by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER IX: THE STRUGGLE IN THE SWAMP
That evening Beric had a long talk with Aska and four or fivemen from the coast accustomed to the building of large boats. Thematter would be easy enough, they said, as the boats would not berequired to withstand the strain of the sea, and needed only to beput together with flat bottoms and sides. With so large a numberof men they could hew down trees of suitable size, and thin themdown until they obtained a plank from each. They would then befastened together by strong pegs and dried moss driven in betweenthe crevices. Pitch, however, would be required to stop up theseams, and of this they had none.
"Then," Beric said, "we must make some pitch. There is no greatdifficulty about that. There are plenty of fir trees growing nearthe edges of the swamps, and from the roots of these we can gettar."
The men were all acquainted with the process, which was a simpleone. A deep hole was dug in the ground. The bottom of this waslined with clay, hollowed out into a sort of bowl. The hole was thenfilled with the roots of fir closely packed together. When it wasfull a fire was lit above it. As soon as this had made its waydown earth was piled over it and beaten down hard, a small orificebeing left in the centre. In this way the wood was slowly convertedinto charcoal, and the resin and tar, as they oosed out under theheat, trickled down into the bowl of clay at the bottom. As littleor no smoke escaped after the fire was first lighted, the workcould be carried on without fear of attracting the attention ofany bodies of the enemy who might be searching the country.
Two months passed. By the end of that time the intrenchment on theriver bank had been made so strong that it could resist any attacksave by a very large body of men. That on the island had also beencompleted, and strong banks thrown up at the only three pointswhere a landing could be effected from boats.
The swamps had been thoroughly explored in the neighbourhood, andanother island discovered, and on this three hundred men had beenestablished, while four hundred remained on the great island, andas many in the camp on the river. There were over a thousand womenand children distributed among the three stations. Three hundredmen had laboured incessantly at the boats, and these were nowfinished. While all this work had been going on considerable numbersof fish and wildfowl had been obtained by barter from the Fenmen,with whom they had before had dealings, and from other communitiesliving among the swamps to the north. Many of the Iceni, who camefrom the marshy districts of the eastern rivers, were also accustomedto fishing and fowling, and, as soon as the work on the defenceswas finished and the tortuous channels through the swamps becameknown to them, they began to lay nets, woven by the women, acrossthe streams, and to make decoys and snares of all sorts for thewildfowl.
The framework for many coracles had been woven of withies bythe women, and the skins of all the cattle killed were utilizedas coverings, so that by the end of the two months they had quitea fleet of little craft of this kind. As fast as the larger boatswere finished they were used for carrying cattle to the islands,and a large quantity of swine were also taken over.
During this time the Romans had traversed the whole country of theIceni. The hamlets were fired, and all persons who fell into theirhands put to death; but the number of these was comparatively small,as the greater part of the population had either moved north ortaken to the woods, which were so extensive that comparatively fewof the fugitives were killed by the search parties of the Romans.From the few prisoners that the Romans took they heard reportsthat many of the Iceni had taken refuge in the swamps, and severalstrong bodies had moved along the edge of the marsh country withoutattempting to penetrate it.
Aska and Beric had agreed that so long as they were undisturbed theywould remain quiet, confining themselves to their borders, exceptwhen they sent parties to search for cattle in the woods or togather up grain that might have escaped destruction in the hamlets,and that they would avoid any collision with the Romans until theirpresent vigilance abated or they attempted to plant settlers intheir neighbourhood.
Circumstances, however, defeated this intention. They learned fromthe Fenmen that numerous fugitives had taken refuge in the southernswamps, and that these sallying out had fallen upon parties ofRomans near Huntingdon, and had cut them to pieces. The Romans hadin consequence sent a considerable force to avenge this attack.These had penetrated some distance into the swamps, but had therebeen attacked and driven back with much slaughter. But a fortnightlater a legion had marched to Huntingdon, and crossing the riverthere had established a camp opposite, which they called Godmancastra,and, having collected a number of natives from the west, wereengaged in building boats in which they intended to penetrate theswamp country and root out the fugitives.
