23 M ACE 
ordinary magnitude, he facrificed on them : after which 
he exhibited (hows in the Grecian manner; and, having 
added all the conquered country in thefe parts to the do¬ 
minions of Porus, he began to return. Having arrived 
at the Hydafpes, he made the neceffary preparations for 
failing down the Indus into the ocean. For this purpofe, 
he ordered vaft quantities of timber to be felled in the 
neighbourhood of the Hydafpes, through which he was 
-to fail into the Indus; he caufed the velfels u'ith which 
he had paffed other rivers to be brought thither, and af- 
fembled a vaft number of artificers capable of repairing 
and equipping his fleet; which, when finifhed, confifted 
of eighty veflels of three banks of oars, and two thoufand 
finaller iliips and tranfports. Thofe who were to manage 
this fleet were (defied from among the Phoenicians, Cy¬ 
prians, Carians, and Egyptians, following his army, and 
who were reckoned perfectly well (killed in the naval art. 
When all things were ready, the army embarked about 
break of day ; "the king, in the mean time, facrificing to 
•the gods, according to the ceremonies ufed in his own 
country, and likewife according to thofe of the country 
where he now was. Then hehimfelf went on-board; and, 
caufing the fignal to be given by found of trumpet, the 
fleet fet fail. Craterus and Hephseftion had marched fome 
days before with another diviiion of the army ; and in 
three days the fleet reached that part of the river which 
was oppofite to their camps. Here he had information, 
that the Oxydracte and Malli were raifing forces to op- 
pofe him; upon which he immediately determined to re¬ 
duce them ; for, during this voyage, he made it a rule to 
compel the inhabitants on both fides of the river to yield 
him obedience. But, before he arrived on the coalts of 
the people above mentioned, he himfelf fultained no (mall 
danger; for, coming to the confluence of the Acefines 
with the Hydafpes, from whence both rivers roll together 
into the Indus, the eddies, whirlpools, and rapid currents, 
ruftiing with tremendous noife from the refpective chan¬ 
nels of thofe rivers into the great one formed by them 
both, at once terrified thofe who navigated his (hips, 
and aftually deftroyed many of the long veflels, with all 
who were on-board them ; the king himfelf being in fome 
danger, and Nearchus the admiral not a little at a lofs. 
As foon as this danger was over, Alexander went on- 
ihore ; and, having ordered his elephants with fome troops 
-of horfe and archers to be carried acrofs, and put under 
the command of Craterus, he then divided his army on 
the left-hand bank into three bodies ; the firft commanded 
by himfelf, the fecond by Hephaeftion, and the third by 
Ptolemy. Haspheftion had orders to move filently through 
the heart of the country, five days’ march before the king; 
that if, on Alexander’s approach, any of the barbarians 
(hould attempt to (lielter themfelves by retiring into the 
country, they might fall into the hands of Haspheftion. 
Ptolemy Lagus was ordered to march three days’ journey 
behind the king, that, if any efcaped his army, they might 
be intercepted by this rear-guard ; and the fleet had orders 
to flop at the confluence of this river with the Hydraotes 
till fuch time, as thefe feveral corps (hould arrive. 
Alexander himfelf, at the head of a body of horfe and 
light-armed foot, marched through a defert country againft 
the Malli; and, fcarcely affording any reft to his foldiers, 
arrived in three days at a city into which the barbarians 
had put their wives and children, with a good garrifon 
for their defence. The country people, having no notion 
that Alexander would march through fuch a delert and bar¬ 
ren region, were all unarmed, and in the utmoft confufion. 
