alsofollowedelsewherein Carthage’sdomains,
withunrelatedmercenariesonSardinia
revoltingandseizingcontrolof theisland.
Commandof thewarwiththerebels
wasentrustedto HannotheGreat,who
mishandledit. Hamilcarwashastilyrecalled,
andCarthagegavehimanarmyof 10,000
troopscomposedof newly-hiredmercenaries,
desertersfromtherebels,aswellasnative
Carthaginianswhohadbeencalledto the
coloursin thisdesperatehour.Thesetroops
weresupportedby 70 elephants.
At theMacarasRiver,Hamilcar
encounteredthemercenariesunder
SpendiusbesiegingUtica.He
cleverlyluredthemintogiving
chasebyfeigningflightbefore
turningroundandsmashing
them,killing6,000andtaking
2,000prisoners.Thesiegeof
Uticawaslifted.
Withtheaidof 2,000
Numidiancavalryundertheir
chieftain,Naravas,Hamilcarnextpulverised
a mercenaryarmyunderSpendius,killing
10,000of them.Hamilcarofferedthe4,000
prisonershetookclemency,andgavethem
thechanceto eitherjoinhisarmyor leave
altogether.However,if theyshouldeverbe
foundagaintakinguparmsagainstCarthage
theywouldreceivenomercyagain.
Hamilcar’smoderationwasa serious
threatto themercenarycause,andto
forestalldefections,SpendiusandMathos,
joinedbya GallicmercenarynamedAutaritus,
executedGisgoand 700 otherCarthaginian
prisonersin themosthorrificmanner,these
unfortunatesbeingmutilated,tossedintoa
trench,andburiedalive.
Hamilcarrepaidtheirhorrorswithhisown.
Mercenaryprisonersweretrampledbeneath
thefeetof hiselephants.Hamilcar’sbrutality
thushardenedtheresolveof themercenaries
to fightto thedeath,justasSpendiusand
Mathos,whohadnoillusionsthattheywould
findanyclemencythemselves,hadwished.the thunderbolt of carthage