1 HISTORY OF THE SIKHS. 269
2 rate warrior. At Feerozshuhur, nothing could
3 exceed the individual courage of the European
4 soldiers; the havoc committed by individuals is
5 hardly to be credited. One remarkable case may
6 be noticed, that of Drill-serjeant Snooks, a quiet
7 and inoffensive man, but an exceedingly smart and
8 strict disciplinarian, who was so’ excited at the
9 battle alluded to, that he actually killed elever:
10 men with his own hand! Some he shot, the brains
11 of others he knocked out with the butt-end of his
12 musket, and several were bayoneted. This feat,
13 as witnessed by an officer who related the circum-
14 stance to us, was one of the most extraordinary
15 that can be well conceived ; the man more resem-
16 pled a demon than a human being. But indeed,
17 in this he was not singular; the fierce spirit ex-
18 hibited by the 3rd dragoons at Moodkee, for ex-
19 ample, impressed the Sikhs with the idea that they
20 were something akin to fiends, if not entirely super-
21 natural !
22 In all great engagements, however much the ins An army not
23 fantry may do, the victory can never be complete pire ha
24 without an efficient force of cavalry; not such
25 cavalry as the Sikh Ghoorchurras, but brave, daunt-
26 less fellows like our European dragoons; and the
27 want of this branch was sadly felt at the commence-
28 ment of the late campaign, particularly at Moodkee
29 and Feerozshuhur.
30 The necessity, therefore, for raising European The necessity
31 for two or
32 cavalry regiments who may be at all times avail- more regi-
33 ments of
34 able is obvious. Our strength in regular Native European
35 cavalry,