SCIPIO SETS TO WORK.
Cleanor, though he had no proofs of Hasdrubal's complicity in the crime
just committed, could not rid himself of the suspicion that he had had
something to do with it. No one profited by it more; he had been present
when the deed was done, and had not spoken a word or lifted a finger to
hinder it. Such a suspicion was enough in itself to make any post which
brought him into close contact with the general distasteful to the
young man. And Hasdrubal's personal habits were revolting to his taste.
The man was given over to gluttony. He had a sufficiently clear
intelligence and some military skill, but the enormous meals in which he
indulged produced a condition of torpor which disabled him during a
great part of the day.
Cleanor, therefore, was not a little pleased when, through the good
offices of Gisco, he was attached to the staff of one of Hasdrubal's
lieutenants, Himilco by name. Himilco had charge of a portion of the
wall looking towards the sea, about four stadia in length. Cleanor had
the duty, which he shared with another officer, of seeing that the
sentinels were properly vigilant during the night. Each was responsible
for two of the four watches, their practice being for one to take the
first and fourth, the other the second and third.
At this time the chief interest of the siege was centred at this point,
where it seemed not improbable that the Romans would have to suffer a
very serious check. The second-in-command of the besieging force, who
had a special charge of the fleet, an officer of more enterprise than
judgment, had seen, as he thought, a chance of greatly distinguishing
himself. Having taken advantage of a long spell of settled weather to
stand-in more closely than usual to the shore, he had observed, or
rather, it had been pointed out to him by a sharp-sighted young
officer, a portion of the ramparts which appeared to be insufficiently
guarded. The wall here ran along the top of a precipice, so steep and
inaccessible that it might almost seem unnecessary to supplement by art
the provision of nature. Such spots, however, while they seem to be the
strongest, are often in fact the weakest part of a fortification.[33] A
fortunate chance put Mancinus--this was the Roman admiral's name--in
possession of the fact that the cliffs were not by any means so
difficult of access as they seemed. One of the fishermen who plied their
trade along the coast had come on board the admiral's ship with a cargo
of fish for sale. He was asked whether there was any way of scaling the
cliffs, and replied that there was, and promised, in consideration of a
couple of gold pieces, to act as guide. Mancinus accordingly, having
waited for a dull night, landed a force of about a thousand men. The
guide fulfilled his promise and showed them the path, which, thanks to
the negligence of the besieged, they found entirely unguarded.
For a time everything went well. The sentinels had come to regard this
beat as one which might be neglected without risk. When they chanced to
be told off to this duty they were accustomed to sleep as unconcernedly
as if they had been in their beds at home. About fifty or sixty of the
assailants had mounted the walls by help of scaling-ladders when the
alarm was given. The besieged had organized a flying detachment of five
hundred men, whose business it was to be ready for any emergency, and to
hurry at once to any spot where they might be wanted.
This force now came up at full speed, and the few who had mounted the
wall were promptly dislodged. This done, the officer in command ordered
the nearest gate to be opened, and sallied out at the head of his men.
But he had not expected to find so formidable a force opposed to him.
His division was completely overmatched, and was driven back within the
walls, the Romans making their way through the gate--which there had
been no time to shut--along with the retreating enemy.
Both sides were now reinforced, the Carthaginians by fresh detachments
from the garrison, the Romans by Mancinus himself with another
contingent from the fleet. The result of the fighting, which was
continued throughout the night, was that the Romans retired from within
the walls, but occupied a fairly strong position outside.
