148 MOHAMMAD TAGHLAK AND FIROZ SHAH self and his army while elephant-hunting in Padma- vati, in the wild of Jajnagar, and only after great pri- vations and much difficulty found his way back to Delhi, where no news had been received of him for six months. He had been away two years and a half. A later expedition to conquer Thatta, which Tagh- lak had failed to subdue, occupied about the same length LOW -CASTE BENGALIS. of time. With ninety thousand horse and 480 elephants Firoz marched to Bhakkar. Part of the force descended the Indus in five thousand boats, the rest marching along the bank. Famine and pestilence reduced the horses, and after a battle with the Samma Jam, or ruler of Sind, who had a large army and had never owned an overlord, the Sultan made a strategic retreat towards Gujarat, pursued by the enemy, who captured his boats. On the retreat all the horses died; treach-
