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43For the barbarians did not use archery and had not provided themselves beforehand with stones, not expecting to have any need of them; hence, if any one came into close quarters with them, they fought him off after a fashion, but with those who stood at a little distance from them they knew not how to cope. 2So the men were being wounded and killed, even those who were unable to repel any one, while the boats were in some cases rammed and ripped open, in other cases were set on fire and burned; still others were towed away, as if empty of men. 3When the remaining crews saw this, some killed themselves to avoid being captured alive and others leaped into the sea with the idea that they would thus either board the hostile ships or in any event not perish at the hands of the Romans. 4For in zeal and daring they were not at all behind their opponents, but they were terribly angry at finding themselves betrayed by the sluggishness of their vessels. The Romans, to make sure that the wind when it sprang up again should not move the ships, employed from a distance long poles fitted with knives, by means of which they cut the ropes and split the sails. 5And since the barbarians were compelled to fight in their boats as if on land, while the foe could use his ships as at sea, great numbers perished then and there, and all the remainder were captured. Of these Caesar slew the most prominent and sold the rest.
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