"It was sure to come sooner or later," Aska said to Beric. "Norshould we wish it otherwise. We came here not to pass our lives aslurking fugitives, but to gather a force and avenge ourselves onthe Romans. If you like I will go up the river and see our friendsthere, and ascertain their strength and means of resistance. Wouldit be well, think you, to tell them of our strong place here andoffer to send our boats to bring them down, so that we may make agreat stand here?"
"No, I think not," Beric said. "Nothing would suit the Romans betterthan to catch us all together, so as to destroy us at one blow. Weknow that in the west they stormed the intrenchments of Cassivellaunus,and that no native fort has ever withstood their assault. I shouldsay that it ought to be a war of small fights. We should attackthem constantly, enticing them into the deepest parts of the morass,and falling upon them at spots where our activity will avail againsttheir heavily weighted men. We should pour volleys of arrows intotheir boats as they pass along through the narrow creeks, showourselves at points where the ground is firm enough for them toland, and then falling back to deep morasses tempt them to pursueus there, and then turn upon them. We should give them no rest nightor day, and wear them out with constant fighting and watching. Thefens are broad and long, stretching from Huntingdon to the sea;and if they are contested foot by foot, we may tire out even thepower of Rome."
"You are right, Beric; but at any rate it will be well to see howour brethren are prepared. They may have no boats, and may urgentlyneed help."
"I quite agree with you, and I think it would be as well for youto go. You could offer to bring all their women and children to ourislands here, and then we would send down a strong force to helpthem. We should begin to contest strongly the Roman advance fromthe very first."
Accordingly Aska started up the Ouse in one of the large boats withtwelve men to pole it along, and three days afterwards returnedwith the news that there were some two thousand men with twice thatmany women and children scattered among the upper swamps.
"They have only a few small boats," he said, "and are in sorestraits for provisions. They drove at first a good many cattlein with them, but most of these were lost in the morasses, and asthere have been bodies of horse moving about near Huntingdon, theyhave not been able to venture out as we have done to drive in more."
"Have they any chief with them?" Beric asked.
"None of any importance. All the men are fugitives from the battle,who were joined on their way north by the women of the villages.They are broken up into groups, and have no leader to form anygeneral plan. I spoke to the principal men among them, and toldthem that we had strongly fortified several places here, had builta fleet of boats, and were prepared for warfare; they will allgladly accept you as their leader. They urgently prayed that wewould send our boats down for the women and children, and I promisedthem that you would do so, and would also send down some provisionsfor the fighting men."
The next morning the twenty large boats, each carrying thirty menand a supply of meat and grain, started up the river, Beric himselfgoing with them, and taking Boduoc as his lieutenant. Aska remainedin command at the river fort, where the force was maintained atits full strength, the boat party being drawn entirely from the twoislands. Four miles below Huntingdon they landed at a spot wherethe greater part of the Iceni there were gathered. Fires were
atonce lighted, and a portion of the meat cooked, for the fugitiveswere weak with hunger. As soon as this was satisfied, orders wereissued for half the women and children to be brought in.
These were crowded into the boats, which, in charge of four men ineach, then dropped down the stream, Beric having given orders thatthe boats were to return as soon as the women were landed on theisland. He spent the next two days in traversing the swamps in acoracle, ascertaining where there was firm ground, and where themorasses were impassable. He learned all the particulars he couldgather about the exact position of the Roman camp, and the spotwhere the boats were being constructed--the Iceni were alreadyfamiliar with several paths leading out of the morasses in thatneighbourhood--and then drew out a plan for an attack upon theRomans.
He had brought with him half the Sarci who had retired with himfrom the battle. These he would himself command. A force of fourhundred men, led by Boduoc, were to travel by different pathsthrough the swamp; they were then to unite and to march round theRoman camp, and attack it suddenly on three sides at once.
