Interesting topic, of which I know almost nothing.
I believe the word pandour simply means a watchman, guardsman - a civilian, entrusted with the protection of something. I suspect this might actually be a Turkish word, though I am not sure.
Obviously, with time it became the name for Slavic irregulars from the Western Balkans, who served the Austrian Empire, much like the Christian counterpart of the Ottoman bashi-bazouks. As far as I know bashi bazouks were not salaried and their only payment was what they could plunder, and I guess the situation of the pandours was not much different. Trenck's men might have actually been given a fixed payment, since one of the charges against him was that he collected salary for fictitous men, but based on their actions, it seems that their involvement was motivated by loot.
In the 2008 Auctions Imperial catalogue, lot #292 is a curious sidearm with a karabela hilt and a yataghan blade. In the description, Charles Buttin is quoted to state that this is a rare model, issued to Baron Von Trenck's pandours. Whether this is true I do not know, but I know of at least one specimen in Bulgaria.
When I was in Vienna last year, in the hall dedicated to the wars of Austrian Succession, there were a few hirschfangers labeled as "Pandourenmesser" or Pandour knives. I remember that one of them had an inscription at the base of the blade, saying "Vivat Pandur". The quality of the picture is poor, but nevertheless, here it is.
Regards,
Teodor
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