HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 83
troops to defend Spain , and despatched Spanish troops to defend Africa . Each army was then among strangers , and it would not be easy for the soldiers to succeed in any possible revolt. After the safety of Carthage and of Spain had been provided for, Hannibal was ready to attempt to con quer Rome. He did not be lieve that the Romans would ever be overcome by sea fights and attacks here and there upon the coast cities . He thought that it would be far wiser to go from Spain by land and come down into Italy from the north , and so be in the very heart of the Roman possessions. He did not expect to have to meet the forces of Rome without allies , for he believed that the Gauls would be willing to help him , and he thought that although the conquered Italian states would probably be afraid to join him at first, yet they would surely be on his side as soon as they saw that he was on the way to success . With such thoughts as these in mind, Hannibal brought together ninety thousand infantry , twelve thousand cavalry , and thirty seven elephants , and set off for Italy .
Across the river I -be'rus he went and then through the gorges of the Pyr'e -nees. This was rather a slow journey, for
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LIGHT FOOTMAN IN CARTHAGINIAN ARMY
84 STORY OF THE ROMAN PEOPLE
he had to conquer as he marched . Beyond the Pyrenees were the Gauls , and they made ready to meet him with arms . He sent envoys to say to their princes , I shall be glad to receive you in my camp ; or if you wish , I will come to yours . I am here as your friend , not as your enemy ; and I do not intend to draw my sword until I reach Italy . He presented them with generous gifts , and they willingly allowed him to pass through their lands .
Soon he came to the wide and rapid river Rhone . How should so many thousand men be carried across ? This ques tion did not trouble Hannibal in the least . He bribed the people on the right bank to lend him all their boats and even to build more . So the Gauls set to work to make dug- outs, and the soldiers themselves made all sorts of queer and shape less craft . No one cared how they looked so long as they would float and carry either men or baggage . On the farther bank was a hostile tribe of Gauls . Hannibal did not wish to do any unnecessary fighting, so one dark night he sent some troops farther up the river . They crossed , and in the darkness slipped around behind the Gauls . In the morning Hannibal kept close watch , and at length he saw the signal of his men , thread of smoke rising slowly across the sky .
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His boats were ready; and soon the savage Gauls were at the water's edge, for the Carthaginian troops were springing ashore from their boats . The Gauls shook their shields above their heads, brandished their weapons, and shouted war songs . Suddenly they heard cries of terror from their rear, for Hannibal's troops that had crossed farther up stream were upon them . With enemies before them and enemies
HOW THE ROMANS CONQUERED CARTHAGE 85
behind them , they were helpless . They ran away , and Han nibal did not pursue them .
Hannibal pressed on until he was at the foot of the Alps . It is no wonder that his men were terrified at the thought of trying to cross the snow - covered mountains . People from some of the barbarous tribes appeared with wreaths on their heads and waved branches of trees to show that they were friendly . They offered to lead the army up the Alps ; and after a while Hannibal concluded to follow them . These false guides led them into a narrow defile where the path was only a ledge with a precipice above and a furious river below . While they were struggling to make their way along the path , the savage people climbed the cliffs above them and rolled
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HANNIBAL CROSSING THE RHONE
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down masses of rock. Finally, the army succeeded in getting through the defile. They thought this was as bad as any thing could be , but they did not know what sufferings lay before them .
On the ninth day they reached a plain on the summit of a ridge of the Alps . The ground was covered with snow , and it was bitterly cold ; but Hannibal stood gazing
down upon the Italian plains and felt as if he had already won the vic tory . The rest of the way will be smooth and down hill, he said to his soldiers, and after one or two battles Rome will be in our hands."
The way was certainly down hill , for the side of the Alps nearer Rome is far steeper than the route by which they had come up . There was no question that it was smooth , for it was over bare ice wet with the slush of melting snow ; and the men slipped and slid and tumbled and floundered about
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HANNIBAL CROSSING THE ALPS