The camp was in the form of a horseshoe, and its ends resting onthe river, and it was here that the boats were being built. Berichimself with his own hundred men and fifty others were to embarkin four boats. As soon as they were fairly beyond the swamp, theywere to land on the Huntingdon side, and to tow their boats alonguntil within two or three hundred yards of the Roman camp, whenthey were to await the sound of Boduoc's horn. Boduoc's instructionswere that he was to attack the camp fiercely on all sides. The Romansentries were known to be so vigilant that there was but slightprospect of his entering the camp by surprise, or of his beingable to scale the palisades at the top of the bank of earth. Theattack, however, was to be made as if in earnest, and was to bemaintained until Beric's horn gave the signal for them to draw off,when they were to break up into parties as before, and to retireinto the heart of the swamp by the paths by which they had leftit.
The most absolute silence was to be observed until the challengeof the Roman sentries showed that they were discovered, when theywere to raise their war shouts to the utmost so as to alarm andconfuse the enemy.
The night was a dark one and a strong wind was blowing, so thatBeric's party reached their station unheard by the sentries onthe walls of the camp. It was an hour before they heard a distantshout, followed instantly by the winding of a horn, and the loudwar cry of the Iceni. At the same moment the trumpets in the Romanintrenchments sounded, and immediately a tumult of confused shoutingarose around and within the camp. Beric remained quiet for fiveminutes till the roar of battle was at its highest, and he knewthat the attention of the Romans would be entirely occupied withthe attack. Then the boats were again towed along until oppositethe centre of the horseshoe; the men took their places in themagain and poled them across the river.
The fifty men who accompanied the Sarci carried bundles of rushesdipped in pitch, and in each boat were burning brands which had beencovered with raw hides to prevent the light being seen. They werenearly across the river when some sentries there, whose attentionhad hitherto been directed entirely to the walls, suddenly shoutedan alarm. As soon as the boats touched the shore, Beric and hismen leapt out, passed through the half built boats and the pilesof timber collected beside them, and formed up to repel an attack.At the same moment the others lighted their bundles of rushes at thebrands, and jumping ashore set fire to the boats and wood piles.Astonished at this outburst of flame within their camp, whileengaged in defending the walls from the desperate attacks of theIceni, the Romans hesitated, and then some of them came runningdown to meet the unexpected attack.
But the Sarci had already pressed quickly on, followed by some ofthe torch bearers, and were in the midst of the Roman tents beforethe legionaries gathered in sufficient force to meet them. Thetorches were applied to the tents, and fanned by the breeze, theflames spread rapidly from one to another. Beric blew the signalfor retreat, and his men in a solid body, with their spears outward,fell back. The Romans, as they arrived at the spot, rushed furiouslyupon them; but discipline was this time on the side of the Sarci,who beat off all attacks till they reached the river bank. Then ingood order they took their places in the boats, Beric with a smallbody covering the movement till the last; then they made a rushto the boats; the men, standing with their poles ready, instantlypushed the craft into the stream, and in two minutes they were safeon the other side.
The boats and piles of timber were already blazing fiercely, whilethe Roman camp, in the centre of the intrenchment, was in a mass offlames, lighting up the helmets and armour of the soldiers rangedalong the wall, and engaged in repelling the attacks of the Iceni.As soon as the Sarci were across, they leapt ashore and towed theboat along by the bank. A few arrows fell among them, but as soonas they had pushed off from the shore most of the Romans had runback to aid in the defence of the walls. Beric's horn now gave thesignal that the work was done, and in a short time the shouts ofthe Iceni began to subside, the din of the battle grew fainter,and in a few minutes all was quiet round the Roman camp.
There was great rejoicing when the parties of the Iceni met againin the swamp. They had struck a blow that would greatly inconveniencethe Romans for some time, would retard their attack, and show themthat the spirit of the Britons was still high. The loss of theIceni had been very small, only some five or six of Beric's partyhad fallen, and twenty or thirty of the assailants of the wall; theybelieved that the Romans had suffered much more, for they could beseen above their defences by the light of the flames behind them,while the Iceni were in darkness. Thus the darts and javelins ofthe defenders had been cast almost at random, while they themselveshad been conspicuous marks for the missiles of the assailants.
