t was greatly valued by the Ameer. Even over Beg Bacha, the
turbulent and ferocious heir-apparent, Hadji Torah had acquired some
influence by his ready tact and _bonhomie_.

Of the two chief personages, Mahomed Khoja and Abdulla Pansad, the
priest and the soldier, who assisted Yakoob Beg, it is unfortunately
impossible to discover much, and that little has already been stated in
the preceding pages. There can be no doubt, however, that they were the
principal instruments in promoting the aggrandizement of Yakoob Beg, and
the two who enjoyed more than any other the confidence and friendship of
the man they had supported so faithfully. But of another well-tried
follower we know more, chiefly through the pages of Dr. Bellew. Mahomed
Yunus seems to have been the most educated and well informed among the
governors of Yakoob Beg. He had the reputation of being quite the
best-informed man in Kashgar, but as the _curriculum_ of instruction did
not include modern languages, it is difficult to guage the exact degree
of that reputation. He was an old and trusted follower of the Athalik
Ghazi, for when he was in the service of Khokand Mahomed Yunus
officiated as his scribe. He, however, as a civilian, took no part in
the expedition of Buzurg Khan, and it was not until after the death of
Alim Kuli and the success of Khudayar Khan that he joined his firm
friend and master in Kashgar. So high an opinion had Yakoob Beg of his
talents, and so pressed was he for skilled rulers, that Mahomed Yunus
was at once appointed Dadkwah of the recently conquered district of
Yarkand, the richest, the most populous, and the most turbulent of all
the governorships in Kashgaria. The skill with which he brought the
troublesome Yarkandis into complete submission to the new ruler, and the
rare ability he manifested in his administration of his province down
almost to the present time, justify the selection of his whilome comrade
in Khokand. At first it seems that the governor ruled with a high hand,
and that the slightest symptom of insubordination was checked by an
immediate arrest and a not long-delayed execution. During the last seven
years, however, his government had become milder, chiefly because all
evil-doers had been got rid of. Among some of the minor followers may be
mentioned Alish Beg, Dadkwah of Kashgar; Ihrar Khan Torah, the first
envoy despatched from Kashgar to India; and Mahomed Beg of Artosh: but
we have no sufficient information of them