In earlier days, when the idea that Carthaginian territory could be
successfully invaded had not occurred to anyone, a wealthy merchant of
the city had built himself a mansion on a space of level ground between
the wall and the cliff. The mansion was surrounded with spacious gardens
and orchards, and these again were protected from trespassers by a deep
ditch and a wall of unusual height. Here Mancinus intrenched himself. He
still cherished the hope that he might make good his footing, and use
the position as a starting-point for successful operations against the
city. What a splendid achievement it would be if he could falsify what
had come to be a commonly accepted belief, if it was to turn out that a
Mancinus, not a Scipio, was the conqueror of Carthage! And indeed he was
so far right that he always had the credit of having been the first to
effect a lodgment within the boundaries of Carthage itself.[34]
For the present, however, his position was precarious. He had no stock
of provisions with him, except that the men had been ordered to carry
rations for three days. Supplies could, of course, be obtained from the
ships, but only so long as the weather continued fine. A week of strong
wind from the sea would reduce him to absolute starvation. Of water
there was already a scarcity. The builder of the mansion had provided an
ample supply for a large household, but there was nothing like enough
for between two and three thousand men. And, apart from the difficulties
about food and drink, the position was not one which could be
permanently held. The wall round the mansion, for instance, was not a
military fortification. It was meant to keep out trespassers, not to
resist battering-rams.
This, then, was the state of affairs when Cleanor took up his command.
Two days had passed since Mancinus had occupied the position outside the
walls, and he was already in distress. The contingency for which he had
made no provision had occurred. The wind was blowing strongly from the
sea, and the captains of the fleet had thought it prudent to stand off
from the shore. The Carthaginians were perfectly well aware of the
condition of affairs. They had intercepted a messenger carrying an
urgent appeal for help to head-quarters, and knew that, unless there was
a change of weather, the Romans must be reduced to extremities. Their
policy was, of course, to sit still and wait. There was, indeed, a good
chance that if the battering-rams were vigorously applied to the walls,
a breach might be made, and an assault successfully made. But an
assault, whatever the result, would cost many lives. And of all men no
one is more bound to be economical of life than he who commands the
garrison of a besieged town; and this for the simple reason that he
cannot hope to get recruits. In the course of two or three days more the
Romans would have to capitulate, or fight at a terrible disadvantage.
Scipio, it was true, was now daily expected, and, if he arrived in time,
would be sure to make a vigorous effort to save his countrymen. But that
he should arrive in time seemed almost impossible.
But the Carthaginians did not know Scipio. Cleanor himself--who, as has
been seen, had had opportunities of estimating the remarkable qualities
of the man--was taken by surprise, such were the energy and the
promptitude with which the Roman acted. With that remarkable foresight
which he did not scruple himself to attribute to divine prompting, and
which we may anyhow describe as genius, he had made special preparation
for such a contingency as had actually occurred. He had selected the ten
swiftest ships out of the fleet which accompanied him from Italy, and
had put on board them a picked force of five hundred men. With this
squadron he had outstripped the slower sailers by not less than
forty-eight hours, an invaluable saving of time as it turned out.
He reached Utica, which was about twenty-seven miles west of Carthage,
at sunset on the day on which Mancinus had sent his appeal for help. Two
of the three messengers who had been despatched on this errand had been
captured, but one had contrived to elude the Carthaginian watchmen, and
had reached Utica at midnight. Scipio did not lose a moment. His own men
were ready for instant action, but they were scarcely numerous enough
for the work which they might have to do.
He found abundance of help in Utica. At an earlier period of the war he
had spent seven months in this town in command of a detachment quartered
there. The influence of his extraordinary personality had made itself
felt in Utica as it did everywhere else. Old and young in the city were
devoted to him. What we should now call a battalion of volunteers had
been raised, of which he had consented to be the honorary tribune. Late
as it was, he sent a herald through the streets with notice that this
force was to muster immediately at the harbour. In the course of little
more than an hour the battalion had assembled at the place indicated for
a _rendezvous_ in full strength, not a single member, except some
half-dozen incapacitated by sickness, being absent. A requisition also
was made for lads and elderly men, and of these there was such a throng
that the task for which they were wanted, carrying provisions and
stores on board the squadron, might have been done five times over. All
worked with such a will that before sunrise everything was actually
ready, and the squadron was able to make a start.
Scipio's arrival had been observed at Carthage, the harbour of Utica
being distinctly visible, notwithstanding the distance, through the
clear atmosphere of the north African coast. He had himself taken pains
to assure its being known, for he was not above utilizing to the utmost
the impression made, as he was well aware, by his name. He had no sooner
reached Utica than he ordered that some seamen, who were among the
Carthaginian prisoners, should be set free, supplied with a fast-sailing
pinnace, and commissioned to deliver at Carthage the message, "_Scipio
is come_".
