A Deadhead named Charles Massie found Fennario — a farm in Albemarle County, Virginia. Keep exploring, Frontier Partisans…
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Brian and Brent Call of the GRITTY podcast have embarked on a multi-episode read-along of Robert Morgan’s biography of Daniel Boone. The GRITTY podcast is a hunting and outdoors program, with a focus on building resilience. Boone makes a good subject for a sidetrail, given that his life is a litany of struggles that demanded physical, psychological and spiritual resilience to a degree most modern people can’t fathom, much less emulate.
We talk hunting. We talk the outdoors. We talk conservation, family, and the grit of real life. We talk fitness—and the kind of strength that matters. Strength of body, mind, and character.
The brothers have no prior expertise in this area of history — and that’s a good thing. They are discovering this fundamental Frontier Partisans story through their life as woodsmen, through reading a solid biography, and sharing it with a sizable audience that probably knows almost nothing about Boone themselves. Hats off to ’em.
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During the 17th Century, there was no wilder frontier anywhere than the borderlands between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Muscovy, and the Ottoman Empire.
This was the heyday of the Zaporozhian Cossacks. A wild bunch, those Cossacks. They were masters of both maritime raiding and light cavalry operations. Their freedom was their most important value, and they bent the knee to no one. When the Ottoman Sultan demanded that they stop raiding his empire and submit to his authority, it drew a pungent reply, doubtless much fortified by a free flow of booze. It was a scene captured in an epic 19th Century painting by Ilya Repin. He actually painted the scene twice…
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Declaim the reply out loud. I mean out LOUD. I’ll bet you can’t make it through without cracking up.
Sultan Mehmed IV to the Zaporozhian Cossacks: As the Sultan; son of Muhammad; brother of the sun and moon; grandson and viceroy of God; ruler of the kingdoms of Macedonia, Babylon, Jerusalem, Upper and Lower Egypt; emperor of emperors; sovereign of sovereigns; extraordinary knight, never defeated; steadfast guardian of the tomb of Jesus Christ; trustee chosen by God Himself; the hope and comfort of Muslims; confounder and great defender of Christians – I command you, the Zaporogian Cossacks, to submit to me voluntarily and without any resistance, and to desist from troubling me with your attacks.
— Turkish Sultan Mehmed IV
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Zaporozhian Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan!
O sultan, Turkish devil and damned devil’s kith and kin, secretary to Lucifer himself. What the devil kind of knight are thou, that canst not slay a hedgehog with your naked arse? The devil shits, and your army eats. Thou shalt not, thou son of a whore, make subjects of Christian sons; we have no fear of your army, by land and by sea we will battle with thee, fuck thy mother. Thou Babylonian scullion, Macedonian wheelwright, brewer of Jerusalem, goat-fucker of Alexandria, swineherd of Greater and Lesser Egypt, pig of Armenia, Podolian thief, catamite of Tartary, hangman of Kamyanets, and fool of all the world and underworld, an idiot before God, grandson of the Serpent, and the crick in our dick. Pig’s snout, mare’s arse, slaughterhouse cur, unchristened brow, screw thine own mother! So the Zaporozhians declare, you lowlife. You won’t even be herding pigs for the Christians. Now we’ll conclude, for we don’t know the date and don’t own a calendar; the moon’s in the sky, the year with the Lord, the day’s the same over here as it is over there; for this kiss our arse!
— Koshovyi otaman Ivan Sirko, with the whole Zaporozhian Host
Rezin’s scene was recreated in the 2009 film Taras Bulba.
Ivan Sirko was a Tier One badass, who participated in or led countless raids and larger-scale military operations against the Ottomans. He was a ruthless man. When he liberated some 7,000 Christian Rus captives in a 1675 campaign against the Crimean Tatars, he found that some 3,000 of them wanted to remain in Crimea, having acculturated, obtained property and in many cases converted to Islam. He had them all executed, saying:
Brothers, forgive me, but it is better that you should lie here awaiting the terrible judgment of God than go back to Crimea to help them [Tatars] increase in numbers and risk the eternal damnation of your souls.
The Ukrainian 92nd Separate Assault Brigade is named after him.
Ivan Sirko painted by Valerii Momot.
Andrew says
Looks like the only thing the Cossacks left out was a “I fart in your general direction!”.
JimC says
Hah! Well played.
Matthew says
Thinking of resilience. My mother is having severe medical problems. She was bed ridden in pain the past few weeks (though we finally found a pain medication that works) and she handled it a lot better than a lot of men. Which is to say my very traditional mother is tough as nails. (She’s finally on the mend.)
JimC says
Sorry to hear this Matthew. Seeing loved ones in pain ain’t easy.
Matthew says
It’s been a hard few weeks, but it makes appreciate how resilient people can be. I should point out what my mother has is not life threatening.
John M. says
The scribe in both of those paintings looks like a modern accountant (in business casual, no less!) partying with 17th century Hell’s Angels.
JimC says
Perfect.
Quixotic Mainer says
Now that’s a takedown note!
A bit ago, I had a friend bring a Cossack shaska for me to inspect as the resident edged weapon guy. The absence of a guard tells a lot about how they intended to wield it.
JimC says
Right?
Paul McNamee says
Absolute excellence!
JimC says
Thx Paul.
Ugly Hombre says
“O sultan, Turkish devil and damned devil’s kith and kin, secretary to Lucifer himself. What the devil kind of knight are thou, that canst not slay a hedgehog with your naked arse? ”
Damn!! that’s some wicked chit with 9th level poetic punch the whole damn rant. Don’t think I have ever seen better. They should make a rap “song” out of it lol.
Once had a job controlling access to some rooms people had to read and sign a form to get in. I had a fair size cheap reproduction of that painting above the sign in desk always liked the art and vibe of it. Sign ze papers.
One guy came in and said “You should give me that painting” wth why? “I am a Cossack”. lol So? you can buy it- “no you should give it to me”. Are you a real Cossack” “Yes”. He came back a few times tried to con me out of it.
That where I messed up I should have asked him what was the name of his horse where his saber was etc lol.. Hell I should have gave it to him.
I lost it a move later.
JimC says
Great story.