The Story of Alexander

by Robert Steele

CHAPTER XIV. HOW ALEXANDER AND HIS ARMY PASSED THROUGH THE VALLEY OF TERROR AND SOUGHT THE WELLS OF LIFE.

Many hundred years before, one of the great heroes of the Greeks, Hercules by name, had come into India, and had conquered the people of the land, and had set up great pillars of marble wherever he had come. So Alexander, now that he had beaten Porus in battle, made up his mind to follow in the footsteps of Hercules and to see the wonders of India; and King Porus promised to go with him and to guide him. But before this he sought to find the Wells of Life of which the Elder had spoken to him in the castle in the lake. But Porus knew not of the way, nor any of the men in his army. So he turned again towards the South as the Elder had bidden him, and fared on his way.

Now as the host was on its march, it fell that the Greeks came among a poor folk which lived in holes and caves of the earth, and so poor were they that no man or woman of them had clothing or ornament, but they all went naked, save that their king wore a ring of gold on his head. As Alexander and his host drew near, this folk sent messengers to him asking what he wanted among them, and telling him of their poverty, so that he could win nothing from them. Then the king made strait inquiry into their lives, and he found that they were indeed so poor that they lived in caves and holes of the hillside, and he was moved by compassion, and made up his mind that they should be the better of his coming to them, so he offered to give them what thing they should ask of him, however great it should be. Then the king of that folk of naked wise men drew near, and said: “O Alexander, this is our request; that thou grant us never to die, for nothing else do we need.” Then said the king to them: “O people, needs must that I die one day myself; how, then, may I grant ye this thing?” And the naked wise men said: “Since thou must die, O King, why dost thou hurry from one side of the world to the other to slay a peaceful folk?” For a short while Alexander was silent; then he spoke: “Know, O feeble folk, that as the sea is stirred not by itself but by the breath of heaven, so I am driven to do the will of the gods.” Then the naked wise men left him and returned to their own place, for they would take no gifts from Alexander lest they should become rich.

Two days after the parting with these men the host of Alexander came on a desert place in which men saw a great temple, but no man was therein. Then entered the priests and wise men, and they saw nought save two great images, one of gold and the other of silver. And as they considered the images they saw thereon writing in the old language of the Greeks, and when they had read it they understood that these were the images of Hercules which he had set up when he came into India. When Alexander saw them he wondered at their size, and could not believe that they were of solid gold, so he ordered his men to pierce them through, and they found no hollow within, but all was of pure metal. Now by the finding of these images Alexander knew that he was in the right way, because here it was that Hercules had turned back when he came into the land; but Alexander and his host went on, for he desired to see all the marvels of the land of India. So it was that, on the third day from their parting from the temple, they heard the sound of a river, and going near it, they found that it was very broad and deep; and when the men came up they found that in no wise could men swim in it to cross it. On the further side they saw women carrying great maces and battle-axes of gold and silver, but there was no man among them, or any weapon of iron or bronze, only of gold or silver. Then Alexander and his men sought to cross the river in boats, but great black beasts rose out of the river and bit the boats in half, so that scarcely did they escape to land with their lives, and they gave up the thought of seeing the land guarded by women, and marched on by the side of the river.

As they were in camp next evening, they heard suddenly the sound of trumpeting, and the watchmen told of a host of elephants coming toward them. Then Alexander asked Porus and his men, but none knew of any king of this land who could gather such a host, so men on horseback rode out to see them, and when they came near they saw no man with the elephants, and they returned and told the king. All men were in fear, and the Indians most of all, for they knew the madness of elephants, but Alexander bade a few of his men mount their steeds, and to drag with them each man some swine before the elephants, for he knew how that the elephant loathes the swine and cannot remain in his presence. And it fell as Alexander had said, for when the elephants heard the squealing and grunting of the swine their wrath fell, and they turned, with lowered trunks and flapping ears, and hurried away from the loathsome sound. Then the Indians praised the wisdom of Alexander, for that, though he was mighty in fight, he would not risk the lives of his men when he could use craft to save them.

Now no man in the army had ever been in this land before, and their hearts began to fail them when they thought that Hercules had turned back from the journey, and they grew afraid, and Alexander began to think that the gods were angered at his boldness, and had sent the herd of elephants to drive him away; and so next day he moved the camp to the west instead of keeping on his march to the south, and pitched it on a great plain where there was no shelter of hills or trees, save that to the south many miles off there was a range of hills. When even was near, suddenly the clear sky became covered with thick clouds, the sun became red and then seemed to go out, and from the thick gloom a storm broke on the camp. The winds blew, as it seemed, from all sides, north and south, east and west; they tore down the tents and scattered them, so that no shelter was left; and then the thunder rolled, the lightning flashed, and the hail and rain ran along the ground. Never had the Greeks and Indians seen such a storm, and they said among themselves, “We are rightly served for leaving the road we were told to follow, till we had seen the things we were bidden to see.” So at morning light Alexander turned his face towards the south, and the army marched towards the hills. Now though these hills seemed small and near, yet they were really great and far off, so that it was five days before they came to a valley near them by which they could enter into the hills; and as they came near it they found but a narrow passage into it, and well-trodden. When they were in it they found that the valley was broad, and shut in between high hills on all sides, that no man could climb them, and there was no water in that valley, and no living or green thing. Here then they pitched their tents.

