This article may conclude with one or two extracts to give an idea
of the way in which the Maratha soldiery took the field. Grant Duff
describes the troopers as follows:
"The Maratha horsemen are commonly dressed in a pair of light breeches
covering the knee, a turban which many of them fasten by passing a
fold of it under the chin, a frock of quilted cotton, and a cloth
round the waist, with which they generally gird on their swords in
preference to securing them with their belts. The horseman is armed
with a sword and shield; a proportion in each body carry matchlocks,
but the great national weapon is the spear, in the use of which and
the management of their horse they evince both grace and dexterity. The
spearmen have generally a sword, and sometimes a shield; but the latter
is unwieldy and only carried in case the spear should be broken. The
trained spearmen may always be known by their riding very long, the
ball of the toe touching the stirrup; some of the matchlockmen and
most of the Brahmans ride very short and ungracefully. The bridle
consists of a single headstall of cotton-rope, with a small but very
severe flexible bit"