Chapter 9: The Storming Of Gamala.
At last, John made sure that all his followers must have taken up afavorable position. Rising to his feet he sounded a short note onhis horn; then sprang forward and seized one of the blazing brands,and applied it to a tent. The canvas, dried by the scorching sun,lit in an instant and, as the flame leaped up, John ran furtheramong the tents, lighted another and, leaving the brand there,sprang twenty yards away and then threw himself down.
By this time, although not twenty seconds had elapsed since he hadgiven the signal, a sudden uproar had succeeded the stillness whichhad reigned in the camp. The sentries had started on their posts,as they heard the note of the horn; but had stood a moment,irresolute, not knowing what it meant. Then, as the first flash offlame shot up, a simultaneous shout had arisen from every man onguard; rising louder and louder as the first flame was followed,almost instantly, by a score of others in different parts of thecamp.
It was but a few seconds later that the first trumpeter who rushedfrom his tent blew the alarm. Before its notes ceased, it wasanswered all over the camp and, with a start, the sleeping soldierssprang up, caught up their arms, and rushed out of their tents.Startled, as they were, with the suddenness of the awaking, and thesight of the blazing tents, there was none of that confusion thatwould have occurred among troops less inured to warfare. Each mandid his duty and--buckling on their arms as best they might,stumbling over the tent ropes in the darkness, amazed by the soundof the fall of tents, here and there, expecting every moment to beattacked by their unseen foe--the troops made their way speedily tothe wide streets, and there fell in together, in military array,and waited for orders.
These were not long in coming. As soon as the generals reached thespot, they told off a number of men to endeavor to extinguish theflames; sent other parties to scour the camp, and search for theenemy; while the rest, in solid order, awaited any attack thatmight be made upon them.
But, short as was the time that had elapsed since the first alarm,it had sufficed to give the flames such hold and power that theywere beyond control. With extraordinary rapidity the fire hadleaped from tent to tent, and threatened to overwhelm the wholecamp. The soldiers tried, in vain, to arrest the progress of theflames; rushing among the blazing tents, cutting the ropes to bringthem to the ground, and trying to beat out the masses of fire asthey fell. Many were terribly burnt, in their endeavors, but invain; and the officers soon called them off, and set them to workpulling down the tents which the fire had not yet reached. But eventhis was useless: the flakes of fire, driven before the wind, fellon the heaps of dried canvas; and the flames spread almost asrapidly as they had done when the tents were standing.
Nor were the parties in search of the incendiaries more successful.John had lain quiet, where he threw himself down, for a minute ortwo; by which time the tents had emptied of their occupants. Then,pausing only occasionally to circle a tent and cut away its ropes,he made his way to the edge of the camp. By this time the sheet offlame had extended well-nigh across the camp; extending high aboveit, and lighting it almost as if by day. But between him and thefire lay, still, a dark mass of tents; for the wind was blowing inthe opposite direction and, light as it was elsewhere, in the blackshadow of the tents it was still dark in the extreme.
John made his way along, until he came to the end of the nextstreet, and then paused. Already, three or four active figures hadrun past him at the top of their speed, and he wished to be thelast to retreat. He stayed till he heard the tramp of troops comingdown--driven out by the spreading flames--and then sprang acrossthe end of the road and dashed along at full speed, still keepingclose to the line of tents.
A shout, which rose from the leading files of the Roman column,showed that he was seen. As he neared the end of the next opening,the Roman soldiers were pouring out; and he turned in among the tentsagain. Through these he made his way; dashing across the open spacesand, once, rushing through the midst of a Roman column--through whichhe passed before the troops had time to strike at, or seize him.
At last, he reached the extremity of the camp. The slope down tothe river was but fifty yards away and, once over the brow, hewould be in darkness and safe from pursuit. But already the Romanshad drawn up a column of men along the edge of the plateau, to cutoff any who might try to pass. John paused among the last row ofthe tents, hesitating what course to adopt. He could not makedirectly up the mountain, for the space between it and the camp wasnow covered by the Roman cavalry--the greater portion of theirinfantry being still engaged in trying to save at least someportion of the camp.
