the midst of his soldiers. He did not dress better than the other
officers, but his weapons and his horses were the best in the army.

WAR CARRIED INTO ITALY, 218 B.C. Hannibal decided that the war should
be carried into Italy to the very gates of Rome. He started from
Spain, half of which the Carthaginians ruled, marched across southern
Gaul, and came to the foot-hills of the Alps. To climb the Alps was
the most difficult part of his long journey.

CROSSING THE ALPS. There were no roads across the mountains, only
rough paths used by the mountaineers, who constantly attacked
Hannibal's soldiers, bursting out suddenly upon them from behind a
turn in the trail, or rolling huge rocks upon them from above. The
elephants, the horses, and the baggage animals of the army were
frightened, and in the tumult many of them slipped over the precipices
and were dashed on the rocks below. For five days the army toiled
upward, and then rested two days on the summit of the pass.

[Illustration: THE ALPS THAT HANNIBAL HAD TO CROSS]

Although the road down into Italy was short, it was steep, and the
paths were slippery with ice and with snow trodden into slush by
thousands of men and animals. In one place there had been a landslide,
and the road along the rocky slope was cut away for a thousand feet.
In order to build a new road it was necessary to crack the rocks. This
the soldiers did by making huge fires and pouring wine over the heated
surface. At last, worn out, ragged, and half starved, the army reached
the plains of Italy, but with a loss of half its men.

HOW HANNIBAL WON A VICTORY. The first great battle with the Romans was