'Assemblage of Ghoorkas', 1815

Coloured etched aquatint by Robert Havell and Son after James Baillie Fraser. Published by Rodwell and Martin, 1 March 1820.

James Baillie Fraser (1783-1856) travelled through Nepal and the Himalayas in 1815. He described the Gurkha people in his journal: 'Their soldiers are stout, thick, well built men, in general; very active and strong for their size. They understand the use of the 'tulwar,' or sabre, and prefer close fighting, giving an onset with a loud shout: each man wears, besides his sword, a crooked, long, heavy knife, called 'cookree,' [kukri] which may be used in war, but is also of the greatest use in all common operations, when a knife or a hatchet is needed.'