Book 4 · Chapter 5

The next day, they decided to move out fast, before the enemy could gather and take control of the pass. After grabbing their gear and supplies, they started marching through deep snow with several guides.

They crossed the high pass the same day Tiribazus was supposed to attack, and made it safely to their camp. From there, they marched three long stretches - fifteen parasangs - to the Euphrates River, wading through water up to their waists. People said the river's source wasnn't far away.

Then they marched through more deep snow across flat land for another three stretches - another fifteen parasangs. The last stretch was brutal, with the freezing north wind blowing right in their faces, drying everything out and making the men numb.

One of the seers suggested they offer a sacrifice to Boreas, so they did. Everyone noticed the wind died down a lot. But there was six feet of snow, so many of the pack animals and slaves got lost, and about thirty of the men themselves.

They spent the whole night building fires; luckily, there was plenty of wood at the spot where they stopped. The problem was, those who arrived late to camp didn't have any wood.

So, the people who’s fires were already burning weren't letting the latecomers near the fires, unless they shared some corn or other food. A big trade of goods started up.

Where the fires burned, the snow melted, and deep holes formed down to the bare ground, where they could measure how deep the snow was. Leaving that spot, they marched all day through the snow, and lots of the men started feeling super hungry - totally wiped out.

Xenophon, who was watching their back, found some guys who had fallen behind, and he wasn't sure what was wrong. But someone who knew about these things told him they were probably suffering from extreme hunger. If they got something to eat, they’d be okay.

So, Xenophon went through the supply train, put a stop to anyone taking food, and handed it out himself, or sent others to help the hungry guys. As soon as they got a bite, they got back on their feet and kept marching.

They kept moving, and around dusk, Cheirisophus reached a village, and surprised some women and girls who were out getting water from the well outside the village walls. They asked who they were. The interpreters answered in Persian: "We’re on our way from the king to the satrap."

In response, the women told them the satrap wasn’t there, but was a parasang farther on. Since it was getting late, they went inside the village walls with the water carriers to meet the village leader.

So, Cheirisophus and as many soldiers as could make it got settled in there, while the rest of the soldiers - those who couldn’t finish the march - had to spend the night outside, without food and without fire; and some of the men didn’t make it.

Right behind the army were always groups of enemies, snatching up any disabled pack animals and fighting over the bodies. And often, injured soldiers were left behind to their fate, blinded by the snow or with frostbitten toes.

To help with the glare, people would march with something dark in front of their faces. The only thing to do for their feet was to keep moving, not stopping at all, and take off their sandals at night.

If they slept with them on, the straps would dig into their feet, and the sandals would freeze solid. This was partly because their old sandals had worn out, so they were wearing rough, untanned shoes made from fresh ox hides.

Because of a situation like that, a group of guys got into a fight and were left behind. They spotted a dark patch of ground where the snow had clearly melted, so they guessed it was from melting snow, and it actually was - there was a spring steaming up nearby.

They turned aside and sat down, and didn’t want to move an inch. But Xenophon, with his rear guard, saw them and begged them, pleaded with them, to not be left behind, warning them that the enemy was after them in big groups. He eventually got angry.

They just told him to put a knife to their throats, and said they wouldn’t move. So, it seemed like the best idea to scare off the pursuing enemy and keep them from attacking the injured.

It was already getting dark, and the pursuers were coming closer, making a lot of noise and arguing over their loot. Then, suddenly, the rear guard, full of energy, jumped up and charged the enemy.

At the same time, those tired guys yelled as loud as their sick throats could manage and clashed their spears against their shields. The enemy, terrified, threw themselves into the snow-covered dell, and none of them ever made a sound again.

Xenophon and his group told the sick people that help would arrive the next day and set off. Before they’d gone half a mile, they came across some soldiers who had collapsed on the snow with their cloaks wrapped around them, but there was no guard. They made them get up.