In Beric's eyes the most important point of the encounter wasthat it had given confidence to the fugitives, had taught them theadvantage of fighting with a plan, and of acting methodically andin order. There was a consultation next morning. Beric pointed outto the leaders that although it was necessary sometimes with animportant object in view to take the offensive, they must as a rulestand on the defensive, and depend upon the depth of their morassesand their knowledge of the paths across them to baffle the attemptsof the Romans to penetrate.
"I should recommend," he said, "that you break up into parties offifteens and twenties, and scatter widely over the Fen country, andyet be near enough to each other to hear the sound of the horn.Each party must learn every foot of the ground and water in theneighbourhood round them. In that way you will be able to assemblewhen you hear the signal announcing the coming of the Romans, youwill know the paths by which you can attack or retreat, and thespots where you can make your way across, but where the Romanscannot follow you. Each party must earn its sustenance by fishingand fowling; and in making up your parties, there should be two orthree men in each accustomed to this work. Each party must provideitself with coracles; I will send up a boat load of hides. Beyondthat you must search for cattle and swine in the woods, whenby sending spies on shore you find there are no parties of Romansabout.
"The parties nearest to Huntingdon should be always vigilant, andday and night keep men at the edge of the swamp to watch the doingsof the Romans, and should send notice to me every day or two asto what the enemy are doing, and when they are likely to advance.Should they come suddenly, remember that it is of no use to tryto oppose their passage down the river. Their boats will be farstronger than ours, and we should but throw away our lives by fightingthem there. They may go right down to the sea if they please, butdirectly they land or attempt to thrust their boats up the channelsthrough the swamp, then every foot must be contested. They mustbe shot down from the bushes, enticed into swamps, and overwhelmedwith missiles. Let each man make himself a powerful bow and a greatsheath of arrows pointed with flints or flakes of stone, which mustbe fetched from the dry land, although even without these they willfly straight enough if shot from the bushes at a few yards' distance.
"Let the men practice with these, and remember that they m
ust aimat the legs of the Romans. It is useless to shoot at either shieldsor armour. Besides, let each man make himself a spear, strong,heavy, and fully eighteen feet long, with the point hardened inthe fire, and rely upon these rather than upon your swords to checktheir progress. Whenever you find broad paths of firm ground acrossthe swamps, cut down trees and bushes to form stout barriers.
"Make friends with the Fenmen. Be liberal to them with gifts, anddo not attempt to plant parties near them, for this would disturbtheir wildfowl and lead to jealousy and quarrels. However well youmay learn the swamps, they know them better, and were they hostilemight lead the Romans into our midst. In some parts you may notfind dry land on which to build huts; in that case choose spotswhere the trees are stout, lash saplings between these and buildyour huts upon them so as to be three or four feet above the wetsoil. Some of my people who know the swamps by the eastern riverstell me that this is the best way to avoid the fen fevers."
Having seen that everything was arranged, Beric and his partyreturned to their camp. For some time the reports from the upperriver stated that the Romans were doing little beyond sending outstrong parties to cut timber. Then came the news that a whole legionhad arrived, and that small forts containing some two hundred meneach were being erected, three or four miles apart, on both sidesof the Fen.
"That shows that all resistance must have ceased elsewhere," Askasaid, "or they would never be able to spare so great a force as alegion and a half against us. I suppose that these forts are beingbuilt to prevent our obtaining cattle, and that they hope to starveus out. They will hardly succeed in that, for the rivers and channelsswarm with fish, and now that winter is coming on they will aboundwith wildfowl."
"I am afraid of the winter," Beric said, "for then they will beable to traverse the swamps, where now they would sink over theirheads."
"Unless the frosts are very severe, Beric, the ground will notharden much, for every foot is covered with trees and bushes. Asto grain we can do without it, but we shall be able to fetch someat least down from the north. Indeed, it would need ten legions toform a line along both sides of the Fen country right down to thesea and to pen us in completely."
