Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1913-01-24
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| E.a Il....J the not always limpd depths of
early medieval history For the
event which has probably more to
do than any other with the PRONUNCIATION of this
error was the famous hunt given by Charlemagne
to the ambassadors of Haroun-al-Rashid IN the
dank Hercyian woods that surrounded his hunt
ing lodge Herstallum According to the original
account by the monk Eginhard of st. Gall, the
aurochs were of such terror-instilling appearance
to the men from the east that they could not
even bear the sight of them, and fed from the
emperor's side. The latter, attacked by the ferc-
est of these monsters, missed the vital spot,
with the result that before brave Isambart could
slay it the emperor slightly wounded in the
thigh and had his neither garment torn into
shreds Rushing to his side the assembled cour-
tiers offered to divert themselves of their
hose but the emperor laughingly rejected their
offers, declaring that he intended to show him
self in his sorry plight to the fair Hildegarde.
who great huntress herself. Needless to
say, this adventure proved medieval scoop"
of the gaudiest kind, but in the course of
numbered retellings the aurochs became a wi
sent as was called the European bison and since
that time perplexing confusion has reigned be-
tween these two animals. That the true aurochs.
which became extinct three hundred years ago,
entirely different animal from the bison,
whose name, alas! is also on the list of animals
about to share the auroch's fate. is fact
known to all scientific men, To the writer the
poor old bisoH's pathetic fate appeals par
ticularly, for when shooting in the Rockies in
the seventies of last century he still them In
herds of ten thousand But the men who
claim to have the marvellous sight
will before long follow these lordly inhabitants
of the wilds to the happy hunting grounds the
study of the past history of these two species
has for some people unusual attractions And
not the least interesting phase of 1t is the col
lecting of pictures made at time when both
beasts were still roaming the wastes OF
the EARTH" or had but recently disappeared.
or the earliest of all pictures of what prob
ably meant to be the bson interesting arti-
Gle which recently appeared in illustrated week
ly. in which the roof pictures in the Altamra
Cave were reproduced. gave one a capital idea
After gap of untold centuries reach the
various pictorial records left to us by the CHS
els. gravers brushes of the classic ages.
Among those who have made important discov-
cries respecting the distribution of the aurochs.
Professor Conrad Keller the well-known Zurich
zoologst, occupies prominent place His dis
coveries in the ruins Of the ancient palace OF
King Minos in Crete of no fewer than sixteen
horn-cores and one skull OF what unquestonaby
was the original wild of Europe aurochs
show that 1t lived there at one period, and that
the famous legend Of the mnotaur has sub
stratum of truth. From his pages we borrow an
illustration of an important fresco in Knossos de-
picting an aurochs in the act of impaling a help
Restocking victim, while bold bull-fghter is
actually turning somersault over the back of
the beast. third, possibly female lookeron at
tempting to seize the bulls tall the scene being
probably enacted in an arena. 1t is possible that
the Theseus story came from the slaughter OF
captives in such exhibitions Several other pic
lures have been recently discovered which be-
long to the Minos period. t. e., between 1000 and
1900 b. C. Professor Keller's highly Instructive
writings contain many other illustrations OF Bos
primifenius.
Skipping tens OF centuries we reach the Bes-
tiaries, the most ancient Of which originated In
the period we touched at the outset when speak
ing OF Charlemagne's aurochs-hunt These ex-
ceedingly primitive pictorial records do not add
much to our information; "the choice hurts one ;
as Germans describe that state OF uncertainty In
regard to what the monastic artists meant to
represent by their crude attempts. Skipping a
few more centuries. we at last reach. in the be-
ginning Of the fifteenth century, fairly intelligent
accounts of the animals habitat, and are fur
nlshed with drawings presenting features suff1
ciently distinct to Indicate even to eyes accus
toned to Photographic accuracy the identity o
the animal the picture means to represent.
Very curious is the circumstance to which
by the way, nobody has so far drawn attention
that none Of the French sporting books of the
fourteenth and fifteenth censnries. such "Ro,
Modus.p Castor Phoebus.r "Gace de la Buigne'
and Fontaines -Guerin" mentions either thu