47. Answers to exercises Copy

Finally, in the evening Alexander himself reached the river Oxus. But the greatest part of his

army had not been able to keep up; and so he ordered fires to be lit on top of a hill so that

those who were following with difficulty would realise that they were not far from the camp;

at the same time he ordered those who had arrived first, after quickly refreshing themselves

with food and drink, to fill leather bags and all other vessels in which water could be carried,

and bring help to his men. But those who had drunk too much died because their breathing

was obstructed, and the number of these men was much greater than he had lost in any battle.

But Alexander himself, still armed with his breastplate, stood on the road by which the army

was coming, and did not refresh himself with either food or drink before they had all gone

past. He spent the whole of that night with great disturbance of mind, nor was he any happier

on the next day, because there were neither any boats there nor trees with which a bridge

could be constructed. He therefore had as many leather bags as possible filled with straw and

distributed them to the soldiers: lying on these they swam across the river, and those who

gone across first remained in position until everyone had got across. In this way he led the

whole army onto the farther bank.