That he would hasten to the relief of Mancinus everyone in Carthage
knew, and orders were issued accordingly that the position of that
general should be attacked as soon as possible after dawn. This was
prompt, but it was not prompt enough.
The night, indeed, was not lost. Battering-rams were brought to bear
upon the wall surrounding the mansion, and several breaches were made,
ready for the storming parties to enter as soon as it was light. Before
morning, indeed, the wall was so shattered that it became practically
indefensible, and Mancinus abandoned the idea of holding it against the
assailants. He formed his men into a square, with the heavy-armed, who
numbered about five hundred, outside, and the light troops, who had no
protection beyond a steel cap and small target, within.
Himilco, who personally directed the attack, ordered a charge on a
corner of the square, where the lines had been made up with Numidian
auxiliaries. He hoped to find them less sturdy in resistance than the
regular legionaries, who were all Italians. Cleanor, who was having his
first experience of serious fighting, was in the front rank of the
charge, and had the satisfaction of seeing the Roman line waver. But it
wavered without breaking.
The Numidians were under the command of a deputy centurion, a Picenian
mountaineer of huge stature and herculean strength. Springing to the
front he killed a heavily-armed Carthaginian outright with one thrust of
his pike. Then he struck Cleanor full in the breast. The finely-wrought
cuirass of steel, a gift from the old king, withstood the blow, but the
wearer was hurled backward with irresistible force and came to the
ground with a shock which partially stunned him. When Himilco ordered a
retreat he had to be supported by his companions.
But though the charge had been repulsed, the position of the Roman
force was full of peril. The heavily-armed men in the front ranks were
no protection to their less fully equipped comrades against the
incessant showers of missiles which the archers, javelin-throwers, and
slingers rained upon the helpless men inside the square. Their own
armour was not always proof against them, still less against the stones
which the catapults, now put in position on the city walls, discharged
into their ranks. The whole body continued to edge away out of range of
the walls, heedless of the fact that every step brought them nearer to
the cliffs.
A catastrophe was imminent when Scipio's squadron came in sight. The
decks were crowded, every available man putting himself as much in
evidence as possible. This was Scipio's command, given in order to
create an impression of greater numbers than he really possessed. The
effect on the contending forces was instantaneous and great. The
Carthaginian leaders felt themselves to be in the presence of a
formidable antagonist, and stood on the defensive. The forces of
Mancinus recovered the confidence which they had lost. Scipio's arrival
was soon followed by the appearance of Mancinus' own ships. For it was
one of the many instances of the extraordinary good fortune which seemed
to attend on Scipio throughout his career, that no sooner had he
appeared on the scene than the weather changed. The wind veered round,
and now blew with moderate strength from the shore. It was still a
couple of hours from noon when the whole force under Mancinus had
re-embarked.
"We must never lose a moment," said Gisco to our hero, when they were
talking over the events of the day, "if we are to keep up with this
wonderful man. As to being beforehand with him that seems impossible.
Who would have thought that, after coming all the way from Italy, he
would have started again almost without giving himself time to sup! This
is a very different thing from Piso's way of doing business."
FOOTNOTES:
33: The reader will remember the capture of Quebec by Wolfe's
daring plan of scaling the Heights of Abraham.
34: Mancinus was elected one of the consuls for the year 145
B.C. There is a curious story, that after the conclusion of the
war he exhibited in the Forum of Rome maps and plans of
Carthage, showing where the various attacks had been made, and
that he was never weary of explaining to the people the
operations of the siege. This conduct, the story continues, made
him so popular that he offered himself as a candidate for the
consulship, and was successful. This story looks somewhat
strange as it stands. The consulship was a very great honour,
and, what is more, a serious responsibility. It would hardly
have been bestowed on the giver of a popular and entertaining
exhibition. But there may have been a general feeling that
Mancinus had really done good service in the siege--had shown
the way, so to speak, for the capture of the city.