THE ROMAN LEGIONS IN AFRICA
The Roman soldiers did not wish to sail to a strange land. Their
dislike to the voyage grew as they listened to bewildering tales of
these unknown regions.
So they began to grumble, saying that the heat would overpower them,
that they would be lost in the great forests of which they had been
told, and that huge and poisonous serpents would certainly strangle
them. Even one of the tribunes was disloyal, and encouraged the
soldiers to complain.
But Regulus paid no heed to the distress of the soldiers, and the fleet
sailed on, until it reached the coast of Africa.
The soldiers disembarked, and in a short time they found how foolish
had been their fears. Instead of being lost in dark and fearful
forests, they found themselves in a country that was beautiful and glad
as a garden.
Figs, larger than the Romans had ever seen, grew in abundance;
harvests, more plentiful than they had deemed possible, waved golden
in the fields. Houses, surrounded by vineyards, oliveyards and rich
pasture land, roused the envy as well as the delight of the soldiers.
Over this beautiful country the Roman army was soon scattered to
plunder and to destroy. Houses were burned, fields were trampled down,
cattle was stolen, and it is said that 20,000 persons, many of whom had
lived in comfort all their lives, were now captured and sold as slaves.
And while their land was destroyed and their people were taken
prisoners, the Punic army kept to the hills, and left the enemy
unmolested.
Then the Romans, knowing that on such steep ground neither cavalry nor
elephants would be of much use to the enemy, attacked the Carthaginian
army and defeated it.
After this victory, Manlius, with one army, was recalled to Rome.
Regulus continued to ravage the country unchecked, for the
Carthaginians, after their defeat, were unable to hinder his
onslaughts. The Consul indeed is said to have boasted that he had taken
and plundered more than three hundred walled villages.
To add to the misery of the people, the wild tribes of the desert
also began to attack the defenceless village folk, and to rob their
homesteads.
Then, from far and near, the wretched inhabitants flocked into Carthage
for shelter and protection, until the city was so full that there was
scarcely enough bread to feed the hungry multitude.
The Senate of Carthage sent, in despair, to Regulus, to beg for peace.
But the Consul received the ambassadors with scant courtesy, while the
terms he offered were intolerable.
Among other things, he demanded that the Carthaginians should make
neither alliance nor war, unless by the permission of Rome, that they
should never send more than one ship of war to sea for their own ends,
while if Rome demanded help they must be ready to provide her with a
fleet of fifty vessels. The Consul also said that they must agree to
pay, not only the expenses of the war that was going on, but a yearly
tribute to Rome as well.
When the ambassadors protested that it would be impossible for Carthage
to accept such degrading terms, Regulus drove them from his camp,
rudely saying, ‘Men who are good for anything, should either conquer or
submit to their betters.’
The Senate, with one voice, agreed that the terms offered by the Consul
deserved no consideration.
It was plain that Regulus would not help them, and so the people, in
their despair, turned to their gods. Lest the city of Carthage itself
should fall into the hands of the enemy, they must be appeased with
sacrifices.
In the temple, one of the gods stood with arms outstretched, while
at his feet a furnace flamed. Into the cold and lifeless arms little
children of noble rank were laid. But the god was unable to hold the
treasures given into his keeping, and they rolled out of his arms
and fell into the furnace below. By such terrible sacrifices the
Carthaginians strove to appease their gods.
After the sacrifices had been offered the Senate determined to send for
hired soldiers to Greece, that the army might be strengthened. Among
those who came to fight for the Carthaginians was a Spartan officer,
named Xanthippus.
As he belonged to Sparta, Xanthippus, like all the youths of his land,
had been trained from the age of seven to endure hardships, and to
suffer pain without a murmur.