By this time the Iceni had become familiar with the channels throughthe swamps for long distances from their fastness, and had evenestablished a trade with the people lying to the northwest of theFen country. They learnt that the Romans boasted they had well nighannihilated the Trinobantes and Iceni; but that towards the othertribes that had taken part in the great rising they had shown moreleniency, though some of their principal towns had been destroyedand the inhabitants put to the sword.
A month later a fleet of boats laden with Roman soldiers startedfrom Huntingdon and proceeded down the Ouse. Dead silence reignedround them, and although they proceeded nearly to the sea they sawno signs of a foe, and so turning they rowed back to Huntingdon.But in their absence the Iceni had not been idle. The spies from theswamps had discovered when the expedition was preparing to start,and had found too that a strong body of troops was to march alongthe edges of the swamps in order to cut off the Iceni should theyendeavour to make their escape.
The alarm had been sounded from post to post, and in accordancewith the orders of Beric the whole of the fighting men at oncebegan to move south, some in boats, some in their little coracles,which were able to thread their way through the network of channels.The night after the Romans started, the whole of the fighting forceof the Britons was gathered in the southern swamps, and two hoursbefore daybreak issued out. Some five hundred, led by Aska, followedthe western bank of the river towards Huntingdon, which had for thetime been converted into a Roman city, inhabited by the artisanswho had constructed the boats and the settlers who supplied thearmy; it had been garrisoned by five hundred legionaries, of whomthree hundred had gone away in the boats.
The main body advanced against the Roman camp on the opposite bank,in which, as their spies had learnt, three hundred men had beenleft as a garrison. By Beric's orders a great number of laddershad been constructed. As upon the previous occasion the camp wassurrounded before they advanced against it, and when the firstshout of a sentry showed that they were discovered Beric's horn gavethe signal, and with a mighty shout the Britons rushed on from allsides. Dashing down the ditch, and climbing the steep bank behindit the Iceni planted their ladders against the palisade, and swarmingover it poured into the camp before the Romans had time to gatherto oppose them. Beric had led his own band of two hundred trainedmen against the point where the wall of the camp touched the river,and as soon as they were over formed them up and led them in acompact body against the Romans.
In spite of the suddenness of the attack, the discipline of thelegionaries was unshaken, and as soon as their officers found thatthe walls were already lost they formed their men in a solid bodyto resist the attack. Before Beric with his band reached the spotthe Romans were already engaged in a fierce struggle with theBritons, who poured volleys of darts and arrows among them, anddesperately strove, sword in hand, to break their solid formation.This they were unable to do, until Beric's band six deep with theirhedge of spears before them came up, and with a loud shout threwthemselves upon the Romans. The weight and impetus of the chargewas irresistible. The Roman cohort was broken, and a deadly handto hand struggle commenced. But here the numbers and the greatlysuperior height and strength of the Britons were decisive, andbefore many minutes had passed the last Roman had been cut down,the scene of the battle being lighted up by the flames of Huntingdon.
A shout of triumph from the Britons announced that all resistancehad ceased. Beric at once blew his horn, and, as had been previouslyarranged, four hundred of the island men immediately started underBoduoc to oppose the garrison at the nearest fort, should theymeet these hastening to the assistance of their comrades. Thena systematic search for plunder commenced. One of the storehouseswas emptied of its contents and fired, and by its light the armsand armour of the Roman soldiers were collected, the huts and tentsrifled of everything of value, the storehouses emptied of theirstores of grain and provisions, and of the tools that had been usedfor the building of boats. Everything that could be of use to thedefenders was taken, and fire was then applied to the buildings andtents. Morning broke before this was accomplished, and laden downwith spoil the Iceni returned to their swamps, Boduoc's and Aska'sparties rejoining them there.
