The commander of the division intended for this fleet, the Comes of Britannia, Nannienus, a man skilled in nautical matters and an excellent officer, had reached the harbor fortification with his troops very quickly by the excellent road from Windisch. The other column needed a much longer time for its wearisome march, turning finally eastward before it again reached the shore of the lake. Caution was the first requisite during this advance through the pathless land of the Barbarians; and no measure of prudence was omitted by the well-trained, circumspect leaders. Natives of the country who were perfectly familiar with the region acted as guides; though the southern shore was inhabited exclusively by Roman colonists, they guarded carefully against treachery from that quarter. Horsemen, lightly armed Celtic archers, the Keltae and Petulantes, and Germans familiar with woodland warfare--the Batavians--formed the van and rearguards. In the centre were the heavily armed foot-soldiers of the Imperial Guard, protecting the traders and sutlers, luggage, camp equipage, and provisions. They moved along the ruinous old road, as near the shore as the marshy ground permitted, in order to keep in view of the lake, that they might discover any attempt at an attack by the Barbarians in their boats, and also not lose sight of the opposite shore occupied by the Romans. The most difficult task was assigned to the left wing which, at the north of the central division and the old road, was to force a passage through forest and morass in a line parallel with that of the main body, and protect it from any flank assault of the foe; for should the latter suddenly burst from an ambush in the impenetrable woods and fall upon the column extended in marching order, the whole body, thus taken by surprise, might be scattered and driven into the marshes and the lake. But the resistance offered by forest and fen to the progress of the troop seemed destined to remain the sole opposition which the Romans were to encounter; for the latter had not met a single human being since they quitted the southern shore of the lake and the stations along the road there. There were no villages of the Alemanni in this region: the ground was occupied by farms, and the houses (called "Schwaigen") were miles apart. The few lonely dwellings which they passed during a march of several days had been abandoned. A mysterious silence, boding destruction, seemed to brood over the empty wooden buildings. Everywhere, just before the time of ripening, the grain--oats, barley, and spelt--had been cut and partly burnt; the latter mode was the quicker, and the grain of the Alemanni should not serve their foe even as fodder for his horses. The cattle had been driven away; the kennels of the faithful farm watch, almost always found at the gates, were also empty; the hay and straw were removed from the barns, which were usually connected with the houses and very often formed part of them.