ver Iberus was the boundary
which separated the dominions of the two nations from each other in
Spain, the territory east of that boundary being under the Roman
power, and that on the west under that of the Carthaginians; except
that Saguntum, which was on the western side, was an ally of the
Romans, and the Carthaginians were bound by the treaty to leave it
independent and free.

Hannibal could not, therefore, cross the Iberus or attack Saguntum
without an open infraction of the treaty. He, however, immediately
began to move toward Saguntum and to attack the nations in the
immediate vicinity of it. If he wished to get into a war with the
Romans, this was the proper way to promote it; for, by advancing thus
into the immediate vicinity of the capital of their allies, there was
great probability that disputes would arise which would sooner or
later end in war.

The Romans say that Hannibal was cunning and treacherous, and he
certainly did display, on some occasions, a great degree of adroitness
in his stratagems. In one instance in these preliminary wars he gained
a victory over an immensely superior force in a very remarkable
manner. He was returning from an inroad upon some of the northern
provinces, laden and encumbered with spoil, when he learned that an
immense army, consisting, it was said, of a hundred thousand men, were
coming down upon his rear. There was a river at a short distance
before him. Hannibal pressed on and crossed the river by a ford, the
water being, perhaps, about three feet deep. He secreted a large body
of cavalry near the bank of the stream, and pushed on with the main
body of the army to some little distance from the river, so as to
produce the impression upon his pursuers that he was pressing forward
to make his escape.

[Illustration: THE BATTLE IN THE RIVER.]

The enemy, thinking that they had no time to lose, poured down in
great numbers into the stream from various points along the banks;
and, as soon as they had reached the middle of the current, and were
wading laboriously, half submerged, with their weapons held above
their heads, so as to present as little resistance as possible to the
water, the horsemen of Hannibal rushed in to meet and attack them. The
horsemen had, of course, greatly the advantage; for, though their
horses were in the water, they were themselves raised above it, and
their limbs were free, while their enemies were half submerged, and,
being encumbered by their