THE RETREAT OF THE TEN THOUSAND. 241

sian army of one hundred and twenty thousand men.
These mountains must be crossed, but the moun-
taineers proved fiercely hostile. Seven days were
occupied in the task, and these were days of constant
battle and loss. At one pass the Carduchians rolled
down such incessant masses of rocks that progress
was impossible, and the Greeks were almost in de-
spair. Fortunately a prisoner showed them a pass
by which they could get above these defenders, who,
on seeing themselves thus exposed, took to their
heels, and left the way open to the main body of
the Greek army. Glad enough were the disheart-
ened adventurers to see once more a.plain, and find
themselves past these dreaded hills and on the banks:
of an Armenian river.

But they now had the Persians again in their
front, with the Carduchians in their rear, and it was
with no small difficulty that they reached the north
side of this stream. In Armenia they had new perils
to encounter. The winter was upon them, and the
country covered with snow. Reaching at length the
head-waters of the Euphrates, they waded across,
and there found themselves in such deep snow and.
facing such fierce winds that many slaves and
draught-horses died of cold, together with about
thirty soldiers. Some of the men lost their sight
from the snow-glare; others had their feet badly
frosted ; food was very scarce; the foe was in their
rear. It was a miserable and woe-begone army that
at length gladly reached, on the summit of some hills,
a number of villages well stored with food.

In the country of the Taochians, which the fugi-—

I.—L qd 21