146 



ment furnishes a specious pretext for not paying the poor sepoy, 

 who through poverty is often forced to take another service, with 

 the loss of all his arrears, which his chief collects as he can; or 

 to compound the whole for a part, which is generally anticipated 

 by loans taken up of his jummadar, or the karkuns, who are the 

 civil officers of his corps, at an exorbitant interest. 



Besides bargheers and silladars, there is another description of 

 horsemen, known in the Mahratta armies by the denomination of 

 yekandia, which signifies single: these are generally men of family, 

 who, with a i'ew attendants, go in quest of service, and are fre- 

 quently entertained on the footing of companions by the great 

 chiefs, on most ample allowances, from one hundred to one thou- 

 sand rupees per month, with one or two horses from the chief's 

 stable at their command. 



The arms of the Mahratta cavalry are swords, spears, match- 

 locks, and a few bows and arrows; the sword is universal and indis- 

 pensable, the matchlock very frequent in the paugheas, and seems 

 to be daily gaining ground of the long spear, formerly a very 

 favourite weapon with the Mahrattas: but many of the silladars, 

 yekandias, and those who claim, or affect superiority of birth and 

 rank, seldom encumber themselves with any thing but two swords; 

 one of a hard temper, consequently brittle and very sharp, called 

 serye; the other, more tough and less sharp, named asseel. h 

 must be understood that the arms, accoutrements, and clothing 

 of the horseman being his own property, there is not the smallest 

 uniformity, every individual equipping himself conformably to his 

 taste or circumstances. 



Few paugheas have more than one large routy, the most com- 