Suddenly he heard a footstep among the tents, close behind him. Hedrew back into the tent by which he was standing, and peeredcautiously out. A Roman soldier came hastily along, and entered thenext tent--doubtless to fetch some article of value, which he hadleft behind him as he rushed out, on the first alarm.
A sudden idea flashed across John's brain. He waited till thesoldier came out, followed him with silent steps; and then sprangupon him at a bound, hurling him to the ground, and burying hisknife again and again in his body.
Illustration: The Roman Camp Surprised and Set on Fire.
Not a cry had escaped the Roman. The instant he was sure he wasdead, John rose to his feet, placed the helmet of the fallen man onhis head, secured the breastplate by a single buckle round hisneck, took up his buckler and sword; and then, emerging from one ofthe tents, ran towards the Roman line, making for one of the narrowopenings between the different companies. Several othersoldiers--who had, like the man whom John had killed, gone back totheir tents to fetch armor, or arms, left there--were also hurryingto take their places in the ranks. Therefore, no special attentionwas paid to John until he was within a few yards of the opening.
Then a centurion at the end of the line said sternly:
"You will be punished, tomorrow, for not being in your place. Whatis your name?" for, as John was between him and the sheet of flamerising from the camp, the Roman was unable to see his face.
Instead of halting, as he expected, John sprang past him and,throwing down his helmet and buckler, dashed through the spacebetween the companies.
"Seize him! Cut him down!" the centurion shouted; but John wasalready descending the slope.
As he ran, he swung the loosely buckled breastplate round on to hisback; and it was well he did so for, a moment later, a Romanjavelin rang against it, the force of the blow almost throwing himon his face. But, in a moment, he continued his course. He was intotal darkness now and, though the javelins were flying around him,they were thrown at random. But the descent had now become so steephe was obliged to pause in his course, and to make his waycautiously.
He undid the buckle, and left the breastplate behind him; threwdown the sword; and climbed down until he stood by the side of theriver. He could hear shouts above him, and knew that the Romanswere searching the hillside, hoping that he had been killed orwounded by their darts. But he had no fear of pursuit. He swam theriver--for he had struck upon a deep spot--and then, at full speed,ran along on the bank--knowing that some of the Roman cavalry wereencamped upon the plain, and would soon be on the spot.
However, all was quiet, and he met no one until he arrived oppositethe place where it had been arranged that the party should meet.Then he waded across.
"Is that you, John?" a voice exclaimed.
"It is I, Jonas. Thank God, you have got back safely! How many arewith you?"
There was a loud cry of satisfaction and, as he made his way up thebank, a number of his followers crowded round him; all in thehighest state of delight at his return. Jonas threw his arms roundhis neck, crying with joy.
"I thought you must have fallen, John. I have been here tenminutes. Most of the others were here before me. Only three havearrived since and, for the last five minutes, none have come."
"I fear no more will come," John said. "The Romans have cut off allretreat.
"How many are missing?"
"We were nineteen, here, before you c
ame," one of the men replied.
"Then there are six missing," John said. "We will not give them up.Some may have made their way straight up the mountain, fearing tobe seen as they passed the ends of the open spaces. Some may havemade their way, down the opposite slope, to the other arm of theriver. But, even if all are killed, we need not repine. They havedied as they wished--taking vengeance upon the Romans.
"It has been a glorious success. More than half the Roman camp isassuredly destroyed; and they must have lost a prodigious quantityof stores, of all kinds.
"Who are missing?"
He heard the names of those absent.
"I trust we may see some of them, yet," he said; "but if not,Jonas, tomorrow, shall carry to their friends the news of theirdeath. They will be wept; but their parents will be proud thattheir sons have died in striking so heavy a blow upon ouroppressors. They will live, in the memory of their villages, as menwho died doing a great deed; and women will say:
"'Had all done their duty, as they did, the Romans would never haveenslaved our nation.'
