Ἀλεξάνδρου ἀνάβασις 6.18

6.18.1

αὐτὸς δὲ Ἡφαιστίωνι προστάξας τειχίζειν ἐν τοῖς Πατάλοις ἄκραν ἀποπέμπει ἐς τὴν ἄνυδρον τῆς πλησίον γῆς φρέατά τε ὀρύξοντας καὶ οἰκήσιμον τὴν χώραν κατασκευάσοντας. καὶ τούτοις ἐπέθεντο τῶν προσχώρων τινὲς βαρβάρων, καὶ ἔστι μὲν οὓς διέφθειραν αὐτῶν ἄφνω προσπεσόντες, πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ σφῶν ἀποβαλόντες ἔφυγον ἐς τὴν ἔρημον, ὥστε ἐπιτελεσθῆναι τοῖς ἐκπεμφθεῖσι τὰ ἔργα προσγενομένης αὐτοῖς καὶ ἄλλης στρατιᾶς, ἣν Ἀλέξανδρος πυθόμενος τῶν βαρβάρων τὴν ἐπίθεσιν ἐστάλκει μεθέξοντας τοῦ ἔργου.

After directing Hephaistion to construct a citadel in Patala, he sent out men into the adjacent country which was waterless, to dig wells and make it habitable. Some of the barbarians in the neighbourhood attacked them and, as they fell upon them quite unexpectedly killed several of their number, but as the assailants lost many on their own side, they fled to the desert. The men were thus able to complete the work they were sent to execute especially as Alexander, on learning that they had been attacked by the barbarians, had sent additional troops to take part in the work.
Near Patala the stream of the Indus is divided into two large rivers, both of which retain the name of the Indus till they enter the sea. Here Alexander set about the construction of a roadstead and dock, and when some satisfactory progress had been made with these undertakings, he resolved to sail down to the mouth of the right arm of the river. To Leonnatos he gave the command of about 1000 cavalry and 8000 heavy and light infantry and despatched him to move down the island of Patala holding along the shore in a line with the squadron of ships. He set out himself on a voyage down the right arm of the river, taking with him the fastest vessels with one and a half bank of oars, all the thirty-oared galleys and several of the smaller craft. As the Indians of that region had fled, he had no pilot to direct his course and this made the navigation all the more difficult. Then on the second day after he had started a storm arose, and the gale blowing against the current made deep furrows in the river, and battered the hulls of the vessels so violently that most of his ships were damaged, while some of the thirty-oared galleys were completely wrecked, though the sailors managed to run them on shore before they went all to pieces in the water. Other vessels were therefore constructed; and Alexander, having despatched the quickest of the light-armed troops some distance into the interior, captured some Indians, whom he employed in piloting his fleet for the rest of the voyage. But when they found themselves where the river expands to the vast breadth of 200 stadia the wind blew strong from the outer sea, and the oars could scarcely be raised in the swell. They therefore again drew toward the shore for refuge, and the fleet was steered by the pilots into the mouth of a canal.

6.18.2

περὶ δὲ τοῖς Πατάλοις σχίζεται τοῦ Ἰνδοῦ τὸ ὕδωρ ἐς δύο ποταμοὺς μεγάλους, καὶ οὗτοι ἀμφότεροι σώζουσι τοῦ Ἰνδοῦ τὸ ὄνομα ἔστε ἐπὶ τὴν θάλασσαν. ἐνταῦθα ναύσταθμόν τε καὶ νεωσοίκους ἐποίει Ἀλέξανδρος· ὡς δὲ προὐκεχωρήκει αὐτῷ τὰ ἔργα, ὁ δὲ καταπλεῖν ἐπενόει ἔστε ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκβολὴν τοῦ ἐν δεξιᾷ ῥέοντος ποταμοῦ ἐς τὴν θάλασσαν.

6.18.3

Λεοννάτον μὲν δὴ δοὺς αὐτῷ τῶν τε ἱππέων ἐς χιλίους καὶ τῶν ὁπλιτῶν τε καὶ ψιλῶν ἐς ὀκτακισχιλίους κατὰ τὴν νῆσον τὰ Πάταλα ἐκπέμπει ἀντιπαράγειν τῷ στόλῳ, αὐτὸς δὲ τὰς μάλιστα τῶν νεῶν ταχυναυτούσας ἀναλαβὼν ὅσαι τε ἡμιόλιαι καὶ τὰς τριακοντόρους πάσας καὶ τῶν κερκούρων ἔστιν οὓς ἔπλει κατὰ τὸν ποταμὸν τὸν ἐν δεξιᾷ.

6.18.4

οὐκ ἔχοντι δὲ αὐτῷ ἡγεμόνα τοῦ πλοῦ, ὅτι πεφεύγεσαν οἱ ταύτῃ Ἰνδοί, ἀπορώτερα τὰ τοῦ κατάπλου ἦν· χειμών τε ἐπιγίγνεται ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίαν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀναγωγῆς καὶ ὁ ἄνεμος τῷ ῥόῳ πνέων ὑπεναντίος κοῖλόν τε ἐποίει τὸν ποταμὸν καὶ τὰ σκάφη διέσειεν, ὥστε ἐπόνησαν αὐτῷ αἱ πλεῖσται τῶν νεῶν, τῶν δὲ τριακοντόρων ἔστιν αἳ καὶ πάντῃ διελύθησαν. ἔφθησαν δὲ ἐποκείλαντες αὐτὰς πρὶν παντάπασιν διαπεσεῖν ἐν τῷ ὕδατι.

6.18.5

ἕτεραι οὖν ξυνεπήγνυντο. καὶ τῶν ψιλῶν τοὺς κουφοτάτους ἐκπέμψας ἐς τὴν προσωτέρω τῆς ὄχθης χώραν ξυλλαμβάνει τινὰς τῶν Ἰνδῶν, καὶ οὗτοι τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε ἐξηγοῦντο αὐτῷ τὸν πόρον. ὡς δὲ ἧκον ἵναπερ ἀναχεῖται ἐς εὖρος ὁ ποταμός, ὡς καὶ διακοσίους ταύτῃ σταδίους ἐπέχειν ᾗπερ εὐρύτατος αὐτὸς αὑτοῦ ἦν, τό τε πνεῦμα κατῄει μέγα ἀπὸ τῆς ἔξω θαλάσσης καὶ αἱ κῶπαι ἐν κλύδωνι χαλεπῶς ἀνεφέροντο, ξυμφεύγουσιν αὖ ἐς διώρυχα, ἐς ἥντινα οἱ ἡγεμόνες αὐτῷ καθηγήσαντο. ἐνταῦθα ὁρμισάντων τὸ πάθημα ἐπιγίγνεται τῆς