AMEEK KHAN. 137 



General, wlio was delighted with the chivalric 

 feelmg that had prompted the above striking- 

 ly interesting scene. But now I must give 

 you a slight sketch of the history of Ameer 

 Khan, for it furnishes an extraordinary in- 

 stance of a chief, with neither territory nor 

 population under his acknowledged dominion, 

 being able to bring a large force into the field ; 

 but such is the fact, and as long as a native 

 Indian army is able to carry on offensive opera- 

 tions under a leader of mark, recruits will flock 

 to his standard from all quarters. In fact, the 

 character of the war in which a native power 

 is engaged, is perhaps of as much importance 

 as its revenue, population, or territorial extent. 

 Ameer Khan was at first a mere military ad- 

 venturer, but possessing a daring spirit, and 

 being little scrupulous as to the means so that 

 his end was attained, he eventually raised himself 

 to sovereign power. In 1809-10 that power 

 was at its zenith. He commanded above thirty 

 thousand horse, though many of them were 

 mere Pindarics. His connection with the other 

 great Pathan leader, Mahomed Shah Khan, who 

 maintained an army on the resources of the 

 Joudhpoor state, further placed at his disposal 



