Meanwhile Saladin had on the night of the 24th removed his headquarters from Shefr’ Amm to Kaimoun (the ancient Jokneam of Carmel), where the inland road from Acre to [Sidenote: _Aug. 25_] the south crosses the Kishon. Next day he rode over Carmel on a reconnoitring expedition to Mallâha, “the Salt-pit,” called by the Franks Merle. Returning on the 26th to Kaimoun, he there reviewed his army, and on the [Sidenote: _Aug. 28_] morrow led it across the mountains to “the head of the river which runs by Caesarea.”[758] Caesarea lies, fifteen miles south of the Casal of the Straits, midway between the mouths of two rivers which are five miles apart. The northern one was called by the Crusaders “the River of Crocodiles”;[759] between its two principal springs passes [Sidenote: _Aug. 28-30_] the main road leading south from Kaimoun. In the next three days Saladin shifted his camp three times among the hills above these springs.[760] From these hills, or from the last spur of Carmel, a little further south, he would see his first opportunity of checking or hindering his enemy’s advance. The slopes of the Carmel range were too steep to be practicable for his cavalry; it was doubtless for this reason that Cayphas and Capharnaum had been evacuated, and also that the fortifications of Caesarea had been dismantled.[761] When the Crusaders should reach Caesarea, however, they would be on the verge of Sharon, “the Level,” on whose eastern border the comparatively low mountains of Samaria rise by a gradual ascent, in terrace-like ridges, broken by many easy passes leading into the valleys and level spaces among the hills; while the distance between mountains and sea, which round the promontory of Carmel is only two hundred yards, is at the lower end of the Carmel range six miles. On August 28 Richard advanced from Casal of the Straits to Merle and spent the night on the ground where Saladin had been three nights before. [Sidenote: _Aug. 29_] Next day the whole host followed, and with the king at its head and the Knights of the Temple and Hospital forming the rearguard proceeded towards Caesarea. By Richard’s orders all the sick had been transferred to the ships; but even for the able-bodied the day’s march—some fifteen miles—was a long, slow, and painful one over the burning sand in the heat of an August day in Syria; not a few died by the way; and the outskirts of the host were attacked by some skirmishing parties of Turks, who were, however, driven off by Richard. The weary pilgrims camped that [Sidenote: _Aug. 30_] night on the bank of the River of Crocodiles, and next day entered the ruins of Caesarea, which were evacuated at their approach. Here on that evening or the next the ships came into port, bringing further supplies and also some of the “lazy folk” from Acre, who in response to an urgent summons sent to them by Richard had thus at length come to rejoin their comrades in arms.[762] [Sidenote: _Sept. 1_]