(As has been said), the front of our centre was bare tnrough our van's being left to the right. The enemy attacked us front and rear, raining in arrows on us. (Ayub Begchik's) Mughiil army, come for our help! was of no use in fighting; it set to work forthwith to unhorse and plunder our men. Not this once only! This is always the way with those ill-omened Mughuls! If they win, they grab at booty; if they lose, they unhorse and pilfer their own side! We drove back the Auzbegs who attacked our front by several vigorous assaults, but those who had wheeled to our rear came up and rained arrows on our standard. Falling on us in this way, from the front and from the rear, they made our men hurry oif.
This same turning-movement is one of the great merits of Auzbeg fighting; no battle of theirs is ever without it. Another merit of theirs is that they all, begs and retainers, from their front to their rear, ride, loose-rein at the gallop, shouting as they come and, in retiring, do not scatter but ride off, at the gallop, in a body.
Ten or fifteen men were left with me. The Kohik-water was close by, the point of our right had rested on it. We made straight for it. It was the season when it comes down in flood. We rode right into it, man and horse in mail. It was just fordable for half-way over; after that it had to be swum. For more than an arrow's flight1 we, man and mount in mail! made our horses swim and so got across. Once out of the water, we cut off the horse-armour and let it lie. By thus passing to the north bank of the river, we were free of our foes, but at once Mughiil wretches were the captors and pillagers of one after another of my friends. Ibrahim Tarkhan and some others, excellent braves all, were unhorsed and killed by Mughuls.2 We moved along the north bank of the Kohik-river,
1 In 1791 ad. Mub. Efiendi shot 482 yards from a Turkish bow, before the R. Tox. S. ; not a good shot, he declared. Longer ones are on record. See Payne-Gallwey's Cross-bow and AQR. 1911. H. Beveridge's Oriental Cross-bows.
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3 In the margin of the Elph. Codex, here, stands a Persian verse which appears more likely to be Humayun's than Babur's. It is as follows :
Were the Mughiil race angels, they would be bad ; Written in gold, the name Mughiil would be bad ;
