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70 intended to join the tribal league, but had not actually done so at this time. The Kathaioi were now supported only by minor clans, their immediate neighbours, and the terrible fate which awaited the Malloi was postponed for a brief space.

On the second day after the passage of the Hydraotes, Alexander received the capitulation of a town named Pimprama, belonging to a clan called Adraistai by Arrian, and, after a day's rest, proceeded to invest Sangala, which the Kathaioi and the allied tribes had selected as their main stronghold. The tribes protected their camp, which lay under the shelter of a low hill, by a triple row of wagons, and offered a determined resistance.

Meantime, the elder Poros arrived with a reinforcement for the besiegers of five thousand troops, elephants, and a siege-train, but before any breach in the city wall had been effected, the Macedonians stormed the place by escalade, and routed the allies, who lost many thousands killed. Alexander's loss in killed was less than a hundred, but twelve hundred of his men were wounded—an unusually large proportion. Sangala was razed to the ground, as a punishment for the stout resistance of its defenders.

Yet another river, the Hyphasis (Bias), lay in the path of the royal adventurer, who advanced to its bank and prepared to cross, being determined to subdue the nations beyond. These were reputed to be clans of brave agriculturists, enjoying an admirable system of aristocratic government, and occupying a fertile