Having determined on this plan of action, the Scythians sent their best horsemen to reconnoitre in advance of the army. They themselves then marched out to meet Darius, and arranged for the waggons which served as houses for the women and children, and all the cattle, except what they needed for food, to move northward at once, in advance of their future line of retreat. The scouts made contact with the Persians about three days’ march from the Danube, and at once encamped at a distance of a single day’s march in front of them, destroying everything which the land produced. The Persians, on the appearance of the Scythian cavalry, gave chase and continued to follow in their tracks as they withdrew before them. The Persian advance was now directed against the single division of the Scythian army under Scopasis, and was consequently eastward towards the Tanais. The Scythians crossed the river, and the Persians followed in pursuit, until they had passed through the territory of the Sauromatae and reached that of the Budini, where they came across the wooden fortified town of Gelonus, abandoned and empty of defenders, and burnt it. Previously, so long as their route lay through the country of the Scythians and Sauromatae, they had done no damage, because the country was barren and there was nothing to destroy. After burning the town, they continued to press forward on the enemy’s heels until they reached the great uninhabited region which lies beyond the territory of the Budini. This tract of land is seven days’ journey across, and on the further side of it lies the country of the Thyssagetae, from which four great rivers, Lycus, Oarus, Tanais, and Syrgis, flow through the region occupied by the Maeotae to empty themselves into Lake Maeotis.