Xenophon and his men initially had to deal with volleys from a minor force of harassing Persian missile cavalry. Every day, this cavalry, finding no opposition from the Ten Thousand, moved cautiously closer and closer. One night, Xenophon formed a body of archers and light cavalry. When the Persian cavalry arrived the next day, now firing within several yards, Xenophon suddenly unleashed his new cavalry in a charge, smashing into the stunned and confused enemy, killing many and routing the rest. Tissaphernes pursued Xenophon with a vast force, and when the Greeks reached the wide and deep Great Zab river, they seemed to be surrounded. A Rhodian proposed a plan in exchange for a talent; all goats, cattle, sheep, and donkeys were to slaughtered and their bodies stuffed with hay, laid across the river, and sewed up and covered with soil so as not to be slippery. This was refused, for it would've been impossible to implement, and so the Greeks simply turned around, and the Persians refused to pursue. That Xenophon was able to feed his force in the heart of a vast empire with a hostile population was considered astonishing. Dodge notes: