Comanche (horse)

Comanche (* about 1862, † November 7, 1891 ) was a cavalry horse that survived the Battle of Little Big Horn and became famous.

Life

Comanche was believed to have been captured as a wild horse and has been neutered and is formed in a Remontenstation in St. Louis. He was sold for $ 90 to the Army and initially stationed at Fort Leavenworth. On 3 April 1868, he was assigned to the 7th Regiment, in the Ellis station had its location. There he met one on May 19 in 1868 and was soon selected out of Captain Myles Keogh, who rode him to the battle on 25 June 1876.

Battle of the Little Big Horn

Comanche was found again after the Battle of Little Big Horn was the only survivor, not captured by the Indians of the U.S. horse cavalry. He was hurt between the dead soldiers and their horses. After being nursed back to health, which lasted a year, he became a crowd favorite: Falsely he was often viewed as General George A. Custer's horse, and as the only survivor of the whole battle. Comanche was shown to the public during parades and other events in the U.S. and released as a mascot of his unit from all other duties.

Preparation

About 15 years after the battle Comanche died at Fort Riley colic. It was decided to let him stuff from the best available taxidermist, Lewis Lindsay Dyche, and transported for this purpose the remains of the horse to the Natural History Museum the University of Kansas. After the preparation was completed, but the interest of the officers at Fort Riley on the animal was apparently extinguished. Dyche made ​​the military the offer, paying 400 dollars for his services to adopt, under the condition that the University may retain Comanche and exhibit. Therefore Comanche remained in the museum and in 1893 transported to Chicago to be shown there on the World's Columbian Exposition. Until the 1970s there was a hint that he was the only survivor of the battle, at the exhibit.

2005 Comanche, after nothing had been changed to the exhibit and the exhibition space in which it was located since the 1950s, moved to a new showroom. There followed a meticulous restoration action, inter alia, torn seams, destroyed skin and other blemishes were improved.