153 



smallest movement without discovery; for, exclusive of these hosts 

 of cavalry serving for pay, there are always a great number of 

 pindarees, or looties, a set of predatory horsemen, who march 

 with the Mahratta armies; and, instead of receiving pay, actually 

 purchase of the chief the privilege of plunder at their own risk 

 and charge; a predicament which gives a singular edge to their 

 appetite for depredation, and renders them infinitely more active 

 and destructive than those who, by receiving pay, have not an 

 equal stimulus to rapacity. But though bold and active plunderers, 

 little dependence is to be placed on their military prowess, since, 

 being only desirous of acquiring their booty with tolerable safety, 

 they carefully avoid all situations of danger not pregnant with 

 the grand object of their rapacious spirit. 



These pindarees have their distinct quarters, and encamp with 

 the chiefs to whom thej r are attached: those which fell under my 

 observation were generally Mahomedans; but, as may be sup- 

 posed, not very rigid observers of any religious tenets. But al- 

 though generally Mahomedans, all tribes are to be found among 

 them, since nothing seems wanting but a will to join in depreda- 

 tion, so that this corps is generally composed of men whose 

 minds and bodies are best suited to their practice. They reside 

 principally in Malwa, and usually follow the armies of Holkar and 

 Scindia. As those who acquire wealth seldom expose themselves 

 while it lasts, these people are generally poor. Their horses are 

 small and hardy, and their equipment mean, so that they are by 

 no means a match for any cavalry tolerably appointed. The de^ 

 predations of the pindarees are so dreaded throughout Hindostan, 



that in those countries most exposed to their ravages, the villages 

 VOL. n. x 