Many of them therefore were (lain in the field ; the reft fled 
into the city, and (hut the gates. But this only protracted 
their fate for a (liort time; for the king, having ordered 
the city to be inverted by his cavalry, took it, as well as 
the caftle, by ftorm, and put all he found there to the 
fword. He lent at the fame time Perdiccas with a confi- 
derable detachment, to invert another city of the Malli, at 
& confiderable diftance ; but, when he came there, he found 
it abandoned, However, he purfned the.inhabitants, who 
D O N. 
had but lately left it, and killed great numbers of them 
on the road. After this the king took feveral other ci¬ 
ties, but not without confiderable refiftance; for the In¬ 
dians fometimes chofe to bum themfelves in their houfes 
father than furrender. At laft he marched to their capita! 
city; and, finding that abandoned, he proceeded to the 
river Hydraotes, where he found fifty thoufand men en¬ 
camped on the oppofite bank, in order to difpute his 
paffage. He did r.ot hefitate, however, to enter the river 
with a confiderable party of horfe: and fo much were the 
Indians terrified at his prefence, that their whole army 
retired before him. In a (liort time they returned and 
attacked him, being aftiamed to fly before fuch an incon- 
fiderable number ; but in the mean time the reft of the Ma¬ 
cedonian forces had come up, and the Indians were obliged 
to retire to a city which lay behind them, and which Alex¬ 
ander inverted that very night. The next day he ftormed 
the city with fuch violence, that the inhabitants were 
compelled to abandon it, and to retire to the caftle, where 
they-prepared for an obftinate defence; Alexander in- 
ftantly gave orders for fcaling the walls, and the foldiers 
prepared to execute thefe orders as fart as they could ; 
but the king, being impatient, caught hold ot a ladder 
and mounted it firlt himfelf; the confequence of which 
was, that he very narrowly efcaped with life. See Greece, 
p. 947. The Indians were now flaughtered without mer¬ 
cy ; but Alexander continued for lome time in a very 
dangerous way: however, lie at laft recovered his ftrength, 
and (howed himfelf again to his army, which filled them 
with the greateft joy. 
The Malli, being now convinced that nothing but fub- 
miflion could fave the remainder of them, fent deputies 
to Alexander, offering the dominion of their country ; as 
did alfo the Oxydracae ; and the king, having fettled every 
thing in thefe countries agreeable to his mind, proceeded 
on his voyage down the river Indus. In this voyage he 
received the fubmiflion of fome other Indian princes ^and, 
perceiving, that at the point of the ifland Pattala, the ri¬ 
ver divided itfelf into two vaft branches, he ordered a ha¬ 
ven and convenient docks to be made there for his (hips; 
and, when he had careened his fleet, he failed down the 
right-hand branch towards the ocean. In his paffage he 
fultained great difficulties by reafon of his want of pilots, 
and at the mouth of the river very narrowly miffed being 
caft away; yet all this did not hinder him from purfuing 
his firft defign, though it does not appear that he had any 
other motive thereto than the vain defire of boaftirig that 
he had entered the ocean beyond the Indus; for, having 
confecrated white bulls to Neptune, and thrown them 
into the fea, performed certain libations of golden cups, 
and throw'n the cups alfo into the fea, he came back 
again ; having only furveyed two little iflands, one at 
the mouth ot the Indus, and one a little farther in the 
ocean. 
On the king’s return to Pattala, he’refolved to fail down 
the other branch of the Indus, that he might fee whether 
it was more fafe and commodious for his fleet than that 
which he had already tried ; and for this he had very good 
reafons. He had refolved to fend Nearchus with his fleet 
by fea, through the Perfian gulf up the river Tigris, to 
meet him and his army in Mefopotamia ; but, as the pof- 
flbility of this voyage depended on the ceafing of the Ete- 
fian winds, there was a neceftity of laying up the fleet till 
the feafon fhould prove favourable. Alexander, therefore, 
failing through this branch of the Indus, fought on the 
iea-coaft for bays and creeks where his fleet might anchor 
in fafety ; he caufed alfo pits to be funk, which might be 
filled with frefli water for the ufeof his people; and took 
all imaginary precautions for preferving them in eafe and 
fafety till the feafon would allow them to continue their 
voyage. In this he fucceeded to his vvilh ; for he found 
this branch of the river Indus, at its mouth, fpread over 
the plain country, and forming a kind of lake, wherein a 
fleet might ride with (afety. He therefore appointed Leo- 
natus, and a part of his army, to carry on lucli works as 
1 were 
