Alexander : a history of the origin and growth of the art of war from ...

THE KHAWAK PASS. 457laid on these. So much attention has been called to Alexander'svices that the true perspective of his portrait is in dangero£ being lost. He had vices, but tliey became prominentonly at intervals ; his life was, with rare exceptions, one prolongedperiod of toil and danger.Perhaps no great man hasever had less of the mean or evil in prt)portion to the greatand good than Alexander ; and in sketching his character, itis certainly safer to draw our colors from the materials of theancient authorities, rather than from the speculations of themodern critic.Alexander started as soon as the severest weather wasover, and before the snow was fairly off the ground. It wasmany weeks earlier than he should have started, but he couldno longer constrain himself to wait. The army marched,with great suffering from cold, hunger and exertion, up thePandshir Valley, and climbed to the height of the j^ass atmodern Khawak. This is four thousand feet higher than theStelvio, which is the highest pass in the Alps, and Is withintwo thousand feet as high as the summit of Mont Blanc.Many soldiers had no force to follow the army, says Diodorus,and were abandoned on the way ; some lost their sightfrom the effect of the sunlight on tlie snow. The villagersalong the route were friendly, but had no provisions. A fewcattle were their only wealth.descent.Finally the column began theThe ancient historians dismiss this remarkable march vntha few words ;but it has no parallel, except Hannibal's crossingthe Alps, and it is the first undertaking of the kind ofwhich we have any record.Hannibal, from unexpected delays,started too late in the fall ; Alexander, from overeagerness,started too early in the spring. Both contended withheavy snows, and suffered from all their attendant trials.The villagers had consumed or concealed all their winter