He had with him, not only thirty-five thousand horse, or thereabouts,
and ten thousand foot, but also "both his artilleries, the great or
heavy, and the small or lighter.
For the carriage of the Emperor's baggage and stores, no less than
30,000 coolies were required, although, for fear of starving that
little kingdom of Kachemere," he only carried with him the least
number of ladies and cavaliers he could manage, and as few elephants
and mules as would suffice for the convenience of the former.
Crossing the Peer Punjal, some of the ladies of the Seraglio
unfortunately paid the penalty of their too ardent desires to show
themselves off to "a gallant and magnificent army," for "one of the
elephants fell back upon him that was next, and he upon the next, and
so on to the fifteenth, so that they did all tumble to the bottom of
the precipice. It was the good fortune of those poor women, however,
that there were but three or four of them killed; but the fifteen
elephants remained upon the place." The historian rather ungallantly
adds, "When these bulky masses do once fall under THOSE VAST BURDENS
they never rise again, though the way be ever so fair.
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