also reduce his supply and provisioning burden by decreasing the number of soldiers, pack animals and size of the baggage train. Hannibal probably now abandoned any thoughts of fighting the Romans, as the season was getting late, and focused on quickly reaching Italy. Hannibal eludes Scipio Hannibal had spent 3 months marching from Cartagena to the Pyrenees; however, he would take three weeks to reach the Rhône. Hannibal had placated the Gallic chieftains —who had met at Ruscino for discussion on the Carthaginian expedition after mustering an army— with assurances of his peaceful intentions, accompanied by generous gifts, and then marched past Ruscino unmolested, along the future Via Domitia to Nemasus, the Volcae capital, and without any incidents reached the west bank of the Rhône by late September. Hannibal's negotiation skills and war chest were put to good use to placate individual Gallic tribes on the way, so the foraging of the Carthaginians caused no friction; supplies may also have been purchased from the Gauls as no reports exist of any fighting taking place during his march. Hannibal was opposed by some Gallic tribes at the Rhône, and lost days defeating the Gauls, which enabled Scipio to locate him by pure chance when he landed with his army at the allied Greek city of Massilia in mid September. Scipio had already known before setting sail that Hannibal had crossed the Ebro, and assumed that the Carthaginians were still engaged beyond the Pyrenees, so he disembarked his troops, made camp, unloaded his heavy baggage, and allowed his soldiers to recuperate from their sea voyage. Scipio expected Hannibal to fight his way to the Rhône, and arrive exhausted and weakened, so he did not send out scouts to find out exactly where the Carthaginian army was, as he believed Hannibal was many days march away. Scipio was thus astonished to learn in Massalia that Hannibal had already crossed the Pyrenees and the Carthaginians were approaching the Rhône with amazing speed. Scipio immediately dispatched 300 cavalry up the eastern bank of the river, unaware that Hannibal's army was only four days march upstream, just as Hannibal was not aware of the Roman army. The Roman cavalry clashed with a similar force of Numidian light cavalry and, after a hard-fought skirmish, drove off the Carthaginians and located the Carthaginian camp. Hannibal decided not to fight the Romans, because even a victory could cause casualties