1823.—"In the Mahratta armies the prince is deemed the Sirdar or Commander; next to him is the Bukshee or Paymaster, who is vested with the principal charge and responsibility, and is considered accountable for all military expenses and disbursements."—Malcolm, Central India, i. 534.
1827.—"Doubt it not—the soldiers of the Beegum Mootee Mahul ... are less hers than mine. I am myself the Bukshee ... and her Sirdars are at my devotion."—Walter Scott, The Surgeon's Daughter, ch. xii.
1861.—"To the best of my memory he was accused of having done his best to urge the people of Dhar to rise against our Government, and several of the witnesses deposed to this effect; amongst them the Bukshi."—Memo. on Dhar, by Major McMullen.
1874.—"Before the depositions were taken down, the gomasta of the planter drew aside the Bakshí, who is a police-officer next to the darogá."—Govinda Samanta, ii. 235.
BUXERRY, s. A matchlock man; apparently used in much the same sense as [Burkundauze] (q.v.) now obsolete. We have not found this term excepting in documents pertaining to the middle decades of 18th century in Bengal; [but see references supplied by Mr. Irvine below;] nor have we found any satisfactory etymology. Buxo is in Port. a gun-barrel (Germ. Buchse); which suggests some possible word buxeiro. There is however none such in Bluteau, who has, on the other hand, "Butgeros, an Indian term, artillery-men, &c.," and quotes from Hist. Orient. iii. 7: "Butgeri sunt hi qui quinque tormentis praeficiuntur." This does not throw much light. Bajjar, 'thunderbolt,' may have given vogue to a word in analogy to P. barḳandāz, 'lightning-darter,' but we find no such word. As an additional conjecture, however, we may suggest Baksāris, from the possible circumstance that such men were recruited in the country about Baksār (Buxar), i.e. the Shāhābād district, which up to 1857 was a great recruiting ground for sepoys. [There can be no doubt that this last suggestion gives the correct origin of the word. Buchanan Hamilton, Eastern India, i. 471, describes the large number of men who joined the native army from this part of the country.]
[1690.—The Mogul army was divided into three classes—Suwārān, or mounted men; Topkhānah, artillery; Aḥshām, infantry and artificers.
["Aḥshām—Bandūqchī-i-jangī—Baksariyah wa Bundelah Aḥshām, i.e. regular matchlock-men, Baksariyahs and Bundelahs."—Dastūr-ul-'amal, written about 1690-1; B. Museum MS., No. 1641, fol. 58b.]
1748.—"Ordered the Zemindars to send Buxerries to clear the boats and bring them up as Prisoners."—Ft. William Cons., April, in Long, p. 6.
" "We received a letter from ... Council at Cossimbazar ... advising of their having sent Ensign McKion with all the Military that were able to travel, 150 buxerries, 4 field pieces, and a large quantity of ammunition to Cutway."—Ibid. p. 1.
1749.—"Having frequent reports of several straggling parties of this banditti plundering about this place, we on the 2d November ordered the Zemindars to entertain one hundred buxeries and fifty pike-men over and above what were then in pay for the protection of the outskirts of your Honor's town."—Letter to Court, Jan. 13, Ibid. p. 21.