The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1878-03-08

tached pieces, in order to cross til
. Indus. The cause for this measur
seems to have been the information
that the banks of that river, and tn
vicinity in general were in fertile il
wood, which circumstance might hav
Occasioned considerable hinderanc
=. If not final Illustration of her enter
prise.
Having found that the Indians re
lied upon their elephants, In whicl
their strength was considered as chief
ly consisting, Semiramis devised ;
very singular expedient. To meet he
enemy on equal terms-at least to i'm
press him respecting her preparation
she determined to attempt an i'm.
itation of these elephants, since she
had no means of procuring them, and
accordingly caused 800, 600 oxen to be
slaughtered, distributing their flesh
among her neceSsitous subjects. This
being done, she ordered their hides to
be stuffed, and so placed upon camels
that these animals might resemble ele-
plants in their size; and, to complete
the delusion, each one was to be led
by man, according to the Indian
method of advancing to battle.
Such preparations for war could not
long remain concealed from the party
against whom they were destined: and
accordingly, the Indian King, Stabro-
bates, as soon as he obtained informa-
ton of the projected invasion of his
territory, applied himself to every pre-
cautiOnary measure. Heasscmbled an
army which he thought might be
competent to meet the sharp encount-
er with that of Semiramis, and, in
fact, which greatly exceeded it in
point of numbers; and having dis
patched his hunters in every direction
procured fresh and large supply of
elephants. That nothing might be
defective, he constructed 4, 600 boats of
the bamboos which the rivers of India
furnish in abundance.
Thus prepared for the attack, Sta
brobates, however, did not neglect any
proceeding which might tend to avert
the threatened calamity and spare the
fatal consequences that must necesSa-
rily attend upon the commencement
of hOstilities. He accordingly dis
| patched ambassadors to the invading
| army to demand the reason of the med
itated attack, to inquire who she was,
and to upbraid her for this, unprOvOk-
ed act of aggression. A private letter
was communicated at the same time
| to the Queen, in which her character
| was by no means spared, and in
which, in case of victory, she was
| threatened with the most cruel death.
This only excited a smile, and she de-
sired the Kings ambassador to return
| for answer, that she would in a little
time let him know who she was, that
her action would soon make him bet
ter acquainted with her. Advancing
| to the river Indus, she Immediately
attempted the passage by means of
boats prepared for the purpose, not
withstanding the show of resistance
| which the enemy made on the oppO-
site shore. The two fleets encounter
ed each other, and, animated with an
an equal courage, the contest was long
| and sanguinary; the one party was
| fighting for glory, and stimulated by
| the recollection ofa splendid sucbeS-
sion of past achievements; the other
for hereditary empire, which an insa-
| table ambition was endeavoring to
wrest from a just possession: Victory
for a considerable time seemed to how
er between each hostile armament,
till at length she descended among the
invaders, who sunk 900 of the 1ndi-
an boats, and captured an immense
multitude Ofprisoners.
Before quitting the vicinity of the
river the conqueror had from various
villages, and towns taken no less, it is
said, than 1000 Success stimulat-
ing her activity, Semiramis pressed
forward into the country in pursuit of
her fugitive enemies-fugitives, as
some report, by stratagem, and for the
purpose of decOyipg the Queen into
circumstances from which she would
not be able to extricate herself. 1t
seems probable, however, had this
been the real plan of the Indians, the
passage of the river and the possession
NFf fIo fa hov a hs,x
been so fiercely contested, and that
consequently necessity rather than
cunning dictated q hasty withdrawal
of the Indian forces.
Be this as it may, the Queen, hav-
ing left division of sixty thousand
men to guard the bridge of boats
which she had constructed to cross the
river, marched into the heart of the
country, Her array of counterfeit ell
ephants at first struck terror into the
Indian army; but their fears were
soon dissipated by the treachero4s in
formation of certain deserters, who
gave them an account OF this stFata-
gem, and reinspired them with cour-
age.
Facing about, therefore, to meet
their pursuers, a second battle ensued.
Some advantage was at first obtained
on the side of Semiramis: the horses of
the enemy being thrown into confu-
sion by the unusual scent of hides,
which theQueen perceiving, cOmmenc-
ed furious attack, and drove them
back upon the main body, The Indi-
an infantry, however, under the i'm
mediate command of Stabrobates, and
supported by their elephants, advanc-
ed to battle with great regularity and
firmness. The counterfeit elephants
of Semiramis soon proved not only
useless, but obstructive, and cOntribut-
ed materially to speedy and most
disastrous defeat The two chiefs of
the respective armies now met in sim
gle combat, the Indian Prince having
advanced at the head of his right
wing on stately elephant, while
Semiramis charged in front of her left.
The King wounded her in two places
first in the arm with an arrow: then
as she was turhinR to retreat, finding
the day irretrevably lost, In the Shoui-
der. The swiftness of her horse, how
ever, enabled her to escape the mortal
wound, and she hurried back with her
Whole aBMy "a the river which she
had so lately passed amid sheqts Of
! triumph.
She was indebted to two circum-
stances for her ultimate escape; the
one was the superstition of her Rursu-
ers (Stabrobates having been warned
| against crossing the river by an oracu-
lar interdiction); the other by a judi
cious maneuver of her own; for as soon
as the main body of the army had eff
fected the passage and many of the
Indians were rushing over in pursuit,
the Queen ordered the bridge to be de-
stroyed, which instantly placed her in
circumstances of security, while many
of the enemy perished. She suffered
a prqdigious loss, not only in the bat
| tie, but on the bank of the Indus, in
| consequence of the excessive crowd of
her fugitive army, who trampled each
! other to death or forced Multitudes of
| their companions into the river. An
exchange of prisoners now took place,
and the disappointed invader retreat
ed with oitIy one-third of her original
army to console her ambition at Bac-
/ tria.
Thus ended the glory of Semiranis,
and, soon after, her life. One of the
officials of her palace had inspired her
| own scn with the desire of poisoning
his mother When sIS discovered the
Il n. 4