Their excuse was that those in front weren’t moving. Passing by this group, he sent forward his strongest light infantry to find out what was holding things up. They reported that the whole army was just resting.

So, Xenophon’s men had no choice but to camp out in the open, too, without a fire or any food, just posting a few guards as best they could. As soon as it started to get light, Xenophon sent the youngest of his men to the sick people behind, telling them to get up and force them to keep moving.

Meanwhile, Cheirisophus had sent some of his men from the village to check on how the rear was doing; they were thrilled to see them and handed over the sick people to be carried into camp, while they continued marching forward, reaching the village where Cheirisophus was quartered after about a half-mile.

Once the two groups met, they decided it would be safe to set up camp in the villages. Cheirisophus stayed where he was, while the rest drew lots for the villages in sight, and then, with their own groups, marched off to their assigned places.

It was here that Polycrates, an Athenian and captain of a company, asked for leave - he wanted to go on a quest of his own. He gathered the most active guys in the division and ran to the village that had been given to Xenophon.

He surprised the villagers, along with their leader, and seventeen young horses being raised as a tribute for the king. Last of all, he found the leader's daughter, a bride only eight days married. Her husband had gone off hunting hares and escaped being taken with the others.

The houses were built underground, with an opening like a well to get in, but they were wide and roomy inside. A separate entrance was dug out for the animals, but people climbed down using a ladder. Inside these dwellings were goats, sheep, and cattle, plus roosters, hens, and their chicks.

The flocks and herds were all raised indoors on green food. There were also stores of wheat, barley, and veggies, and a lot of barley wine in huge bowls. Barley malt floated in the drink, with reeds - some long, some short - sticking out. When you were thirsty, you’d just suck on one of the reeds.

The drink, without water, was really strong and tasted amazing to some people, but you had to get used to it. Xenophon made the village leader his guest at supper and told him to stay positive.

They weren’t going to rob him of his kids, instead, they’d fill his house with good stuff in return for what they took before they left, but he needed to find something good for the army until they found another tribe. He readily agreed and showed them the cellar where the wine was stored.

So, for that night, they all slept comfortably surrounded by plenty, with the leader and his kids under guard and in plain sight. But the next day, Xenophon took the leader and headed to Cheirisophus, visiting different groups along the way.

Everywhere he went, he found people living high on the hog and having a blast. Not a single village let them leave without setting up a huge breakfast, with at least six dishes on the table: lamb, kid, pork, veal, chickens, plus different kinds of bread - some wheat, some barley.

As a friendly gesture, people would drag their neighbors to the big bowl, and when they got there, they’d have to duck their head and chug it like an ox.

The villagers insisted that the leader take whatever he liked as a gift, but he wouldn’t take anything unless he spotted a relative, then he’d definitely grab them - him or her - for himself.

When they got to Cheirisophus, they found the same thing happening. The men were partying in their rooms, wearing wreaths of hay and dry grass. Armenian boys were acting like servers in wild outfits, but they had to point and show them what to do, like they couldn't hear or talk.

After the initial greetings, when Cheirisophus and Xenophon greeted each other like best friends, they asked the leader what was going on, using the Persian speaker to translate. "What’s this place?" they asked. He replied, "Armenia. And again, "Who are the horses for?"

"They’re a gift for the king," he said. "And what’s next door?" "That’s the land of the Chalybes," he said, and he described the road that led there. So for now, Xenophon left, taking the leader back with him to his place and friends.

He also gave him an older horse he had; he’s heard the leader was a priest of the sun, so he could fatten the horse up and sacrifice it. Otherwise, he was worried it would just die, because it had been hurt by all the marching.

For himself, he picked out the best colts, and gave each of his fellow generals and officers a colt. The horses here were smaller than the Persian horses, but way more energetic.

It was here that their friend, the leader, explained to them how to wrap small bags or sacks around the feet of the horses and other animals when they marched through the snow, because without that, the animals would sink up to their bellies.