As soon as the armies stood face to face, Cambyses caused the great
Pelusian plain to be cleared of trees and brushwood, and had the sand-
hills removed which were to be found here and there, in order to give his
cavalry and scythe-chariots a fair field of action. Phanes' knowledge of
the country was of great use. He had drawn up a plan of action with
great military skill, and succeeded in gaining not only Cambyses'
approval, but that of the old general Megabyzus and the best tacticians
among the Achaemenidae. His local knowledge was especially valuable on
account of the marshes which intersected the Pelusian plain, and might,
unless carefully avoided, have proved fatal to the Persian enterprise.
At the close of the council of war Phanes begged to be heard once more:
"Now, at length," he said, "I am at liberty to satisfy your curiosity in
reference to the closed waggons full of animals, which I have had
transported hither. They contain five thousand cats! Yes, you may
laugh, but I tell you these creatures will be more serviceable to us than
a hundred thousand of our best soldiers. Many of you are aware that the
Egyptians have a superstition which leads them rather to die than kill a
cat, I, myself, nearly paid for such a murder once with my life.
Remembering this, I have been making a diligent search for cats during my
late journey; in Cyprus, where there are splendid specimens, in Samos
and in Crete. All I could get I ordered to be caught, and now propose
that they be distributed among those troops who will be opposed to the
native Egyptian soldiers. Every man must be told to fasten one firmly to
his shield and hold it out as he advances towards the enemy. I will
wager that there's not one real Egyptian, who would not rather fly from
the battle-field than take aim at one of these sacred animals."

This speech was met by a loud burst of laughter; on being discussed,
however, it was approved of, and ordered to be carried out at once. The
ingenious Greek was honored by receiving the king's hand to kiss, his