r side, practised every knavish
art which could be thought of, in order to extort money from them. When
one point was gained, they immediately had recourse to a new artifice, on
which to ground some new demand. Was their pay settled beyond the
agreement made with them, they still would be reimbursed for the losses
which they pretended to have sustained, either by the death of their
horses, by the excessive price which, at certain times, they had paid for
bread-corn; and still insisted on the recompense which had been promised
them. As nothing could be fixed, the Carthaginians, with great difficulty,
prevailed on them to refer themselves to the opinion of some general who
had commanded in Sicily. Accordingly they pitched upon Gisgo, who had
always been very acceptable to them. This general harangued them in a mild
and insinuating manner; recalled to their memories the long time they had
been in the Carthaginian service; the considerable sums they had received
from the republic; and granted almost all their demands.

The treaty was upon the point of being concluded, when two mutineers
occasioned a tumult in every part of the camp. One of those was Spendius a
Capuan, who had been a slave at Rome, and had fled to the Carthaginians.
He was tall and bold. The fear he was under, of falling into the hands of
his former master, by whom he was sure to be hanged, (as was the custom,)
prompted him to break off the agreement. He was seconded by one
Matho,(702) who had been very active in forming the conspiracy. These two
represented to the Africans, that the instant after their companions
should be discharged and sent home, they, being thus left alone in their
own country, would fall a sacrifice to the rage of the Carthaginians, who
would take vengeance upon them for the common rebellion. This was
sufficient to raise them to fury. They immediately made choice of Spendius
and Matho for their chiefs. No remonstrances were heard; and whoever
offered to make any, was immediately put to death. They ran to Gisgo's
tent, plundered it of the money designed for the payment of the forces:
dragged that general himself to prison, with all his attendants; after
having treated them with the utmost indignities. All the cities of Africa,
to whom they had sent deputies to exhort them to recover their liberty,
came over to them, Utica and Hippacra excepted, which they therefore
immediately besieged.

Carthage had never been before exposed to such imm