alents of coined money. This conduct of his greatly vexed his
friends; but caused him to be much more favourably regarded by many of
the natives.

After this, Alexander, who had suffered great losses from the Indian
mercenary troops who flocked to defend the cities which he attacked,
made a treaty of alliance with them in a certain town, and afterwards,
as they were going away set upon them while they were on the road and
killed them all. This is the greatest blot upon his fame; for in all
the rest of his wars, he always acted with good faith as became a
king. He was also much troubled by the philosophers who attended him,
because they reproached those native princes who joined him, and
encouraged the free states to revolt and regain their independence.
For this reason, he caused not a few of them to be hanged.

LX. His campaign against king Porus is described at length in his own
letters. He tells us that the river Hydaspes[421] ran between the two
camps, and that Porus with his elephants watched the further bank, and
prevented his crossing. Alexander himself every day caused a great
noise and disturbance to be made in his camp, in order that the enemy
might be led to disregard his movements: and at last upon a dark and
stormy night he took a division of infantry and the best of the
cavalry, marched to a considerable distance from the enemy, and
crossed over into an island of no great extent. Here he was exposed to
a terrible storm of rain, with thunder and lightning; but, although
several of his men were struck dead, he pressed on, crossed the
island, and gained the furthermost bank of the river. The Hydaspes was
flooded by the rain, and the stream ran fiercely down this second
branch, while the Macedonians could with difficulty keep their
footing upon this slippery and uneven bottom Here it was that
Alexander is said to have exclaimed, "O ye Athenians, what toils do I
undergo to obtain your praise."

This, however, rests only on the authority of the historian
Oneskritus, for Alexander himself relates that they abandoned their
rafts, and waded through this second torrent under arms, with the
water up to their breasts. After crossing, he himself rode on some
twenty furlongs in advance of the infantry, thinking that if the enemy
met him with their cavalry alone, he would be able to rout them
easily, and that, if they advanced their entire force, before a battle
could be begun, he would be joined by his own infantry.