Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 9.5.2

9.5.2

so various are the opinions on this point. I may venture, however, to state generally that in this march there are at least one hundred thousand horsemen, and more than one hundred and fifty thousand animals, comprising horses, mules, and elephants; that besides these, there cannot be much less than fifty thousand camels, and nearly as many oxen or horses employed to carry the wives and children, the grain and other provisions belonging to the poor people connected with the bazars, who when they travel take with them, like our gipsies, the whole of their families, goods, and chattels. The servants in the army must be indeed numerous, since nothing is done without their assistance. I rank only with a two-horse cavalier, and yet I cannot possibly contrive with less than three men. Many are of opinion that the camp contains between three and four hundred thousand persons; some believe this estimate to be too small, while others consider it rather exaggerated. Accurately to determine the question, the people should be numbered. All I can confidently assert is that the multitude is prodigious and almost incredible. The whole population of Dehli, the capital city, is in fact collected in the camp, because deriving its employment and maintenance from the court and army, it has no alternative but to follow them in their march or to perish from want during their absence.