"We will wait another half hour, here; but I fear that no more willjoin us, for the Romans are drawn up all along the line where,alone, a descent could be made in the valley."
"Then how did you escape, John," Jonas asked; "and how is it thatyou were not here, before? Several of those who were in the linebeyond you have returned."
"I waited till I hoped that all had passed," John said. "Each onewho ran past the open spaces added to the danger--for the Romansbeyond could not but notice them, as they passed the spaces lightedby the flames--and it was my duty, as leader, to be the last togo."
"Six of those who were beyond you have joined us," one of the mensaid. "The other six are those that are missing."
"That is what I feared," John answered. "I felt sure that thosebehind me would have got safely away, before the Romans recoveredfrom their first confusion. The danger was, of course, greater inproportion to the distance from the edge of the slope."
"But how did you get through, John, since you say that all escapeis cut off?"
John related how he had slain the Roman soldier, and escaped withhis armor; and the recital raised him still higher in theestimation of his followers--for the modern feeling, that it isright to kill even the bitterest enemy only in fair fight, waswholly unknown in those days when, as was done by the Romans atJotapata, men would cut the throat of a sleeping foe, with no morecompunction than if they were slaughtering a fowl.
Perceiving, by John's narration, that there was no chance of any oftheir comrades getting through to join them, now, the party struckoff into the hills and, after three hours' march, reached theirencampment. They gave a shout of joy, as they approached it; for afire was burning brightly, and they knew that some of theircomrades must have reached the spot before them.
Four men rose, as they approached, and joyful greetings wereexchanged. Their stories were soon told. As soon as they heard--bythe shouts of the Romans on the hillside, and of the outersentries--that they were discovered as they passed the spaces litup by flames, they had turned back. Two of them had made their wayup a deep watercourse, past the Roman guard on the hill--theattention of the soldiers being fixed upon the camp. The other twohad climbed down the precipitous rocks on the other side of thehill.
"It was terrible work, in the darkness," one of them said. "I fell,once, and thought I had broken my leg; but, fortunately, I hadcaught on a ledge, and was able to go on after a time. I think twoof our party must have perished there; for twice, as I wasdescending, I heard a sudden cry, and then a sound as of a bodyfalling from rock to rock."
"Better so than to have fallen into the hands of the Romans," Johnsaid, "and to have been forced to slay themselves by their ownhands, as we agreed to do.
"Well, my friends, we have done a glorious deed. We have begunwell. Let us trust that we may strike many more such blows againstour tyrants. Now, let us thank God that he has fought by our hands,and that He has brought so many of us back from so great a danger!
"Simeon, you are the oldest of the party; do you lift up your voicefor us all."
The party all stood listening reverently, while Simeon said aprayer of thanksgiving. Then one of them broke out into one of thepsalms of triumph, and all joined at once. When this was done, theygathered round the fire, prepared their cakes of meal, and put meaton long skewers on the flames. Having eaten, they talked for hours,each in turn giving his account of his share in the adventure.
They then talked of their missing friends; those from the samevillage telling what they knew of them, and what relations they hadleft behind. At last, just as morning was breaking, they retiredinto the little bowers of boughs that had been erected to keep offthe cold--which was, at this elevation, sharp at nights. They weresoon fast asleep.
The first thing the next morning, Jonas set off to explore the footof the precipices on the south side of the Roman camp, and tosearch for the bodies of their two missing comrades. He found one,terribly crushed; of the other he could find no sign, whatever. Onhis returning to the mountain camp, one of the young men was sentoff to bear, to the relatives of the man whose body had been found,the certain news of his death; and to inquire, of the friends ofthe other, whether he had any relations living near the mountainsto whom he might have made his way, if hurt or disabled by hisfall.