The former had met the Romans hurrying from the nearest fort toaid the garrison of the camp. Beric's orders had been that Boduocwas if possible to avoid a fight, as in the open the discipline ofthe Romans would probably prevail over British valour. The Iceni,therefore, set up a great shouting in front and in the rear of theRomans, shooting their missiles among them, and being unable in thedark to perceive the number of their assailants, and fearful thatthey had fallen into an ambush, the Romans fell back to their fort.Aska's party had also returned laden with plunder, and as soon asthe whole were united a division of this was made. The provisions,clothing, and arms were divided equally among the men, while thestores of rope, metal, canvas, and other articles that would beuseful to the community were set aside to be taken to the island.Thither also the shields, armour, and helmets of the Roman soldierswere to be conveyed, to be broken up and melted into spear andarrow heads.
As the Roman boats returned two days later from their uselesspassage down the river, they were astonished and enraged by outburstsof mocking laughter from the tangle of bushes fringing the river.Not a foe was to be seen, but for miles these sounds of derisivelaughter assailed them from both sides of the stream. The veteransground their teeth with rage, and would have rowed towards thebanks had not their officers, believing that it was the intentionof the Britons to induce them to land, and then to lead them intoan ambush, ordered them to keep on their way. On passing beyond theregion of the swamp a cry of dismay burst from the crowded boats,as it was perceived that the town of Huntingdon had entirelydisappeared. As they neared the camp, however, the sight of numeroussentries on the walls relieved them of part o
f their anxiety; butupon landing they learnt the whole truth, that the five hundredRoman soldiers in the camp and at Huntingdon had fallen to a man,and that the whole of the stores collected had been carried awayor destroyed.
The news had been sent rapidly along the chain of forts on eitherside of the swamp, and fifty men from each had been despatched torepair and reoccupy the camp, which was now held by a thousand men,who had already begun to repair the palisades that had been firedby the Britons.
This disaster at once depressed and infuriated the Roman soldiers,while it showed to the general commanding them that the taskhe had been appointed to perform was vastly more serious than hehad expected. Already, as he had traversed mile after mile of thesilent river, he had been impressed with the enormous difficultythere would be in penetrating the pathless morasses, extending ashe knew in some places thirty or forty miles in width. The proofnow afforded of the numbers, determination, and courage of the menlurking there still further impressed him with the gravity of theundertaking. Messengers were at once sent off to Suetonius, whowas at Camalodunum, which he was occupied in rebuilding, to informhim of the reverse, and to ask for orders, and the general withfive hundred men immediately set out for the camp of Godman.
Suetonius at once proceeded to examine for himself the extent ofthe Fen country, riding with a body of horsemen along the easternboundary as far as the sea, and then, returning to the camp,followed up the western margin until he again reached the sea. Hesaw at once that the whole of the Roman army in Britain would beinsufficient to guard so extensive a line, and that it would behopeless to endeavour to starve out men who could at all times makeraids over the country around them. The first step to be taken mustbe to endeavour to circumscribe their limits. Orders were at oncesent to the British tribes in south and midlands to send all theiravailable men, and as these arrived they were set to work to clearaway by axe and fire the trees and bush on the eastern side of theriver Ouse.
As soon as the intentions of the Romans were understood, the Britishcamp at the junction of the rivers was abandoned, as with so largea force of workmen the Romans could have made wide roads up to it,and although it might have resisted for some time, it must eventuallyfall, while the Romans, by sending their flotilla of boats down,could cut off the retreat of the garrison. For two months thirtythousand workmen laboured under the eyes of strong parties of Romansoldiers, and the work of denuding the swamps east of the Ouse wasaccomplished.
Winter had now set in, but the season was a wet one, and althoughthe Romans made repeated attempts to fire the brushwood from thesouth and west, they failed to do so. Severe frost accompanied byheavy snow set in late, and as soon as the ground was hard enoughthe Romans entered the swamps near Huntingdon, and began theiradvance northwards. The Britons were expecting them, and the wholeof their fighting force had gathered to oppose them. Beric andAska set them to work as soon as the Roman army crossed the riverand marched north, and as the Romans advanced slowly and carefullythrough the tangled bushes, they heard a strange confused noisefar ahead of them, and after marching for two miles came upon achannel, where the ice had been broken into fragments.
