seemedinterlaced in conflict. It was a moving struggling throng of bodies witharms waving high and swords rising and falling. The Romans fought insilence, but the wild yells of the Numidians rose shrill and continuous.

  At last there was a movement, and Malchus gave a groan while the nativesaround him shouted in triumph as the Numidians were seen to detachthemselves from the throng and to gallop off at full speed, hotlyfollowed by the Romans, both, however, in greatly diminished numbers,for the ground on which the conflict had taken place was thickly strewnwith bodies; nearly half of those who had engaged in that short butdesperate strife were lying there.

  No sooner had the pursuers and pursued disappeared in the distance thanthe natives thronged down to the spot. Such of the Numidians as werefound to be alive were instantly slaughtered, and all were despoiled oftheir clothes, arms, and ornaments. The Romans were left untouched, andthose among them who were found to be only wounded were assisted bythe natives, who unbuckled their armour, helped them into a sittingposition, bound up their wounds, and gave them water.

  Highly satisfied with the booty they obtained, and having no longer anyfear of pursuit, the natives halted to await the return of the Romans.Malchus learned from their conversation that they had some little doubtwhether the Romans would approve of their appropriating the spoils ofthe dead Numidians, and it was finally decided to hand over Malchus,whose rich armour proclaimed him to be a prisoner of importance, to theRoman commander.

  The main body of the natives, with all the spoil which had beencollected, moved away to the wood, while the chief, with four of hiscompanions and Malchus, remained with the wounded Romans. It was late inthe evening before the Romans returned, after having, as has been said,followed the Numidians right up to Hannibal's camp. There was somegrumbling on the part of the Roman soldiers when they found that theirallies had forestalled them with the spoil; but the officer in commandwas well pleased at finding that the wounded had been carefully attendedto, and bade the men be content that they had rendered good serviceto the public, and that Scipio would be well satisfied with them. Thenative chief now exhibited the helmet and armour of Malchus, who was ledforward by two of his men.

  "Who are you?" the commander asked Malchus in Greek, a language whichwas understood by the educated both of Rome and Carthage.

  "I am Malchus, and command the scouts of Hannibal's army."

  "You are young for such a post," the officer said; "but in Carthageit is interest not valour which secures promotion. Doubtless you arerelated to Hannibal."

  "I am his cousin," Malchus said quietly.

  "Ah!" the Roman said sarcastically, "that accounts for one who is a merelad being chosen for so important a post. However, I shall take youto Scipio, who will doubtless have questions to ask of you concerningHannibal's army."

  Many of the riderless horses on the plain came in on hearing the soundof the Roman trumpets and rejoined the troop. Malchus was placed onone of these. Such of the wounded Romans as were able to ride mountedothers, and a small party being left behind to look after those unableto move, the troops started on their way.

  They were unable, however, to proceed far; the horses had beentravelling since morning and were now completely exhausted; therefore,after proceeding a few miles the troop halted. Strong guards wereposted, and the men lay down by their horses, ready to mount at amoment's notice, for it was possible that Hannibal might have sent alarge body of horsemen in pursuit. As on the night before, Malchus feltthat even if Nessus had so far followed him
he could do nothing while sostrong a guard was kept up, and he therefore followed the example of theRoman soldiers around him and was soon fast asleep.

  At daybreak next morning the troops mounted and again proceeded to thesouth. Late in the afternoon a cloud of dust was seen in the distance,and the party presently rode into the midst of the Roman army, who hadmade a day's march from their ships and were just halting for the night.The commander of the cavalry at once hastened to Scipio's tent to informhim of the surprising fact that Hannibal had already, in the face ofthe opposition of the tribes, forced the passage of the Rhone, and that,with the exception of the elephants, which had been seen still on theopposite bank, all the army were across.

  Scipio was greatly mortified at the intelligence, for he had deemed itnext to impossible that Hannibal could carry his army across so wide andrapid a river in the face of opposition. He had little doubt now thatHannibal's intention was to follow the Rhone down on its left bank toits mouth, and he prepared at once for a battle. Hearing that a prisonerof some importance had been captured, he ordered Malchus to be broughtbefore him. As the lad, escorted by a Roman soldier on each side, wasled in, Scipio, accustomed to estimate men, could not but admire thecalm and haughty self possession of his young prisoner. His eye fellwith approval upon his active sinewy figure, and the knotted muscles ofhis arms and legs.

  "You are Malchus, a relation of Hannibal, and the commander of thescouts of his army, I hear," Scipio began.

  Malchus bowed his head in assent.

  "What force has he with him, and what are his intentions?"

  "I know nothing of his intentions," Malchus replied quietly, "as to hisforce, it were better that you inquired of your allies, who saw us passthe river. One of them was brought hither with me, and can tell you whathe saw."

  "Know you not," Scipio said, "that I can order you to instant executionif you refuse to answer my questions?"

  "Of that I am perfectly well aware," Malchus replied; "but Inevertheless refuse absolutely to answer any questions."

  "I will give you until tomorrow morning to think the matter over, and ifby that time you have not made up your mind to give me the information Irequire, you die."

  So saying he waved his hand to the soldiers, who at once removed Malchusfrom his presence. He was taken to a small tent a short distance away,food was given to him, and at nightfall chains were attached to hisankles, and from these to the legs of two Roman soldiers appointed toguard him during the night, while a sentry was placed at the entrance.The chains were strong, and fitted so tightly round the ankles thatescape was altogether impossible. Even had he possessed arms and couldnoiselessly have slain the two soldiers, he would be no nearer gettingaway, for the chains were fastened as securely round their limbs asround his own. Malchus, therefore, at once abandoned any idea of escape,and lying quietly down meditated on his fate in the morning.