The messenger returned, on the following day, with the news thattheir missing comrade had already arrived at his home. His fall hadnot been a very deep one and, when he recovered consciousness, somehours before daybreak, he found that one of his legs was useless,and an arm broken. Thinking that, in the morning, the Romans mightsearch the foot of the precipices, he dragged himself with thegreatest difficulty a few hundred yards and, there, concealedhimself among some bushes.
A man came along, in search of an ass that had strayed. He calledto him and, on the man hearing that he was one of the party who hadcaused the great fire in the Roman camp--the sight of whose flameshad caused such exultation in the heart of every Jew in the plainsaround--he hurried away, and fetched another with a donkey. Uponthis the injured man was lifted, and carried down to the lake;passing, on the way, several parties of Roman soldiers, to whom theidea did not occur that the sick man was one of the party who hadinflicted such a terrible blow upon them on the previous night.Once by the side of the lake, there was no difficulty in gettinghim on board a boat, in which he was carried to his native village.
The Romans were furious at the blow which had been struck them.More than half their camp and camp equipage had been destroyed; agreat part of the baggage of the officers and soldiers had beenburned, and each man had to deplore losses of his own, as well asthe destruction of the public property. But, more than this, theyfelt the blow to their pride. There was not a soldier but felthumiliated at the thought that a number of the enemy--for, from thefire breaking out simultaneously, it was certain at least a scoreof men must have been engaged in the matter--should penetrateunseen into the midst of their camp; and worse still that, aftereffecting all this damage, all should have succeeded in makingtheir escape--for, so far as they knew, the whole of the Jews gotsafely away.
But not for a moment did they relax their siege operations. Thetroops engaged upon the embankment were relieved at the usual hour;and half a legion went up into the mountains, as usual, to procuretimber; while four thousand archers, divided into parties twohundred strong, extended themselves all over the hills, andsearched the forest for miles for some sign of their enemy--whowere, they were now convinced, comparatively few in numbers.
The news of the daring attack on the Roman camp spread far and wideamong the towns and villages of the plains; and aroused thedrooping spirits of the people, who had begun to think that itwould be worse than useless to offer any opposition to the Romanpower. Whence came the party which had accomplished the deed, orwho was its leader, none knew; and the inhabitants of the villagesnear Hippos who, alone, could have enlightened them, were carefulto maintain an absolute silence; for they kne
w that if, by anychance, a rumor reached the Romans of the locality from which theirassailants had come, they would have carried fire and sword amongall the villages by the lake.
Titus was away, being absent on a mission in Syria; and Vespasianhimself went among the troops, exhorting them not to be downcast atthe disaster that had befallen them, for that the bravest men weresubject to sudden misfortunes of this kind; and exhorted them topush on the siege with all the more vigor, in order that they mightthe sooner remove to camping grounds where they would not beexposed to such attacks by a lurking foe.
The soldiers replied with cheers; and the next day, the embankmentbeing completed, they opened so terrible a fire from their warengines upon the defenders of the walls that these were forced toretire into the city. The Romans at once pushed forward theirbattering rams to the walls and, setting to work with the greatestvigor, speedily made three breaches; through which they rushed,with exulting shouts. The Jews ran down to oppose them, and adesperate conflict took place in the narrow streets; but theRomans, pouring in in great numbers through the breaches, pressedthem step by step up the steep hill.
The Jews, animated by despair, again turned, and fell upon themwith such fury that the Romans could not withstand the assault, andwere driven down the steep lanes and paths, with great slaughter.But those who fled were stopped by the crowd of their own men,pressing up the hill from below; and the Roman soldiers--jammed, asit were, between the Jews above, and their own countrymenbelow--took refuge in the houses, in great numbers.
But these were not constructed to bear the weight of so many men,in heavy armor. The floors fell in and, as many of the Romansclimbed up on to the flat roofs, these also fell, bringing thewalls down with them. Standing, as they did, almost one aboveanother, each house that fell brought down the one below it and,thus, the ruin spread--as one house of cards brings downanother--until the whole of the town standing on the steepdeclivity, on its eastern side, was a mass of ruins.