They at once set to work to cut down bushes and form them intofaggots to fill up the gaps, but as they approached the channelwith these they were assailed by volleys of arrows from the busheson the opposite side. The light armed troops were brought up, andthe work of damming the channel at a dozen points, was covered bya shower of javelins and arrows. The Britons, however, had duringthe past month made shields of strong wicker work of Roman pattern,but long enough to cover them from the eyes down to the ankles,and the wicker work was protected by a double coating of ox hide.Boys collected the javelins as fast as they were thrown, andhanded them to the men. As soon as the road across the channel wascompleted the Romans poured over, believing that now they shouldscatter their invisible foes; but they were mistaken, for the Britonswith levelled spears, their bodies covered with their bucklers,burst down upon them as they crossed, while a storm of darts andjavelins poured in from behind the fighting line.
Again and again they were driven back, until after suffering greatloss they made good their footing at several points, when, atthe sound of a horn, resistance at once ceased, and the Britonsdisappeared as if by magic. Advancing cautiously the Romans foundthat the ice in all the channels had been broken up, and they weresoon involved in a perfect network of sluggish streams. Across thesethe Britons had felled trees to form bridges for their retreat,and these they dragged after them as soon as they crossed. Everyone of these streams was desperately defended, and as the line ofswamp grew wider the Roman front became more and more scattered.
Late in the afternoon a sudden and furious attack was made uponthem from the rear, Beric having taken a strong force round theirflank. Numbers of the Romans were killed before they could assembleto make head against the attack, and as soon as they did so theirassailants as usual drew off. After a long day's fighting theRomans had gained scarce a mile from the point where resistance hadcommenced, and this at a cost of over three hundred men. Suetoniushimself had commanded the attack, and when the troops halted forthe night at the edge of an unusually wide channel, he felt thatthe task he had undertaken was beyond his powers. He summoned thecommanders of the two legions to the hut that had been hastilyraised for him.
"What think you?" he asked. "This is a warfare even more terriblethan that we waged with the Goths in their forests. This Beric, whois their leader, has indeed profited by the lessons he learned atCamalodunum. No Roman general could have handled his men better.He is full of resources, and we did not reckon upon his breakingup the ice upon all these channels. If we have had so much troublein forcing our way where the swamps are but two miles across, andthat with a frost to help us, the task will be a terrible one whenwe get into the heart of the morasses, where they are twenty mileswide. Yet we cannot leave them untouched. There would never be peaceand quiet as long as these bands, under so enterprising a leader,remained unsubdued. Can you think of any other plan by which wemay advance with less loss?"
The two officers were silent. "The resistance may weaken," one saidafter a long pause. "We have learnt from the natives that they havenot in all much above three thousand fighting men, and they musthave lost as heavily as we have."
Suetonius shook his head. "I marked as we advanced," he said, "thatthere was not one British corpse to four Romans. We shoot at random,while they from their bushes can see us, and even when they chargeus our archers can aid but little, seeing that the fighting takesplace among the bushes. However, we will press on for a time. Thenatives behind us must clear the ground as fast as we advance, andevery foot gained is gained for good."
Three times during the night the British attacked the Romans, onceby passing up the river in their coracles and landing behind them,once by marching out into the country round their left flank,and once by pouring out through cross channels in their boats andlanding in front. All night, too, their shouts kept the Romansawake in expectation of attack.
For four days the fighting continued, and the Romans, at the costof over a thousand men, won their way eight miles farther. By theend of that time they were utterly exhausted with toil and want ofsleep; the swamps each day became wider, and the channels largerand deeper. Then the Roman leaders agreed that no more could bedone. Twelve miles had been won and cleared, but this was the meretongue of the Fenland, and to add to their difficulties that daythe weather had suddenly changed, and in the evening rain set in.It was therefore determined to retreat while the ground was yethard, and having lighted their fires, and left a party to keepthese burning and to deceive the British, the Romans drew off andmarched away, bearing to the left so as to get out on to the plain,and to leave the ground, encumbered with the sharp stumps of thebushes and its network of channels, behind them as soon as possible.