ingly did; and when all the troops had
effected the passage, they were drawn up in battle array on the plain.
Pyrrhus marshaled his forces also, and both parties prepared for the
contest.

The Romans stood most in awe of the elephants, and they resorted to
some peculiar and extraordinary means of resisting them. They prepared
a great number of chariots, each of which was armed with a long
pointed spear, projecting forward in such a manner that when the
chariots should be driven on toward the elephants, these spears or
beaks should pierce the bodies of the beasts and destroy them. The
chariots, too, were filled with men, who were all provided with
fire-brands, which they were to throw at the elephants, and frighten
them, as they came on. These chariots were all carefully posted in
front of that part of Pyrrhus's army where the elephants were
stationed, and the charioteers were strictly ordered not to move until
they should see the elephants advancing.

The battle, as might have been expected from the circumstances which
preceded it, and from the character of the combatants, was fought with
the most furious and persevering desperation. It continued through the
whole day; and in the various parts of the field, and during the
different hours of the day, the advantage was sometimes strongly on
one side, and sometimes on the other, so that it was wholly uncertain,
for a long time, what the ultimate result would be. The elephants
succeeded in getting round the chariots which had been posted to
intercept them, and effected a great destruction of the Roman troops.
On the other hand, a detachment of the Roman army made their way to
the camp of Pyrrhus, and attacked it desperately. Pyrrhus withdrew a
part of his forces to protect his camp, and that turned the tide
against him on the field. By means of the most Herculean exertions,
Pyrrhus rallied his men, and restored their confidence; and then, for
a time, the fortune of war seemed to incline in his favor. In the
course of the day Decius was killed, and the whole command of the
Roman army then devolved upon Sulpicius, his colleague. Pyrrhus
himself was seriously wounded. When, at last, the sun went down, and
the approaching darkness of the night prevented a continuance of the
combat, both parties drew off such as remained alive of their
respective armies, leaving the field covered with the dead and dying.
One of Pyrrhus's generals congratulated him on his victory. "Yes,"
said