re so
taught that they can turn them right round for fifty times, without the
horse's moving his hind legs from the same circle, or pull them up at
full speed instantaneously. Our horses are heavy, fat, and quite
unmanageable with the bit; it takes them as long to get round as a ship;
and you cannot pull them up under ten or twenty yards. Some of their
horsemen have spears seventeen feet in length, which they handle in so
masterly a style that singly they are dangerous persons to have anything
to say to: but I have frequently seen Lord Lake charge, with his
body-guard, a whole column of them, and put them to the rout.

A few days after our arrival, we moved on towards Jeypore, these
plundering rascals riding close by us, manoeuvring on our flanks, and
giving us a shot now and then, to let us know they wished to be
neighbourly. On one of these occasions it nearly cost me my life. We
were in column on one side of a field, near some high corn, called
juwar, about half a mile from our column on the other side of the field.
I had at this time the fastest pony in India, called "Apple," on which
I rode on ahead to the extreme end of the field, to have a shot at the
head of their line of march; for which imprudence my own life was nearly
the forfeit, for round the corner I came almost in contact with about a
hundred of the enemy. I soon wheeled round, and gallopped back again as
fast as my pony could carry me: they fired at me fifty or sixty shots,
not one of which touched me. Ever after, I kept a little more within
bounds.

We had frequent skirmishes with detached parties, killing numbers with
our six-pounders; but we could not come up with them. We therefore made
our way towards Muttra, a great haunt of the Pindarees, where we lay for
some time, trying to surprise them; but they were ever on the watch, as
the rattling of our swords might be heard a mile off. Tired of this
service, we took possession of the town of Muttra, driving them out.
Here we had glorious plunder--shawls, silks, satins, khemkaubs, money,
&c.; and some of the men made a good thing of it. I was not idle; but an
untoward circumstance for a time delayed my exertions. I was quartered
in a large square or rajah's palace, and had to ascend several flights
of steps to get at anything worth notice. All the way up this staircase
were little iron plated doors, locked with several locks. As Paul Pry
says, I thought this "rather mysterious"; I therefore commenced
l