Buffalo wolf - the loafer of the Great Plains

 Salvete Omnes,

back to the Great Plains before the settlement by the European-American settlers, when with the millions of bison and antelopes two kinds of wolves roamed the plains - the coyote and the buffalo [often white or black] wolf (Canis lupus nubilus). Plains Indians, both in the pre-horse and post-horse period,  used the entire hides of these large wolves (more than 4 feet without a tail) to approach as close as possible the grazing bison herd and to hunt that grazing bison with a bow and arrow.  The native scouts on warpath used these pelts to camouflage themselves and to show their special status within a raiding band, including wearing eagle feathers attached at the head of the pelt. 

wolves hunting a bull

American traveler and artist, George Catlin, recorded the wolves in their natural environment, and even used wolf pelt as a disguise to approach and to observe and  sketch bison herds.

Wolf pelt camouflaged native hunters, with bows and arrows, creep up to a grazing herd in order to hunt the beasts up and dangerously close, risking being trampled or gored to death by the bulls 

Catlin and his native companion approaching the buffalo herd

Upper Missouri Bluffs, with a pair of white wolves

wolves attacking a bull

..

the description of the  wolf of the Great Plains (1819-20) -

a rather gruesome photo (by John Grabill) of a band of Wyoming cowboys with a captured-with-lasso wolf 

these wolves were hunted to almost extinction in the Great Plains, most often with poison, but they survived in the north-est, in Minnesota, in the Canadian Prairies and so on.

Hence, they are surviving in Montana and perhaps Colorado - here some photos of the  actual wolves 

and its southern cousin, the Mexican wolf

enjoy

Valete

Chincoteague pony and Caribbean Colonial horse DNA

 Salvete Omnes,

a short entry - links really - but worth exploring I am certain of it. 

some 3 years ago they published this article -  link - Analysis of the earliest complete mtDNA genome of a Caribbean colonial horse (Equus caballus) from 16th-century Haiti, Nicolas Delsol et la. 

Chincoteague Pony came up in this research, as well as the Spanish Andalucia and even Central Asia. 

You can always read the famous American novel - The Misty of Chincoteague. 

especially the one illustrated by Wesley Dennis.

more ponies

enjoy

Valete

American Voyage to Buenos Aires, 1817-8 - gauchos, torros and Indians

 Salvete Omnes,

Gauchos, Malaspina expedition, Renet pinxit

a quick lope to Buenos Aires - H.M. Breckenridge was sent to Buenos Aires in 1817 (via the Portuguese colony of Brasil) - his observations were published in London, in 1820. 

Author made many quick observations  while visiting the capital, Buenos Aires - 

the pampas nomadic Indians:

the people of Buenos Aires

the 'estancias - large  ranchos- 

ox wagons and horse-mounted sellers of fruit and milk

the bull fights

.

gauchos and horses/criollos 

Valete

Horse soldiers of Duchy of Warsaw - prints circa 1831AD

 Salvete Omnes,

a quick entry - Dog days of the summer - 

ad rem, one of my favorite periods in Polish uniform history is the Duchy of Warsaw: 1806-1815AD , during the Napoleonic Wars.

Poniatowski and his staff in Krakow's Sukiennice 1809, Stachowicz pinxit

Stachowicz, Michał (1768-1825) conceived the idea and drawings while a German engraver Sebastian Langer (1772-1841) executed the prints for a publication in Krakow (then a so called Free City of Krakow) in 1831.

.

.

.

Valete

Prof. Gosciwit Malinowski - Scytowie DNA

 Salvete Omnes,

 [in Polish]

 

od pewnego juz czasu slucham podcastow na Yt profesora Gosciwita Malinowskiego - Interpretacja. Goraco polecam odwiedzanie strony na Yt gdzie profesor analizuje artykuly naukowe i ocenia, wyjasnia i tluamczy.

ad rem, dwa tygodnie temu napisalem post o artykule na temat DNA Scytow. 

 

Profesor opublikwoal podcast pt Scytowie i ich aDNA: pochodzenie, migracje, system społeczny,fenotyp, choroby genetyczne.

