the country pass. It required abundance of address, diligence, and valor, to keep off the enemy on both sides of them. The army however, passed the river at length, without much loss.

They marched afterwards with less interruption; passed the source of the Tygris, and arrived at the little river Teleboa, which is very beautiful, and has many villages on its banks. Here began the western Armenia; which was governed by Tiribasus, a satrap much beloved by the king, and who had the honour to help him to mount on horseback when at the court: he offered to let the army pass, and to suffer the soldiers to take all they wanted, upon condition, that they should commit no ravages in their march; which proposal was accepted and ratified on each side. Tiribasus kept always a flying camp at a small distance from the army. There fell a great quantity of snow, which gave the troops some inconvenience: and they learned from a prisoner, that Tiribasus had a design to attack the Greeks at a pass of the mountains, in a defile, through which they must necessarily march. They prevented him by seizing that post, after having put the enemy to flight. After some days march through deserts, they passed the Euphrates near its source, not having the water above their middles.

They suffered exceedingly afterwards from a north wind, which blew in their faces, and prevented respiration; so that it was thought necessary to sacrifice to the wind, upon which it seemed to abate. They

The French translator of Xenophon says, "he held the king's stirrup when he got on horseback," without considering, that the ancients used

none.

marched on in snow five or six feet deep, which killed several servants and beasts of burden, besides thirty soldiers. They made fires during the night, for they found plenty of wood. All the next day, they continued their march through the snow: when many of them, from the excess of hunger, followed with languor or fainting, continued lying upon the ground, through weakness and want of spirits. When something had been given them to eat, they found themselves relieved, and continued their march.

The enemy still pursued them; of whom many, overtaken by the night, remained on the way without fire or provisions, so that several died of their hardships, and the enemy who followed them took some baggage. Some soldiers were also left behind, that had lost their sight, and others their toes, by the snow. Against the first evil, it was good to wear something black before the eyes; and against the other to keep the legs always in motion, and to bare the feet at night. Arriving in a more commodious place, they dispersed themselves into the neighbouring villages, to recover and repose after their fatigues. The houses were built under ground, with an opening at top, like a well, through which the descent was by a ladder; but there was another entrance for cattle. They found there sheep, cows, goats, poultry; with wheat, barley, and pulse; and for drink, there was beer, which was very strong, when not mingled with water, but was agreeable to those who were used to it. They drank this with a reed out of the vessels that held the beer, upon which they saw the barley swim. The master of the house where Xenophon lay, received him very kindly, and even

showed him where he had concealed some wine; besides which, he made him a present of several horses. He taught him also to fasten a kind of hurdles to their feet, and to do the same to the other beasts of burden, to prevent their sinking in the snow; without which they would have been up to the girth in it at every step. The army, after having rested seven days in these villages, resumed their route.

After a march of seven days, they arrived at the river Araxes, called also the Phasus, which is about one hundred feet in breadth. Two days after, they discovered the Phasians, the Chalybes, and the Taochians, who kept the pass of the mountains, to prevent their descending into the plain. They saw it was impossible to avoid coming to a battle with them, and resolved to give it the same day. Xenophon, who had observed that the enemy defended only the ordinary passage, and that the mountain was three leagues in extent, proposed the sending of a detachment to take possession of the heights that commanded the enemy; which would not be difficult, as they might prevent all suspicion of their design by a march in the night, and by making a false attack by the main road, to amuse the barbarians. This was accordingly execut ed, the enemy put to flight, and the pass cleared.

They crossed the country of the Chalybes, who are the most valiant of all the barbarians in those parts. When they killed an enemy, they cut off his head, and carried it about in triumph, singing and dancing. They kept themselves close shut up in their cities, and whẹn the army marched, fell suddenly upon the rear, after having carried every thing of value in the country into

places of safety. After twelve or fifteen days march, they arrived at a very high mountain, called Tecqua, from whence they descried the sea. The first who perceived it, raised great shouts of joy for a considerable time; which made Xenophon imagine, that the vanguard was attacked, and go with all haste to support it. As he approached nearer, the cry of "the sea! the sea!" was heard distinctly, and the alarm changed into joy and gaiety; and when they came to the top, nothing was heard but a confused noise of the whole army, crying out together, "the sea! the sea!" whilst they could not refrain from tears, nor from embracing their generals and officers. And then, without waiting for orders, they heaped up a pile of stones, and erected a trophy with broken bucklers and other

arms.

From thence they advanced to the mountains of Colchis, one of which was higher than the rest, and of that the people of the country had possessed themselves. The Greeks drew up in battle at the bottom of it to ascend, for the access was not impracticable. Xenophon did not judge it proper to march in line of battle, but by files; because the soldiers could not keep their ranks, from the inequality of the ground, that in some places was easy, and in others difficult to climb, which might discourage them. That advice was approved, and the army formed according to it. The heavy armed troops amounted to eighty files, each consisting of about one hundred men, with eighteen hundred light armed soldiers, divided into three bodies, one of which was posted on the right, another VOL. 3.

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on the left, and a third in the centre. After having encouraged his troops, by representing to them that this was the last obstacle they had to surmount, and implored the assistance of the gods, the army began to ascend the hill. The enemy were not able to support their charge, and dispersed. They passed the mountain, and encamped in villages, where they found provisions in abundance.

A very strange accident happened there to the army, which put them into great consternation. For the soldiers, finding abundance of bee hives in that place, and eating the honey, they were taken with violent vomiting and fluxes, attended with raving fits; so that those who were least ill, seemed like drunken men, and the rest, either furiously mad, or dying. The earth was strewed with their bodies as after a defeat ; however, none of them died, and the distemper ceased the next day about the same hour it had taken them. The third or fourth day the soldiers got up, but in the condition people are after having taken a violent medicine.

Two days after, the army arrived near Trebisond, a Greek colony of Sinopians, situated upon the Euxine or Black sea, in the province of Colchis. Here they lay encamped for thirty days, and acquitted themselves of the vows they had made to Jupiter, Hercules, and the other deities, to obtain an happy return into their own country. They also celebrated the games of the horse and foot races, wrestling, boxing, the pancratium: the whole attended with the greatest joy and solemnity.