The confusion was tremendous. The dust of the falling houses sothickened the air that men could not see a yard in front of them.Hundreds of the Roman soldiers were buried among the ruins. Somewere killed, at once. Others, jammed between fallen timbers, strovein vain to extricate themselves, and shouted to their comrades tocome to their assistance; but these--enveloped in darkness,ignorant of the ground, half suffocated with dust--were powerlessto aid them.
In the confusion, Romans fell by the swords of Romans. Many whocould not extricate themselves slew themselves, with their ownswords; while the exulting Jews--seeing, in this terrible disaster,a miracle effected in their favor--crowded down from above, slayingwith their swords, hurling masses of stone down on the foe, killingthose unable to retreat, and adding to the confusion and terrorwith their yells of triumph, which rose high above the confusedshouts of the Romans.
Vespasian himself, who had entered the town with his soldiers, andhad pushed forward with them up the hill, was nearly involved inthe common destruction; but, as the houses came crashing downaround him, he shouted loudly to the soldiers near to gather roundhim, and to lock their shields together to form a testudo.Recognizing the voice of their beloved general, the soldiers nearrallied round him and, sheltered beneath their closely-packedshields, resisted the storm of darts and stones from above and,gradually and in good order, made their way down over the ruins andissued safely from the walls.
The loss of the Romans was great. The soldiers were greatlydispirited by their defeat, and especially by the thought that theyhad deserted their general in their retreat. Vespasian, however,was wise enough to see that this was no time for rebuke; and heaccordingly addressed them in language of approbation. He said thattheir repulse was in no way due to want of valor on their part, butto an accident such as none could foresee; and which had beenbrought about, to some extent, by their too impetuous ardor, whichled them to fight rather with the desperate fury of the Jews thanwith the steady discipline that distinguished Roman soldiers.
The defenders of the city were full of exultation at their successand, setting to work with ardor, soon repaired the breaches andstrengthened the walls. But all knew that, in spite of theirmomentary success, their position was desperate, for theirprovisions were almost exhausted. The stores which had been laid upwere very large; but the siege had lasted for many months beforethe arrival of the Romans, and the number of the people assembledwithin the walls far exceeded the usual population.
The Romans, on their part, increased the height of theirembankment, and prepared for a second assault.
In the meantime, Itabyrium had fallen. The hill of Tabor wasinaccessible, except on the north side; and the level area, on thetop, was surrounded by a strong wall. Placidus had been sent, withsix hundred horse, against the place; but the hill was so steep,and difficult, that he hesitated to attack it. Each party pretendedto be anxious to treat, each intending to take advantage of theother. Placidus invited the garrison to descend the hill, anddiscuss terms with him. The Itabyrians accepted the invitation,with the design of assailing the Romans, unawares. Placidus, whowas on his guard, feigned a retreat. The Itabyrians boldly pursuedon to the plain; when the Roman horse, wheeling round, dashed amongthem, inflicting terrible slaughter and cutting off their retreattowards the city. Those who escaped the slaughter fled toJerusalem.
The town, weakened by the loss of so many fighting men, and beingmuch distressed by want of water, again opened negotiations; andsurrendered upon the promise that the lives of all within it shouldbe spared.
Hunger was now doing its work among the people of Gamala. Theinhabitants suffered terribly, for the provisions were all takenfor the use of the fighting men; and the rest had to subsist, asbest they could, on any little hoards they might have hidden away,or on garbage of all kinds. Numbers made their escape through thesewers and passages which led into the ravines, where the Romanshad placed no guards.
Still the assaults of the Romans were bravely repelled until, onthe night of the 22d of September, two soldiers of the FifteenthLegion contrived to creep, unobserved, to the foot of one of thehighest towers of the wall; and began, silently, to undermine itsfoundations. Before morning broke, they had got in so far that theycould not be perceived from the walls. Still they worked in,leaving a few stones in their place, to support the tower until thelast moment. Then they struck these away, and ran for their lives.
