The Shasta courier., 1868-04-11


Hamilcar Barca then enpaped in tho CON
quest of Spain as a,compensation for the loss
of Sicily. In nine years under him and in
eight years under his son-in law. Hasdrubal
this great acquisition was made as far as to
the Ebro, when Rome interfered, demanding
that the Ebro should be the farthest limit Of
Carthagenian progress. Hasdrubal. also a
military genius, was assassinated. Hanni
bal, at the age of twenty six, the son of
Lightning" vas appointed to the chief
command, by the plaudits of the admiring
army. lie urged on the siege of Saguntam.
gear the mouth of the Ebro. Was Ills
breach of the treaty with Rome The oues
ton will never be settled, for while Levy,
whose truth is merely Roman truth, that of
partisan, tells us that the treaty stipulated
that Sagantum should be free, under the
protection of Rome, this Polybius expressly
Denies
The ambassador of Rome appeared in the
Carthagenian Senate, where he exclaimed
. Here | bring you peace and war. Choose
which"
"Give whatever you think ft," was the
reply.
:" give you war, then"
p" We accept it, ard shall carry it on in
the same spirit in which we accept it,"
After siege of eight months, Sagantum
was captured by Hannibal in 2l9 Late in
the Spring of 2l8, after a peace of twenty.
three years, he marched on Italy, and the
Second Punic war, perhaps the most inter-
esting in ancient history, began.
He had to cross the Alps. famous pas
sage, most likely by little st. Bernard, a
little to the South of Mt. Blanc; the route
however, is to this day matter of dispute
He left the Ebro with ninety thousand foot
twelve thousand horse and thirty-seven ele.
plants. When he reached after a march of
five months, the bright Italian plains, he
had only twenty thousand foot, six thousand
horse, and one solitary elephant. Such had
been the horrors Of the crossing.
The citizens of Rome, capable of arms in
Rome and its immediate neighborhood, were
two hundred and fifty thousand. HannibaPs
twenty thousand consisted of twelve thous-
and Africans and eight thousand Spaniards,
in rags and emaciated. Rome had against
him vast superiority in numbers, unbroken
by avalanche and glacier.
In quick succession came the three great
Roman defeats of Ticinus, Trebia, Thrasy
menus and in 2l6, the crowning Cartha-
genian victory of Came. one of the mightiest
fields of slaughter that ever defiled the earth
with gore. The Carthagenans had forty
thousand infantry and ten thousand cavalry;
the Romans seventy thousand infantry and
six thousand cavalry. Hannibal lost four
thousand Gauls, fifteen hundred Africans
and Spaniards, and two hundred horsemen
Tne Romans were utterly routed: losing
sixty y-seven thousand infantry and five thcus
and horsemen, with one hundred senators,
annihilation rather than defeat, the greatest
disaster in the field that Rome ever sustain.
ed.
Great blame has been heaped on Hannibal
for not Immediately marching on Rome. No
doubt a general So able as he, perhaps with
out a superior in the art of war, knew the
position of affairs much better than his critics.
A Roman feet held the sea; thirty powerful
Roman colonies in Italy were sworn to die
for the mother city be had no modern can
non to batter down walls; at whatever point
a sally might have been made from Rome.
the Carthagenians would have been found
inferior in numbers finally, three armies
were ready to oppose him.
After long consideration we are convinced
that he did not march on Rome simply be-
cause to do so would have been Madness
He had owed much of his success to his cav
airy; but that arm would have been useless
in the siege of Rome.
For fifteen years Hannibal made Capua
and Italy his bivouac A strong aristocrat.
ic party in Carthage withheld the necessary
reinforcements his brother after crossing
the Alps to aid him, was defeated and slain
and his head thrown into his camp. Publius
Cornelius Scipio, with a genius equal to his
own. attained at theage of twenty four, great
celebrity, and led an army into Africa to
compel Hannibal's return. An army was
got together to oppose the Romans. Scipio
burned the Numdian and Carthagenian
camp in night attack; sixty thousand Nu-
indians and thirty thousands Carthagenians
perished in the flames or by the sword. 1t
was high time to summon the great Cartha
genian home, and accordingly he went thither
after fifteen years in Italy.
The battle of Zama soon followed, and
Hannibal was prostrated forever, his veterans
falling mostly where they stood to retreat
was for them a thing impossible Twenty
thousand Carthagenians were slain and as
many were taken prisoners. Peace was
soon after declared, Carthage giving up all
her foreign possessions all her ships of war
but ten !; all her elephants paying ten thous-
and talents; and stipulating to enter no war
till Rome gave consent.
Hannibal, fugitive in Asia Minor, and
about to fall into the hands of the Romans.
killed himself, in the year 1873, by poison
which he had long carried about with him in
a ring on his finger, at the age of sixty four
The second Punic War closed. Peace
lasted till the year 149 before Christ, when
for the last time the naughty and Unsuitable
conquerors declared war with their enfeebled
rival The ostensible occasion was to defend
Masinissa, the ally of Rome, the vampire of
Carthage.
A prince, who, though enriched by mag
nifcent Roman gifts. had on one occasion
at least, sought to immediate his deepest
affections to appease Roman jealousy. So
pbonisba, the lovely daughter of Hasdrubal,
was wooed by Syphax and Mossinissa, both
princes of northern Africa. She sought to
help her country by her beauty; she married
Syphax and allured him to take part against
the Romans. Syphax was defeated So
phonisba was taken from him and given in
marriage to Massinssa. But on Scipio's
arrival in Africa, he feared lest her influence
over her second husband might be prejudcal
to Roman interests as it had been over her
first spouse.
She Is of venomous brood" he said to
her spouse. " She will turn your heart
against Rome. You must surrender her to
us.n
10 save his belo-ad and baart;fuI ,r;fo