Next morning when they awoke they found the air thick with snow, and the cold was piercing, so Alexander ordered great fires to be lit on all sides, while the varlets were bidden to tread down the snow and stamp it flat with their feet. Then, as it grew near mid-day, the air grew darker and a cloud filled the valley, and they heard a great noise as if the earth was being torn apart, and sparks of fire fell through the cloud, so that the tents were burnt where they fell, and if they fell on men they burnt into the flesh and left a scar. Then all the host were in terror, and Alexander bade them offer incense and sacrifices to the gods, and they did so, and a wind sprung up and drove away the clouds, and left the air clear and cold. When men had rested for a short time and given thanks to the gods for their safety, they began to move to the other end of the valley to pass out, and they came to an altar in the midst, with the bones of dead men lying round it, but they had not been slain there, for there was no mark of wound or gyves. On sight of this the leaders of the host halted around it, but none of them could read the marks on it or know to what god it was raised. Now while they were gathered round it men came running in haste from the front, and they bore news that there was no way by which men could leave the valley, and that they must needs turn back by the way they came in. Then Alexander gave orders to return, but when the army did so, lo, there was no way out in that direction or in any other, for no man could tell the way by which they had come into that vale. In short time all men were seeking for a road, but none could be found, though great rewards were offered by the king to him who should come upon the path. Then were the host in great fear, for they said that the gods were wroth with them, and had brought them into this land to slay them; but Alexander had trust in the words of his god and feared not.

The wise men of the army and the priests of the gods were all this time gathered round the altar in the midst of the valley, trying to make out the meaning of the marks upon it, and now an old Egyptian diviner came and stood before Alexander and said to him, “O King, I have read the writing on the altar, and I can tell thee the way out;” and the king said, “Say on.” Then said he, “O Alexander, this valley is the Valley of Terror, of which ancient stories tell, and whatsoever men come into it, they cannot leave it except one man of them stays behind a willing victim, to save the rest, wherefore on the altar are these words, ‘THE ALTAR OF WILLING VICTIMS.’ Now, O King, we cannot leave this valley till one man of the host stands at the altar and offers himself to stay here for the safety of the army, with a willing mind.” And when the other wise men heard this, they bade the king to make speed before the whole army should die of fear, or of hunger. So Alexander called the host together by the sound of the trumpet, and when they were all in one place, he rose up and told them how that the whole army was doomed to die, except that one man would offer himself willingly to die for the host. Then all men burst into grief for many men there were who would not fear death for the army, but there was none who would willingly die. So for the space of half an hour no one came forward. Then Alexander the Emperor arose and said, “O Greeks, Persians, and Indians, seeing that I have led ye into this land it is fitting that I lead you out, and since this may not be, I myself will stay here so that ye may safely depart.” Then the leaders came round him with tears and sobs, but he would not listen to them, but bade them prepare for their journey. The trumpets sounded again, and all men kept silence, for they saw Alexander with his left hand on the Altar of Willing Victims, and his right hand raised on high, and they heard him devote himself to the God of the Valley—a willing victim for the release of the army.

Now when all had left the valley but Alexander, standing at the Altar of Willing Victims, and Bucephalus his horse by him, it was already evening, & the earth seemed to shake & the way out was closed up.

Soon as the words were said, a crash was heard at the head of the valley, and when men looked they saw that a huge cliff had fallen, and had opened a broad way out into the open plain beyond, and men hurried to load their beasts and the knights rode on, and at the last Porus rode on with them, for Alexander had bidden him fear nothing, for the gods had promised him that he should not die save between a soil of iron and a sky of gold, so that needs must he escape from this Valley of Terror, and Alexander had told the leaders of the host to abide forty days for him on the plain outside if need be. Now when all the army had passed through, and no man was left in the valley but Alexander, standing at the Altar of Willing Victims, and Bucephalus his horse by him, it was already evening, and the earth seemed to shake, and the way out was closed up. When night fell, and all was dark, then the air seemed full of fright, and from one side or another groans were heard, but none came near. As hours drew on, the horse shivered with fear, and when Alexander patted his flanks they were covered with cold dew, and at last Bucephalus put his head under his master’s cloak, and stood still, trembling. But Alexander stood all that night by the altar with one hand on it, and he saw nothing, and heard but the groans which echoed through the air.

