The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1913-01-25
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aurochs or the bison by so much as a word AS
the authors of these classics were great sports
men and close observers, this would support the
theory that both these animals had already then
become quite extinct in western Europe.
In the sixteenth century, when Europe SO far
as art was concerned had at last been aroused
from its medieval stupor by the invention of
printing, and extraordinary demand had
sprung up for pictorial matter illustrating re-
cent exploration of new worlds and the various
forms Of the chase, there were produced quite
number Of pictures of the aurochs by artists,
very few Of whom had ever set eyes upon live
wild specimen though they may have seen cap
tive ones. The one artist Of whom we positively
know that he had before him at least a stuffed
specimen was the Viennese engraver Augustin
Hirschvogel (born in Nurnberg about 1909, who
illustrated the famous travel book Of Baron Her
berstein the authority most frequently quoted In
connection with the aurochs, for he was absolute
ly the last intelligent observer who saw the beast
In it's wild state and left pictorial records Of his
Impressions. Herberstein was gifted with pres
cient eyes, for he foresaw that the aurochs was
doomed to speedy extinction. Hence on his sew
eral expeditions to the unknown interior Of Rus
STA as the ambassador first Of Emperor Maxi
milan in 1868, then on many different occa-
sions as Charles VS. and Ferdinand's emissary,
he made notes about it. and, what was much more
important actually brought back with him some
skins and skulls, which he had mounted In his
house in Vienna and from which Hirschvogel
probably drew his celebrated picture Of the
aurochs To differentiate he drew next to 1t
picture Of bison. AS these two portraits
which have been published scores Of times, will
be familiar to all interested in this matter, we
will merely quote the inscriptions placed by Her
bernstein over the two pictures for 1t is a per-
fectly correct differentiation. The picture OF the
bison has the following: 81 am a Bison, am
called by the Poles Suber. by the Germans
Bisont or Damthier, and by the ignorant an
aurochs" Over the woodcut of the aurochs: 81
am an Urus which is called by the Poles Tur,
by the Germans an Aurochs and until now by
the ignorant Bison" The inscriptions in the
various acknowledgements volume appeared
in several languages-vary triiingly, but the
above which are taken from the edition of 1856
give the sense in the best form.
Shortly after Herberstein the Flemish painter
Stradanus who lived and worked for over fifty
years in Florence from 1853 to 1909. produced
a drawing of an aurochs engaged In a terrific
struggle in an arena where he was matched
against a on two wolves and a bear. This
original drawing is not the least interesting Of
the twenty odd ancient pictures of the aurochs
in the writer's collection. In 1873 the Antwerp
publisher Philip Gale published this and one
hundred and three other sporting drawings by
the Florentine master, and underneath each OF
the engravings there is Latin inscription The
one under the plate reproducing the drawing