cleaning out of an old and filled-in canal, that led up from the Nile.
The work was evidently begun without much thought, for the fact had not
been considered that, at the rising of the Nile, the canal would want
a much deeper bed than the present stream required. The canal had
only just been opened up, when the water rose with unusual force and
rapidity; the dam was completely destroyed, and many workers lost their
lives. During the disturbance, many officers and men left the camp and
hurried to Ptolemy. This was the beginning of the Egyptian war. The
desertion of so many important men made Perdiccas think seriously.
He summoned the officers of the army, spoke to them with much
condescension, gave presents to some, honoured others with promotion,
and begged them, for the sake of their honour and for the cause of their
kings, to fight their hardest against this rebel, and with the order to
hold their men in-readiness, he left them. The army was only told in the
evening, at the signal for starting, where they were to march. Perdiccas
feared, on account of the desertion that was taking place in his army,
that his march might be discovered by the enemy. They marched with great
speed through the night, and camped at last on the side of the river.
At daybreak, after the troops had rested, Perdiccas gave the order
to cross. First came the elephants, then the light infantry, next the
storming party with ladders, and lastly, the pick of the cavalry, who,
if the enemy should burst out during the storming, could easily drive
them back. Perdiccas hoped, if he could only get a firm footing on
that side of the river, to annihilate the Egyptian army easily with his
superior force. He was right in feeling that his Macedonian troops, when
face to face with the enemy, would forget their antipathy to him,
and think only of their military honour. When about half the army had
crossed, and just as the elephants were moving towards the fortress, the
enemy were seen hurrying thither with great speed; their trumpet-calls
and war-cries even were heard. They reached the fort before the