1 88 A Short History of the Sikhs.
2 which many of them carried in addition to these
3 weapons. Some wore a steel helmet, inlaid with
4 gold and surmounted with a kalgi or black heron's
5 plume ; others wore a cap of steel worked like the
6 cuirass in rings ; this cap lies firmly on the turban,
7 and covers the whole head, having openings for the
8 eyes. The left arm is often covered from the hand
9 to the elbow with a steel cuff inlaid with gold. The
10 round Sikh shield hangs at the back, fastened with
11 straps across the chest, a quiver at the right side and
12 a bow slung at the back being carried as part of the
13 equipment ; a bag made in the belt holds the balls ;
14 and. a tall bayonet, frequently ornamented with gold,
15 held in the right hand when the man is on foot,
16 and carried over the shoulder when in the saddle,
17 completes the costume." '
18 The artillery, next to the infantry the most
19 important arm, was thoroughly reorganized. The
20 Maharaja placed great dependence on this section of
21 his army, and personally superintended its training
22 and equipment. The guns, most of them of brass,
23 were cast in his own foundries at Lahore, and with
24 them the Sikhs made excellent practice. Later on,
25 Ranjit Singh took into his service a number of
26 foreign officers, some of them men of considerable
27 note, who had fought in the Napoleonic wars.
28 General Ventura, an Italian officer of distinction, held
29 for many years the command of the Fouj Khds, or
30 household troops, the most famous and efficient
31 brigade in the Khalsa army. The same officer held
32 the post of Governor of Lahore. General Allard, a
33 1 Travels in Kashmir and the Punjab, by Baron Hiigel, p. 331.