The Shasta courier., 1868-04-11
} shasta COURIER.
THE PUNIC WARS.


Greece, IN the Overlooking wealth of their
prolific genius, were accustomed to write
their own tragedies in sets of three in set /;
and what Eschylus, Sophocles and Euri,
pides were wont to do we find man doing on
great and terrific scale in the history of
Carthage, the great rival of Rome; for the
three famous Punic or Carthagenian wars.
in which Rome strove with Carthage in a
death grapple, were three of as CHASTITY and
CORY tragedies as have ever been enacted in
tiis sin-scourged orld of ours.
Let US try in this brief paper to give a
sketch of these three wars, than which pan.
demonium never instigated worse.
The first Punic war began in the year 264
before the birth of Christ, and lasted till 24l
or for twenty-three years; the opening
struggle between the horse, the emblem of
Carthage, and the eagle the emblem of Rome.
The contest was as to which of the two should
rule Sicily, the most beautiful island in the
world.
AT the outset the two opponents seemed to
be nearly matched. Carthage was the
Venice of the Old World; a magnificent
commercial city, governed by a terrific tri.
bunal of a hundred men, which ruled with
an iron hand, like the - Council of Ten'' in
Venice, over the Senate and the Judges, in
whom externally the supreme power seemed
to be vested. The Hundred, however. held
the real power, and they were as relentless
as oligarchies have always proven themselves
to be, the most bloody of all forms of govern
ment
Carthage had far more wealth than Rome :;
had the command of the sea, and large mer
cenary force it was of small account with
her though fifty thousand of these fell in
a campaign, if she but proved victorious :;
her commercial gains were such that she
could easily hire more.
On the ether hand the Romans did their
own fighting; they were men of iron mould
and of rapid enterprise, their maxim being
never to make peace with any antagonist
until the victory lay with their own side
Their spirit Of enterprise. their wealth of re.
source displayed itself at the very commence
ment of stroke in their creation of a fleet.
At first they had used single ship of war.
A Carthagenian galley being cast on shore,
this they took as their model; within sixty
days, after the trees were feled on the hills.
they had afoat one hundred and thirty ships.
each with three hundred rowers and two
hundred marines that is, twenty six thous
and fighting men, who had been trained on
scaffolding on land, and while the ships were
at anchor.
But as Duillus, the consul, whose energy
had called this armament into being, was
aware how inferior in naval maneuvre his
men were to the Carthagenian crews, he de-
termined that the result should depend on
bare manhood, not ON sailorly skill he in
vented, therefore, boarding barges, along
which three could advance abreast, and
which took hold of the enemy's ship by
means CT graphing irons and held the vessels
together till valor should settle the prey
The consequence was that in the very first
sea fight the victory remoined with the
Romans fourteen Carthagenian ships were
destroyed, three thousand men were slain,
seven thousand were taken prisoners.
Again, off Ecnomus, in 256, eight years
after, the greatest sea fight had occurred that
the world had yet seen the Romans, having
three hundred and thirty quinquerimes,
each with three hundred rowers and one hun
dred and twenty soldiers; the Carthagenians
having three hundred and fifty ships and
one hundred and fifty thousand men, in
which action the Carthagenans had thirty
ships sunk, sixty four taken, while the
Romans lost twenty-four; the victory being
gained by the Romans.
1t was In the first Punic War that the
immortal incident of Regulus, the Roman
"eral, took place. Striking at Carthage in
her home. the Romans had landed an army
in northern Africa, not far from the modern
Tunis, within ten miles of which Carthage
stood of old. Daring, but too presumptuous.
Regulus was outgeneraled and defeated by
the Spartan merceDary general, Xanthippus,
with an inferior force, and taken prisoner
The Carthagenians, anxious for the cessa-
ton of hostilities, sent their ilustrious
prisoner to Rome with the offer of peace.
binding him to return to his chains if peace
were not given, and assuring him that if he
did SO return torture and death awaited
him.
In the senate of the seven billed city he
urged his countrymen to continue the war,
assuring them that their foe was nearly ex.
hausted. As the result of his representations
the request of the Carthagenians was reject
ed. Regulus was then urged not to return to
his captors, but he spurned the thought ::
truth was beyond measure dearer to him than
life; his word of honor was bond which
nothing on earth or heaven could break.
On his going back they thrust him into
barrel spiked with iron, and rolled it down
long and steep hill side, thus putting truths
martyr to death. We are, however. COM
PEELED to warn our readers that this splendid
though death gloomed story, is no longer
held authentic. The vivacious Polvbius
makes no mention of it; while Diodorus
presents the Roman general as perishing
through careless treatment.
The first Punic War closed disastrouslv
for Cartilage. The borrowed strength Of
commercial riches had to yield to the Unborn
vigor of the sword Carthage consented to
evacuate Sicily, with the neighboring islands.
and to pay fine of twenty two hundred
talents in ten years.
During the peace of twenty-three years
Carthage had been made to feel how preca-
rious her position was, as depending on mer-
cenaries. Her finances bad been ruined by
the first war her unpaid mercenaries re-
volted Hamilcar Barca, or " Lightning y
saved his country by his splendid military
genius in war of three years, from 24O to
237 before Christ-a war long memorable for
its horrors All the prisoners taken on either