The number of elephants and camels with the two armies, is not stated. Elphinstone says, "that the force ascribed to the Indian kings is probably exaggerated. Porus, one of the princes who occupied the Punjaub, is said to have had 200 elephants, 300 chariots, 4,000 horse, and 30,000 efficient infantry, which, as observed by Sir Alexander Burnes, is, substituting guns for chariots--exactly the establishment of Runjeet Singh, who is master of the whole Punjaub, and several other territories." Burnes must have referred to the year 1831, when he was in the Punjaub; in 1848 Runjeet Singh's force was supposed to be 50,000 men, besides irregulars for garrisons. Neither Polybius nor Arrian's history of Alexander's expedition, mentions the number of elephants or cattle with any of the armies. Humboldt in his "Cosmos"[54] writes: "According to the testimony of Polybius, when African and Indian elephants were opposed to each other in fields of battle, the sight, smell, and cries of the larger and stronger Indian elephants drove the African ones to flight. The latter were probably never employed as war elephants in such large numbers as in Asiatic expeditions, when Chundragupta had assembled 9,000, the powerful King of the Prasii 6,000, and Akbar an equally large number. These armies must have been much larger than those engaged at the battle of Paniput in 1761." We read that the elephants were placed in the front of the army, and that they often turned back and killed more friends than foes. Now 9,000 elephants in a single line, allowing each to take up 12 feet would reach 20 miles, and 6,000 elephants would extend 13 miles and 1,120 yards. It is said there were 50,000 camels with the army of the Indus[55] in 1838 and 1839. It may be interesting to the reader, to see the following statement of the native armies in the time of Akbar, in 1582, as given in the Ayeen Akbaree, by Abul Fazel, Prime Minister:-- Province of Cavalry. Infantry. Elephants. Boats. Agra 50,600 477,570 221 - Allahabad 11,375 237,870 323 - Bahar 11,415 149,350 - 100 Delhi 18,275 125,400 - - Oude 1,340 31,900 - 23 Ajmere 8,000 38,000 - - Bengal 1,100 142,920 1,100 - -------- ---------- ------ ---- Total 102,105 1,203,010 1,644 123 Thus we find that the cavalry and infantry in the seven Soobahs of Agra, Ajmere, Allahabad, Bahar, Bengal, Delhi, and Oude amounted to 1,305,115; and if to these we add two others, viz., Lahore and Mooltan, the number of men will be increased to 1,965,116, or of cavalry alone, to 170,370, for Province of Cavalry. Infantry. Lahore 54,480 426,086 Mooltan 13,785 165,650 ------ -------- Total 68,265 591,736