They seized the Roman officers whom Crassus had sent
among them, and they then offered to exchange their prisoners for their
countrymen whom the Romans held in pledge. The legions might be
irresistible on land; but the Veneti believed that their position was
impregnable to an attack on the land side. Their homes were on the Bay of
Quiberon and on the creeks and estuaries between the mouth of the Loire
and Brest. Their villages were built on promontories, cut off at high tide
from the mainland, approachable only by water, and not by water except in
shallow vessels of small draught which could be grounded safely on the
mud. The population were sailors and fishermen. They were ingenious and
industrious, and they carried on a considerable trade in the Bay of Biscay
and in the British Channel. They had ships capable of facing the heavy
seas which rolled in from the Atlantic, flat-bottomed, with high bow and
stern, built solidly of oak, with timbers a foot thick, fastened with
large iron nails. They had iron chains for cables. Their sails--either
because sailcloth was scarce, or because they thought canvas too weak for
the strain of the winter storms--were manufactured out of leather. Such
vessels were unwieldy, but had been found available for voyages even to
Britain. Their crews were accustomed to handle them, and knew all the
rocks and shoals and currents of the intricate and difficult harbors.
Pages:
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362