Nor was the active injury which Caesar was
able to inflict inconsiderable. He turned the streams on which Pompey's
camp depended for water. The horses and cattle died. Fever set in with
other inconveniences. The labor of the siege was, of course, severe. The
lines were many miles in length, and the difficulty of sending assistance
to a point threatened by a sally was extremely great. The corn in the
fields was still green, and supplies grew scanty. Meat Caesar's army had,
but of wheat little or none; they were used to hardship, however, and bore
it with admirable humor. They made cakes out of roots, ground into paste
and mixed with milk; and thus, in spite of privation and severe work, they
remained in good health, and deserters daily came into them.
So the siege of Durazzo wore on, diversified with occasional encounters,
which Caesar details with the minuteness of a scientific general writing
for his profession, and with those admiring mentions of each individual
act of courage which so intensely endeared him to his troops. Once an
accidental opportunity offered itself for a successful storm, but Caesar
was not on the spot. The officer in command shrank from responsibility;
and, notwithstanding the seriousness of the consequences, Caesar said that
the officer was right.
[Sidenote: June, B.C.
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