Marius also instituted pay for the soldiers, again over the
protests and howls of the oligarchs. The financial condition of
the average soldier was hardly brilliant, but by placing them on
the payroll, Marius made them "employees of the State." This act
gave Marius and his successors, a larger degree of latitude in
what they could do with their armies. Marius took steps to
reduce the number of noncombatants that had accompanied the
armies of the past. No man was allowed to be accompanied by more
than one servant or slave. One mule was provided for four men,
but each man was required to carry his own sixty pound combat
load, usually slung on a forked carrying stick. The men took to
calling themselves "Marius' mules." The idle period between
campaigns was replaced with physical labor. Pickax and shovel
replaced sword and spear. Legions would be assigned to digging
canals, widening or building roads or establishing
fortifications. When on the march the legions built a precisely
designed fortified camp at the end