When day dawned all was still in the valley, and as Alexander looked about he saw around him nothing but high rocks coming sheer down from the mountain sides, but when the sun shone into the valley, he took heart and began to ride round the sides to examine them for himself, and this he did three times, but he found no way out. Then he sat down by a great stone, on which was marked a five-pointed star, with many letters written on it, and as he did so the words of Anectanabus came into his mind, how that this star was put for a seal over spirits in prison, and he remembered the mighty words that call on the spirits of the air and the earth, and he said them, and bade the spirit under the seal answer him. Then a voice came from under the stone and answered him, and told who he was, and how he had been shut under that stone for hundreds of years to work the will of the gods; and he asked Alexander to let him go free. So Alexander knew that if he set free this spirit he would destroy the enchantment of the Valley of Terror, and he determined to let the spirit go, but first he questioned him as to the way out, and the road to the Wells of Life, and how he should know them. Then said the spirit, “O Alexander, there be three Wells of Life, nor is it easy to find them. These be their properties. The first is the Well of Life, and in it if any dead thing is put, it straightway comes to life again. The second is the Well of Youth, and in it all who bathe come again to the age of twenty-five, be they an hundred winters old. The third is the Well of Never-dying Men, and he who bathes in it shall not die of any disease or hurt of iron, yet may he suffer pain of disease and hunger, but he cannot die. Nor can this well be seen of all men, or at any day, for but once in a year can it be seen, and then no more of any man for another year. For the way out, I myself will lead you and your horse, and I will give you the stone Elmas, which shall guide you to the wells, for it shall shine and sparkle while you are in the right way, and when you are in the wrong it shall grow dull and dark. Long and dreary shall the road be, and few may go with thee to that land.”

Then Alexander drew his sword and cut away the words marked on the five-pointed star, and when they were rubbed out, he hacked away the comers of the star, and as he did so, the earth-shook, and the stone rolled over, and a young man stood by him holding a ruby in his hand, and he said, “O King, take the stone Elmas, and set it in the handle of thy sword, and come thou and thy horse with me, for the valley is open, and men shall call it no longer the Valley of Terror.” So the king came with his horse, and he passed out where the army had gone, and mounted his horse, and turned to thank his guide, and lo I he was alone. Then he rode into camp, and all men rejoiced to see him.

Now, as Alexander came into the camp of the Greeks from the valley, an old man of the country came up on the other side, and the guards brought him before the King. Then he asked him concerning the land, and who was the lord of it, and the old man said that no man ruled in it, and few lived in it. Then Alexander asked him of the Wells of Life, and the old man answered that he had seen them in his youth and had bathed in the Well of Youth. Then Alexander asked him if he would guide him to them, and the old man said he would, but that he would not bathe in them, for he wished not to live past his time. So he went with Alexander and his host as they travelled far into the land of Ind.

For many days the host travelled, till at last the old man said that they were near the land of the Wells of Life, and then Alexander bade the army to halt, and he chose out a few of his Greeks and with them he set out on his search. It had been told Alexander that in the land there were many wells, and that none could tell one from another, till they came to the right one, so that he had prepared a way to find them out. Now the first well they should come to was the Well of Life, and Alexander bade all his men take in hand a salt fish, and wash it in every well they came to, till they should see some strange thing, when they were to tell it to him. It must be said that they of the host knew not what Alexander was seeking, nor what was the reason of this washing of salt fish. So the men went from one well to another, laughing and joking, and washing their salt fish, till one of them, Andreas by name, dipped his fish into a certain well, and suddenly the fish came to life in his hand and slipped out into the well. Then he cried out with a loud voice, and all the men near came running up to him, but he could say or do nothing but point to the fish swimming about in the spring. So they fetched Alexander to the spring, and he gave orders to fill a cask with the water of it, but the old man said that the water was useless except it were drunk when it was drawn from the spring.

Then he came to the Well of Youth, and it was in a dry land where no man dwelt, for there was no river or tree near. And Alexander would fain have the old man bathe in that well, but he would not, for he said that it was good to be young once, and to be foolish once, but to be young twice would be to be always a fool, and old age was best when a man was tired of life. So the young men bathed in the spring and their hearts grew hopeful, and they rejoiced in their youth.

There remained the Well of Never-dying Men to be sought for, but the old man told them that this was not here, nor was there any way to it from that place, for they must seek it in the dark desert. On this Alexander asked him of that desert, and he said that there the land was dark day and night, the sun shone not there, and there was no track or path for men to travel by. “Yet,” said the old man “it will be easy for thee to enter into the land and to find the well, for thy stone Elmas will guide thee to it when thou art in the land.” And with these words the old man turned away, and when Alexander looked for him, behold, he was not with them. Then Alexander and his men returned to the army.