21.58
The
soldiers rested whilst the intolerable cold lasted; it did not, however, last
long, and at the first doubtful indications of spring Hannibal left his winter
quarters for Etruria with the intention of inducing that nation to join forces
with him, either voluntarily or under compulsion. During his passage of the
Apennines he was overtaken by a storm of such severity as almost to surpass
the horrors of the Alps. The rain was driven by the wind straight into the
men's faces, and either they had to drop their weapons or if they tried to
struggle against the hurricane it caught them and dashed them to the ground,
so they came to a halt. Then they found that it was stopping their respiration
so that they could not breathe, and they sat down for a short time with their
backs to the wind. The heavens began to reverberate with terrific roar, and
amidst the awful din lightning flashed and quivered. Sight and sound alike
paralysed them with terror. At last, as the force of the gale increased owing
to the rain having ceased, they saw that there was nothing for it but to pitch
their camp on the ground where they had been caught by the storm. Now all
their labour had to begin over again, for they could neither unroll anything
nor fix anything, whatever was fixed did not stand, the wind tore everything
into shreds and carried it off. Soon the moisture in the upper air above the
cold mountain peaks froze and discharged such a shower of snow and hail
that the men, giving up all further attempts, lay down as best they could,
buried beneath their coverings rather than protected by them. This was
followed by such intense cold that when any one attempted to rise out of
that pitiable crowd of prostrate men and beasts it was a long time before he
could get up, for his muscles being cramped and stiff with cold, he could
hardly bend his limbs. At length, by exercising their arms and legs, they were
able to move about, and began to recover their spirits; here and there fires
were lighted, and those who were most helpless turned to their colleagues
for help. They remained on that spot for two days like a force blockaded;
many men and animals perished; of the elephants which survived the battle of
the Trebia they lost seven.
