THE natives thereupon turned tail and fled in all directions, and the Greeks held the summit. The army with Tissaphernes and Ariaeus turned aside, and went off by another way, and Chirisophus’s men descended into the plain and camped in a village that was full of good things. In this plain beside the Tigris there were a number of other villages too, equally well provided.
However, in the late afternoon the enemy suddenly appeared in the plain and cut off some of the Greeks who were scattered about there and were engaged in plunder, as several herds of cattle had been caught as they were being taken across to the other side of the river. Tissaphernes and his men then tried to set fire to the villages, and there were some of the Greeks who became very downhearted about this, since they got the idea that, if they burned the villages, they would have nowhere to get supplies from.
Chirisophus and his men had just returned from rescuing those in the plain, and Xenophon, who was met by the rescue party when he came down from the hill, rode along their ranks and said: ‘Do you see, Greeks, that they are admitting that we are now the owners of their land? When they were arranging the truce they made a great point of this, that there should be no burning of the King’s land; and now they are burning it themselves as though it wasn’t his. But if they have any food for themselves anywhere, they will see us marching there too. Really, Chirisophus, I think we ought to consider this property our own and stop them burning it.’
Chirisophus said: ‘I don’t think so. But we might help them in the job, and then they will stop all the sooner.’
When they got back to their quarters the generals and captains had a meeting, while the rest were occupied with the provisions. They were now in a very difficult position. On one side there were mountains of a very great height and on the other side was the river, which was so deep that when they tested the depth, not even the spears stood out above the water. While the generals were uncertain what to do, a man from Rhodes came forward and said: ‘I will undertake to bring you across in parties of four thousand hoplites at a time, if you will supply me with what I need and give me a talent by way of payment.’
When they asked him what he needed, he said: ‘I shall need two thousand bags made of hide, and I can see that there are numbers of sheep and goats and oxen and asses about. When we have skinned them and inflated their hides they will give us an easy means of getting across. I shall also need the ropes which you use for the baggage animals. With these ropes I shall tie the bags together and keep each bag in its place by fastening stones to it and letting them down into the water like anchors. Then I shall string the bags across the river and fasten them to both banks; then put wood on top of them and cover the wood with earth. I can make it clear to you in a moment that there is no risk of sinking. Each bag will keep two men from sinking; and the wood and earth will stop them slipping off.’
The generals listened to him, but thought that, though it was a nice idea, it was impossible to put into practice, as there were great numbers of cavalry on the further bank to stop them getting over; and they would immediately have prevented the first people across from doing their jobs.
Next day they went back again over their former route to the villages that had not been burnt. They set fire to the villages from which they started, so that the enemy did not come close to them, but watched them from a distance, wondering, apparently, where the Greeks would go next and’ what their intentions were. The generals then held another meeting, while the rest of the army was occupied with provisions. They brought in the prisoners and questioned them in detail about the country all round them. The replies were to the effect that the country to the south was on the road to Babylon and Media, the way, indeed, by which they had come; the way eastward led to Susa and Ecbatana, which was said to be the King’s summer residence; if one crossed the river and went westward the way went to Lydia and Ionia; and the road going north over the mountains led to the Carduchi. These people, they said, lived in the mountains and were very warlike and not subject to the King. Indeed a royal army of a hundred and twenty thousand had once invaded their country, and not a man of them had got back, because of the terrible conditions of the ground they had to go through. However, on occasions when they made a treaty with the satrap who controlled the plain there was mutual intercourse between the Carduchi and them.
The generals listened to these reports and separated out those who said they knew the road in each direction, not giving any indication of which one they were going to take. They thought, however, that they would have to invade the country of the Carduchi across the mountains, since according to the prisoners, once they had got through these people, they would arrive in Armenia, a big rich country governed by Orontas; and from there, the prisoners said, it was easy going in whatever direction one wished to march.
They held sacrifices to bless this project, so that they could start the march when they thought the right time had come. As it was, they feared that the pass over the mountains might be occupied in advance of them. Then they issued orders that, after supper, everyone should pack up his belongings and rest: they should be ready to follow their officers at the word of command.