Titus Livius (Livy), The History of Rome, Book 23
Frank Gardener Moore, Professor Emeritus in Columbia University, Ed.

26. During these operations and these preparations in Italy the war in Spain was no less active, but up to that time more successful¹ for the Romans. [2] Publius and Gnaeus Scipio had divided the forces between them, so that Gnaeus should carry on the war on land, Publius with the fleet; and Hasdrubal, commander-in-chief of the Carthaginians, since he could not fully depend upon either arm of his forces, remained far from the enemy, being protected by distance and position, until, in answer to pleas urgent and long-continued, four thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry were sent from Africa to reinforce him.² [3] Then, with hopes at last renewed, he moved his camp nearer to the enemy, and he too ordered that a fleet should be built and equipped, in order to protect the islands and the sea-coast. [4] In the very flush of renewed operations he met a blow in the desertion of the commanders of his ships, who, being severely reprimanded after their abandonment of the fleet at the Hiberus in their fright,³ had never [p. 89]since been entirely loyal either to the general or to⁴ the cause of Carthage. These deserters had made trouble in the tribe of the Tartesii, and at their instigation a number of cities had rebelled. One city had even been stormed by them.

[5] It was against this tribe that the war was now diverted from the [6??] Romans, and Hasdrubal, having entered the territory of the enemy with a hostile army, resolved to attack a noble in command of the Tartesii, Chalbus, who with a strong army was keeping to his camp before the walls of a city captured a few days before. [7] Therefore Hasdrubal, sending the light-armed in advance, to draw out the enemy to battle, scattered part of his cavalry over the farms to ravage them and to capture stragglers. There was confusion at the camp and at the same time flight and slaughter in the country around. [8] Then, after they had made their way from all sides back to the camp by different roads, fear was so suddenly banished from their hearts that they had sufficient spirit not only to defend the fortifications but also to attack the enemy. Accordingly they sallied out of the camp in a column, dancing, as is their custom; and their sudden boldness inspired alarm in the enemy, who a little before had been the aggressor. [9] And so Hasdrubal likewise led his forces up a very steep hill, further defended by a river in front. [10] Also he got back the light-armed who had been sent ahead and the scattered cavalry to the same position. Unable to put sufficient confidence in either the hill or the river, he strongly fortified his camp with an earthwork. [11] While fear was shifting thus from one side to the other, a number of engagements took place, and the Numidian horseman was no match for the [p. 91]Spaniard, nor the Moorish dart-thrower for the man⁵ with the wicker shield, the Spaniard in both cases being an equal in speed and quite superior in spirit and strength.