The tower fell with a terrible crash, with the guards upon it. Intheir terror, the defenders of the walls leaped up and fled in alldirections; and many were killed by the Romans' darts--among themJosephus, one of their two leaders--while Chares, who was lying inthe height of a fever, expired from the excitement of the calamity.
The confusion in the town was terrible. Deprived of their twoleaders, and with the town open to assault, none knew what was tobe done. All expected instant destruction, and the air was filledwith the screams and wailings of the women; but the Romans, mindfulof their last repulse, did not at once advance to the assault. Butin the afternoon Titus--who had now returned--taking two hundredhorse, and a force of infantry, crossed the breach and entered thetown.
Some of the defenders rushed to meet him. Others, catching up theirchildren, ran with their wives to the citadel. The defenders foughtbravely, but were driven steadily up the hill by the Romans--whowere now reinforced by the whole strength of the army, led byVespasian. Quarter was neither asked nor given. The defenderscontested every foot of the hill, until the last defender ofGamala, outside, the citadel had fallen.
Then Vespasian led his men against the citadel itself. It stood ona rugged rock, of great height, offering tremendous difficulties tothe assailants. The Jews stood upon the summit, rolling down greatstones and darts upon the Romans, as they strove to ascend. But thevery heavens seemed to fight against the unfortunate Jews, for aterrific tempest suddenly broke upon the city. So furious was thewind that the Jews could no longer stand on the edge of the crag,or oppose the progress of the enemy; while the Romans, shelteredfrom the wind by the rock, itself, were able to
press upwards.
The platform once gained, they rushed upon the Jews, slaying allthey met, men, women, and children. Vast numbers of the Jews, intheir despair, threw themselves headlong, with their wives andchildren, over the precipices and, when the butchery was complete,five thousand bodies were found at the foot of the rocks. Fourthousand lay dead on the platform above. Of all those in Gamalawhen the Romans entered, two women, alone, escaped. They were thesisters of Philip, a general in Agrippa's army. They managed toconceal themselves until the carnage was over, and the fury of theRomans had subsided; and then showed themselves, and proclaimed whothey were.
Gischala now, alone of the cities of Galilee, defied the Romanarms. The people themselves were, for the most part, tillers of thesoil, and were anxious to make their submission; but John--therival and bitter enemy of Josephus--with the robber band he hadcollected, was master of the town, and refused to allow any talk ofsubmission. The city had none of the natural strength of Jotapataand Gamala, and Vespasian sent Titus against it with a thousandhorse; while he ordered the Tenth Legion to take up its winterquarters at Scythopolis; and himself moved, with the other twolegions, to Caesarea.
Titus, on his arrival before Gischala, saw that the city could beeasily taken by assault but, desirous of avoiding any more sheddingof blood, and learning that the inhabitants were desirous ofsurrendering, he sent an officer before it to offer terms ofcapitulation. The troops of John of Gischala manned the walls and,when the summons of Titus was proclaimed, John answered that thegarrison accepted willingly the generous terms that were offered;but that, the day being the Sabbath, nothing could be concluded,without an infringement of the law, until the next day.
Titus at once granted the delay, and drew off his troops to aneighboring town. In the night, John of Gischala marched away withall his armed men; followed by many of the inhabitants, with theirwives and children--fearing to remain in the city, exposed to theanger of Titus, when he found he had been duped. The women andchildren soon began to drop behind; but the men pressed on, leavingthe helpless and despairing women behind them.
In the morning, when Titus appeared before the town, it opened itsgates to him at once; the people hailing him as their delivererfrom the oppression they had so long suffered, at the hands of Johnand his bands of ruffians. Titus entered Gischala amidst theacclamations of the people; and behaved with great moderation,injuring no one, and contenting himself with throwing down aportion of the walls; and warning the inhabitants that, if theyagain rose in rebellion, the same mercy would not be extended tothem.
