370 The Hunting Grounds 



Danube, after he had been disabled by several severe 

 wounds, and abandoned by his comrades, which 

 service he amply repaid afterwards, when I, in my 

 turn, was laid on my back, by his constant attention 

 and unwearied care for my wants. 



The fourth, Mahomed, was an Arab, or rather, a 

 Khabyle by birth, who had fought with the Emir 

 Abdel-Kader against the French, and, having been 

 obliged to fly his country, had entered the corps of 

 Bashi-Bazouks, from whence I took him to look after 

 my horses, he being a first-rate groom. 



The fifth, Sied Cassim, was a Hindoostanee from 

 Northern India, who, being of a roving disposition, 

 had turned " Fakeer," or dervish ; and, after having 

 performed the "Hadj," or pilgrimage to Mecca, had 

 wandered all over Asia Minor and Persia, and at last 

 enrolled himself in the ranks of the Bashi-Bazouks. 

 He was a trustworthy fellow, and, being a good scholar 

 in Persian, Hindoostanee, Arabic, and Turkish, used 

 to act as paymaster, or rather as the divider of the 

 spoils, and keep the accounts, from which he usually 

 went by the name of the " Vakeel," or secretary. 

 He claimed also to be a descendant of the prophet, 

 and always wore the significant badge, a green 

 turban. 



Our guide, Abdulla, was likewise a Hindoostanee 

 by birth, but had left his country when a child with 

 an Arab cloth-merchant, who had sold him to the 



