History of Rome (Ab Urbe Condita)

BOOK XXI.

The crossing of the Rhone.

He transported the main body of the ships upstream to provide a calm crossing for those following in skiffs by breaking the force of the current; a large portion of the horses were towed swimming by leashes from the sterns, except for those which he had placed on the ships saddled and bridled so that they would be ready for the cavalryman immediately upon reaching the bank. XXVIII. The Gauls met them on the bank with various howls and the singing of their custom, shaking their shields above their heads and brandishing weapons in their right hands. Even though the great force of the ships, along with the immense roar of the river and the varied shouting of the sailors and soldiers, terrified those on the other side—both those who were struggling to break the force of the current and those who were encouraging their own men as they crossed from the other bank—they were terrified enough by the tumult in front of them when a more terrible roar erupted from behind, caused by the camp being captured by Hanno. Soon he himself arrived, and a double terror surrounded them: the sight of so many armed men emerging from the ships onto the land, and the unexpected line of battle pressing from the rear. When the Gauls tried to resist but were pushed back, they broke through where the path seemed most open, and panicked, they fled everywhere into their villages. Hannibal, having transported the rest of his troops at his leisure, now despising the Gallic tumults, established his camp.

I believe there were various plans for transporting the elephants, or at least the record of the event varies. Some report that the elephants were gathered at the bank, and the most ferocious of them, being irritated by his keeper, chased him as he fled into the water, dragging the herd along; as each one feared the depth, the very force of the river swept them to the other bank. However, it is more certain that they were transported by rafts; as that was the safer plan before the event, so it is more credible now that the thing is done. They extended one raft, two hundred feet long and fifty feet wide, from the land into the river. To prevent it from being carried away by the current, they fastened it with many strong ropes to the upper part of the bank, like a bridge, and covered it with earth so that the beasts could walk upon it boldly as if on solid ground. A second, equally wide raft, one hundred feet long, was coupled to this for crossing the river. When the elephants, led by the females, walked onto the stable raft as if it were a road and moved across to the smaller raft, the fastenings by which it was lightly attached were immediately released, and it was towed to the other bank by several light vessels. In this way, after the first ones were landed, others were then fetched and transported. They were not afraid as long as they were being led as if on a continuous bridge. The first terror occurred when the raft was released from the others and they were carried into the deep. There, jostling one another as the ones on the edge retreated from the water, they caused some panic until fear itself, as they looked around at the water, made them quiet. Some, even in their fury, fell into the river, but by their own weight, they remained steady, threw off their keepers, and, step by step feeling for the shallows, escaped to land.

XXIX. While the elephants were being transported, Hannibal had meanwhile sent five hundred Numidian cavalry to the Roman camp to scout where and how great the forces were, and what they were preparing. To this wing of cavalry, there occurred three hundred Roman horsemen who had been sent, as stated before, from the mouth of the Rhone. A battle ensued, more bitter than the number of combatants would suggest; for beyond many wounds...