Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 1.djvu/319

B. iv. c. vi. 7. THE ALPS. 30 overhanging ridges. The route of those who are desirous of passing from Italy over these mountains, lies through the aforesaid valley. Beyond this the road separates into two. The one which passes through the mountain peaks, known as the Pennine Alps, cannot be traversed by carriages ; the other, which runs through the country of the Centrbnes, lies more to the west. 1 The country of the Salassi contains gold mines, of which formerly, in the days of their power, they were masters, as well as of the passes. The river Doria Baltea 2 afforded them great facility in obtaining the metal by [supplying them with water] for washing the gold, and they have emptied the main bed by the Numerous trenches cut for drawing the water to different places. This operation, though advantageous in gold hunting, wasjniuripus to the a^ricultur- ists below, as it deprived them of the irrigation 01 a river, which, by the height of its position, was capable of watering their plains. This gave rise to frequent wars between the two nations ; when the Romans gained the dominion, the Salassi lost bnth thpirjyold works and their country, but as tTiey still possessed the mountains, they continued to sell water to the public contractors of the gold mines ; with whom there were continual disputes on account of the avarice of the contractors, and thus the Roman generals sent into the coun- try were ever able to find a pretext for commencing war. And, until very recently, the Salassi at one time waging war against the Romans, and at another making peace, took occa- sion to inflict numerous damages upon those who crossed over their mountains, by their system of plundering ; and even exacted from Decimus Brutus, on his flight from Mutina, 3 a drachm per man. Messala, likewise, having taken up his winter quarters in their vicinity, was obliged to pay them, both for his fire-wood, and for the elm-wood for making jave- lins for the exercise of his troops. In one instance they plundered the treasures of Caesar, 4 and rolled down huge 1 These two routes still exist. The former passes by the Great Saint Bernard, or the Pennine Alps ; the latter traverses the Little Saint Ber- nard, and descends into La Tarentaise, formerly occupied by the Cen- trones. 2 Anciently Durias. 3 Modena. 4 It does not appear that Julius Caesar is hero intended, for he mentions nothing of it in his Commentaries. It seems more probable that Strabo used