midnight
The mountain range between the Vulturnus and Cades was difficult in the extreme , as the passes were few and very strongly guarded , but it was here that Hannibal resolved to make the attempt to lead his army from the difficult position in which it was placed . He waited quietly in the plain until the supplies of food were beginning to run low , and then prepared for his enterprise . An immense number of cattle were among the plunder . Two thousand of the stoutest of these were selected , torches were fastened to their horns , and shortly before midnight the light troops drove the oxen to the hills , avoiding the position of the passes guarded by the enemy . The torches were then lighted , and the light troops drove the oxen straight up the hill . The animals , maddened by fear , rushed tumultuously forward , scattering in all directions on the hillside , but , continually urged by the troops behind them , mounting towards the summits of the hills . The Roman defenders of the passes , seeing this great number of lights moving upwards , supposed that Hannibal had abandoned all his baggage , and was leading his army straight across the hills .