heir way through the Gauls and Africans, of whom
they made a dreadful slaughter; but as they could neither assist their
friends, nor return to the camp, the way to it being cut off by the
Numidian horse, the river, and the rain, they retreated in good order to
Placentia. Most of the rest lost their lives on the banks of the river,
being trampled to pieces by the elephants and horses. Those who escaped,
went and joined the body above mentioned. The next night Scipio retired
also to Placentia. The Carthaginians gained a complete victory, and their
loss was inconsiderable, except that a great number of their horses were
destroyed by the cold, the rain, and the snow; and that, of all their
elephants, they saved but one only.

In Spain, the Romans had better success in this and the following
campaign;(753) for Cn. Scipio extended his conquests as far as the river
Iberus,(754) defeated Hanno, and took him prisoner.

Hannibal took the opportunity, whilst he was in winter quarters, to
refresh his troops, and gain the affection of the natives.(755) For this
purpose, after having declared to the prisoners whom he had taken from the
allies of the Romans, that he was not come with the view of making war
upon them, but of restoring the Italians to their liberty, and protecting
them against the Romans, he sent them all home to their own countries,
without requiring the least ransom.

The winter was no sooner over, than he set out towards Tuscany,(756)
whither he hastened his march for two important reasons: first, to avoid
the ill effects which would arise from the ill will of the Gauls, who were
tired with the long stay of the Carthaginian army in their territories;
and were impatient of bearing the whole burden of a war, in which they had
engaged with no other view than to carry it into the country of their
common enemy: secondly, that he might increase, by some bold exploit, the
reputation of his arms in the minds of all the inhabitants of Italy, by
carrying the war to the very gates of Rome; and at the same time reanimate
his troops, and the Gauls his allies, by the plunder of the enemy's lands.
But in his march over the Apennines, he was overtaken by a dreadful storm,
which destroyed great numbers of his men. The cold, the rain, the wind and
hail, seemed to conspire his ruin; so that the fatigues which the
Carthaginians had undergone in crossing the Alps, seemed less dreadful
than those they now suffered. He therefore marched b