1 Conquest of the Punjab. 87
2 have equalled him in personal courage and surpassed
3 him in generalship. But if he owed much of his
4 success to the skill of his commanders, it was he
5 himself who created the army which made success
6 possible. The manner in which Mr. Metcalfe's escort
7 met and repulsed the attack of his fanatical Akalis
8 had shown him the effect of discipline on the Indian
9 soldier, and he at once made up his mind to train his
10 own army on European lines. He formed his men
11 into battalions, dressed them in red coats with facings
12 to distinguish the different regiments, and with the
13 aid of instructors from the Indian army equipped
14 and drilled them after the manner of Western troops.
15 The men were well paid, and the chances of plunder
16 being many, the service rapidly became popular. In
17 addition to the regular army, which, at the time of
18 Ranjit Singh's death, consisted of some 30,000 men
19 with 200 guns, there was a considerable force of
20 irregular cavalry composed of the contingents of the
21 Sikh sirdars. The strength of this force varied, but
22 at times equalled, or even exceeded, that of the regular
23 army. Each contingent was armed and accoutred
24 after its own fashion ; and when massed together on
25 parade, they constituted by far the most picturesque
26 portion of the Sikh army. The appearance of one of
27 these contingents is thus described by Baron Htigel :
28 " The strange troop before me was most peculiarly
29 Indian. The uniform consisted of a velvet coat or
30 gaberdine, over which most of them wore a shirt of
31 mail. A belt round the waist, richly embroidered in
32 gold, supported the powder horn covered with cloth
33 of gold, as well as the Persian katdr and the pistols