 Szczegolnie polecam cala ta audycje - bo jest dobra, choc moze temat Scithia Minor w Dobrudzy (218pne-167/110pne) w delcie Dunaju moglby profesor zglebic nieco dokladniej..

 

milego sluchania

Valete 

Battle of Warsaw 1656 - Commonwealth army

 Salvete Omnes,

continuing with the battle of Warsaw Ad 1656

Polish National Library has a digitized set of prints showing the 3 day battle of Warsaw 1656.

Each print is titled separately - Beschreibung der Bataille, wie sie vor Warschau gestanden den 28/18 July Anno  1656, nachmittag: Welches wahr der Erste Tag [ Franckfurt au Mayn, Durch weyl. Matthai Merians seel. Erben 1663]

So on the eve of battle  the Polish Commonwealth army concentrated at Warsaw's Right Bank by  His Royal Majesty Jan II Kazimierz  Waza (Vasa) (king of Crown of Poland and grand duke of Lithuanian realm and all the vassals) and his commanders was as follows:

Polish historians, based on primary sources, estimate that there were circa 40 thousand men in the Commonwealth camps. (Majewski, 2012) 

---Polish Comput(regular)  Crown army: 
16,500-17,000 horse - Polish regular horse banners were divided into 17 so called 'pulk jazdy' commands.

the royal pulk - commanded by castellan of Kijow Czarniecki

the pulk of grand hetman Stanislaw Rewera Potocki

the pulk of field hetman Stanislaw Lanckoronski

the pulk of voivode of Sandomierz Aleksander Koniecpolski

the pulk of castellan of Sandomierz Stanislaw Witowski

the pulk of field scribe/notary (notarius campestris) Jan Sapieha

the pulk of vice-cupbearer Jan Zamoyski

the pulk of Crown guardian Aleksander Zamoyski

the pulk of Crown standard-bearer Jan Sobieski

the pulk of camp master - (praefectus currum or campestris) Andrzej Potocki

the pulk of Crown guardian (praefectus excubiarum seu vigiliarum)   Mariusz Jaskolski

the pulk of prince Dimitr Wisniowiecki

the pulk of starost of Bohuslaw Jacek Szemberk

the pulk of starost of Braclaw Seweryn Mikolaj Kalinski

the pulk of Jerzy Balaban

Lubomirski division marched away, so these above listed 'pulks' had 137 banners or 14-15,000 horsemen of the so called national 'autorament.' 

Plus the so called foreign autorament cavalry
The regiment of dragoon guard commanded by Jan Hernryk von Aten-Bockum and a squadron of royal reiters had 1070 horses.Several dragoon  companies, 500-700 horses.

-- 4,500 portions of Crown infantry 

Royal guard infantry commanded by major Wiljelm Butler - 963 portions

Major of artillery Krzysztof Grodzicki infatry regiment - 734 portions

Colonel Ernst Magnus Grotthauz - 997 portions

Voivode of Sandomierz Jan Zamoyski infatry regiment - 1168 portions

plus small various infantry companies of haiduk type infantry attached to the king and various Crown dignitaries. 

---Ducal, Lithuanian, army was estimated to circa 5,000-7,500 men - actually commanded by the ducal field scribe Aleksander Hilary Polubinski. - this division included two winged hussar banners (royal one and Lithuanian grand hetman Sapieha's one), plus another winged hussar banner within prince Michal Kazimierz Radziwill sub-command. More Lithuanian units were away from the battle .i,e., Gosiewski division and Lithuanian grand hetman Sapieha division.

The National Crown levy was estimated at 10,000-13,000 men, representing noblemen from the following voivodeships; Masovina, Greater Poland, Sieradz, Leczyca, some from Sandomierz, Lubin, Podlaskie, Ruskie, Wolynskie and Belzkie.

Crimean Tatar contingent commanded by Ghazi-aga- 2,000 (2-3 horses per a Tatar warrior ) up to 6,000*

'Holota' -volunteer peasant and servants bands - several thousand men (and presumably women, as many of them were massacred in their camps by the Swedes and Prussians during the retreat of the Polish army on the third day of battle)

*it is nopted that the Crimean and Nogai Tatars and Ottoman Turks counted both men and horses (and camels & mules) when giving the numbers of their army strength.

Valete