VOYAGE DOWN THE INDUS. 235 lie had first crossed it. The two new cities — Bukephalia and Nikasa — which he had left orders for commencing on that river, had suffered much from the rains and inundations during his for- ward march to the Hyphasis, and now required the aid of the army to repair the damage.* The heavy rains continued through out most of his return march to the Hydaspes.^ On coming back to this river, Alexander received a large rein forcement both of cavalry and infantry, sent to him from Europe, together with 25,000 new panoplies, and a considerable stock of medicines.3 Plad these reinforcements reached him on the Hypha- sis, it seems not impossible that he might have prevailed on his army to accompany him in his farther advance to the Ganges and the regions beyond. He now employed himself, assisted by Porus and Taxilus, in collecting and constructing a fleet for sailing down the Hydaspes and thence down to the mouth of the Indus. By the early part of November, a fleet of nearly 2000 boats or ves- sels of various sizes having been prepared, he began his voyage.* Kraterus marched with one division of the army, along the right bank of the Hydaspes — Hephoestion on the left bank with the remainder, including 200 elephants ; Nearchus had the command of the fleet in the river, on board of which was Alexander him- self. He pursued his voyage slowly down the river, to the con- fluence of the Hydaspes with the Akesines — with the Hydra- ctes — and with the Hyphasis — all pouring, in one united stream, into the Indus. He sailed down the Indus to its junction with the Indian Ocean. Altogether this voyage occupied nine months,* 1 Airian, v. 29, 8 ; Diodor. xvii. 95.
- Aristobulus ap. Strab. xv. p. 691 — until the rising of Aiktmus. Dio-
dorus says, 70 days (xvii. 73), which seems more probablj. 3 Diodor. xvii. 95 ; Curtius, ix. 3, 21.
- The voyage was commenced a few days before the setting of the Plei-
ades (Aristobulus, ap. Strab. xv. p. 692). For the number of the ships, see Ptolemy ap. Arrian. vi. 2, 8. On seeing crocodiles in the Indus, Alexander was at first led to sup- pose that it was the same river as the Nile, and that he had di.scovered the higher course of the Nile, from whence it flowed into Egypt. This is curi- ous, as an illustration of the geographical knowledge of the time (Arrian, vi. 1,3). » Aristobulus ap. Strab. xv. p. 692. Aristobulus said that the downward Toyage occupied ten months ; this seems long2r than the exact reality 20*