He had at once dispatched a troop of horse in pursuit of thefugitives. They overtook them, and slew six thousand of the men,and brought three thousand women and children back into the city.John himself, with the strongest of his band, were not overtaken,but made their way to Jerusalem.
The fame of the successful exploit, of the destruction of the Romancamp, brought large numbers of young men flocking to the hills, assoon as the Romans retired from Gamala, all eager to join the band;and John could have recruited his numbers to any extent but, nowthat all Galilee had fallen, and the Romans retired to their winterquarters, he did not see that there was anything to be done, untilthe spring. It would be madness to attack either of the great Romancamps, at Scythopolis or Caesarea; and although, doubtless, thegarrisons left in Tiberias, Tarichea, and other towns might havebeen driven out, this would only have brought upon those cities theanger of the Romans, and involved them in ruin and destruction.
Still less would it have been of any advantage to go down, atpresent, into Judea. That province was suffering woes, as great asthe Romans could inflict upon it, from the action of the factions.Under the pretense of punishing all who were supposed to befavorable to making terms with Rome, bands of armed men pervadedthe whole country, plundering and slaying the wretched inhabitants.
Law and order were at an end. Those in Jerusalem who claimed, forthemselves, the chief authority in the country had done nothing toassist their countrymen, in the north, in their struggle with theRomans. Not a man had been dispatched to Galilee. The leaders wereoccupied in their own desperate feuds, and battles took place inthe streets of the city. The peaceful inhabitants were plunderedand ill treated, and the condition of those within the walls was asterrible as was that of those without. Anarchy, plunder, andcarnage extended throughout Judea and, while the destruction ofJerusalem was threatened by the Roman army in the north, the Jewsmade no preparation, whatever, for its defense, but spent theirwhole time and energy in civil strife.
When, therefore, the numerous band who had now gathered round himurged him to lead them down to Jerusalem, John refused to do so.Getting upon an elevated spot, where his voice could be heard bythem all, he said:
"My friends, you have heard, as well as I, what is taking place inJerusalem and the country round it. Did we go down there, what goodcould we do? We should be drawn into the strife, on one side oranother; and the swords which should be kept for the defense of theTemple against the Romans would be stained with Jewish blood.Moreover, we should aid to consume the food stored away in thegranaries.
"Nor can we, through the winter, attempt any enterprise against theRomans here. The woes of Galilee are over. Tens of thousands havefallen, but those that survive can go about their business and tilltheir fields in peace. Were we to renew the war, here, we shouldbring upon them a fresh outburst of the Roman vengeance.
"Therefore, there is naught for us to do, now; but in the spring,when the Romans get into motion against Jerusalem, we will march toits defense. We have naught to do with the evil deeds that are beingperformed there; we have but to do our duty, and the first duty ofevery Jew is to die, if need be, in the defense of the Temple.Therefore, let us now disperse to our homes. When the first newscomes that the Romans are stirring, those of you who are disposedto follow me, and obey my orders, can assemble here.
"But let only such come. Let the rest make their way, singly, toJerusalem. I am resolved to have only such with me who will followme as one man. You know how the factions rage in the city. Acompact body of men, true to themselves and their leader, canmaintain themselves aloof from the strife, and make themselvesrespected by both parties; but single men must take sides with onefaction or other, or be ill treated by both.
"We are wanted, at home. The fields are lying untilled, for want ofhands; therefore let us lay aside our arms until the spring, and doour duty to our families until we are called upon to aid in thedefense of the Temple. When the hour comes, I shall be ready tolead, if you are ready to follow."
John's address received general approval, and the gatheringdispersed; all vowing that they would assemble in the spring, andfollow John wherever he chose to lead them--for he was alreadyregarded with an almost superstitious admiration in the countryaround. His deliverance at Jotapata and the success that he, aloneof the Jewish leaders, had gained over the Romans, marked him intheir eyes as one specially chosen by God to lead them to victory;and in a few hours the hill above Gamala was deserted, and John andhis followers were all on their way towards their homes.