On the heels of the army hung perpetually bands of the enemy, snatching away disabled baggage animals and fighting with each other over the carcases.  And in its track not seldom were left to their fate disabled soldiers, struck down with snow-blindness or with toes 12 mortified by frostbite.  As to the eyes, it was some alleviation against the snow to march with something black before them; for the feet, the only remedy was to keep in motion without stopping for an instant, and to loose the sandal at night.  If they went to sleep with the sandals on, the thong worked into the feet, and the sandals were frozen fast to them.  This was partly due to the fact that, since their old sandals had failed, they wore untanned brogues made of newly-flayed ox-hides.  It was owing to some such dire necessity that a party of men fell out and were left behind, and seeing a black-looking patch of ground where the snow had evidently disappeared, they conjectured it must have been melted; and this was actually so, owing to a spring of some sort which was to be seen steaming up in a dell close by.  To this they had turned aside and sat down, and were loth to go a step further.  But Xenophon, with his rearguard, perceived them, and begged and implored them by all manner of means not to be left behind, telling them that the enemy were after them in large packs pursuing; and he ended by growing angry.  They merely bade him put a knife to their throats; not one step farther would they stir.  Then it seemed best to frighten the pursuing enemy if possible, and prevent their falling upon the invalids.  It was already dusk, and the pursuers were advancing with much noise and hubbub, wrangling and disputing over their spoils.  Then all of a sudden the rearguard, in the plenitude of health and strength[2], sprang up out of their lair and run upon the enemy, whilst those weary wights[3] bawled out as loud as their sick throats could sound, and clashed their spears against their shields; and the enemy in terror hurled themselves through the snow into the dell, and not one of them ever uttered a sound again.

[2] Hug, after Rehdantz, would omit the words “in the plenitude of
    health and strength.”

[3] Or, “the invalids.”

Xenophon and his party, telling the sick folk that next day people would come for them, set off, and before they had gone half a mile they fell in with some soldiers who had laid down to rest on the snow with their cloaks wrapped round them, but never a guard was established, and they made them get up.  Their explanation was that 19 those in front would not move on.  Passing by this group he sent forward the strongest of his light infantry in advance, with orders to find out what the stoppage was.  They reported that the whole army lay reposing in such fashion.  That being so, Xenophon’s men had nothing for it but to bivouac in the open air also, without fire and supperless, merely posting what pickets they could under the circumstances.  But as soon