Scalp (currency)

“ A scalping-knife is oftentimes no more than a rudely formed butcher’s [56] knife, with one edge, and the Indians wear them in beautiful scabbards under their belts.
Austin. How does an Indian scalp his enemy?
Hunter. The hair on the crown of the head is seized with the left hand; the knife makes a circle round it through the skin, and then the hair and skin together, sometimes with the hand, and sometimes with the teeth, are forcibly torn off! The scalp may be, perhaps, as broad as my hand.
Brian. Terrible! Scalping would be sure to kill a man, I suppose. ”

“ The scalp you are to make is without a patent 168parting, but with a crown either of silk or skin. If any parting is to be made on this scalp, it should not be clearly defined, but whether it be formed with weft or “knotted,” the hair ought to be set closer than it is elsewhere. This, however, will be alluded to later on. Should a rather narrow scalp be all that is required, and the wearer’s hair thick enough, a parting could well be made upon the head, some of the natural hair being trained to comb over and allowed to mingle with the hair of the scalp. ”

“ When an American Indian slays an enemy, he removes the scalp as a proof of his victory. The scalp is a piece of skin, with the hair attached to it, taken from the very crown of the head, so as to exhibit that portion of the skin where the hair radiates from a centre. ”

“ A short time after painting the hairs of the head black, a fashion now more common in France than at the period in which they powdered them, there is often experienced pains in the head and a swelling of the hairy scalp, though the skin has been in no way concerned, has not been pulled, and the hair only has been affected. ”

“ Scalping is an art, and the manner in which it is done, depends wholly upon the circumstances of the occasion. A complete and perfect scalp embraces the whole hair of the head, with a margin of skin all round it about two and a half inches in width, including both ears with all their ornaments. ”

“ Scald Head is totally unlike the preceding disease: brown-colored scabs appear on the crown of the head, which discharge a glutinous matter, and unite the hairs, so as to prevent their being separated with a comb: these scabs continue to spread until they occupy the whole of the scalp. ”

“ The erroneous idea prevails, that the skin which holds the hair follicles and the delicate secretory organs of the scalp must be kept as 'clean,' so to speak, as the face or hands; consequently young men patronize barbers or hairdressers, and once or twice a week they have what is called a 'shampoo' operation performed. This consists in a thorough scouring of the hair and scalp with dilute ammonia, water, and soap, so that a heavy 'lather' is produced, and the glandular secretions, which are the natural protection of the hair, and promotive of its growth, are saponified and removed. ”

“ I went to Tacoma and bought myself a new scalp, and it cost me a roll of good dollars. It doesn’t matter; the new hair is more convenient than the old, especially on a warm day, for I never could hang my own wig up like that. ”

“ However, most men do object to baldness, which can be prevented in nearly every case. To produce hair on a polished pate is a different proposition. It is indeed difficult. If you will look at a picture of the circulation of the blood in the scalp, you will notice that the arteries supplying it come from above the eye sockets in front, from before and behind the ears on the sides, and from the nape of the neck in the rear. They spread out and become smaller and smaller as they travel toward the top of the head, and especially toward the back. ”

“ He divided his property into two equal portions, one of which is to be given to the man who recovers his scalp from the Indians. The other half is to be his daughter’s, on condition she marries the man who recovers his scalp. ”

“ If you watch a groom brushing and currying the coat of a thoroughbred horse, you will get a fair idea of hew you ought to treat your own scalp at least twice a day, night and morning.
If this currying of the hair be thoroughly done, and the head washed with soap and hot water about once a week for short hair and twice a month for long hair, most of the dangers of dandruff and of other infections of the scalp will be avoided. One thing to be remembered is, don't brush too hard or too deep. There is an old saying and a good one, "You can't brush the scalp too little, or the hair too much." ”

“ The chief treatment is by prophylaxis, or using preventive measures to insure the healthy condition of the scalp. And first and most important of these is cleanliness. Because of the great length of time which it takes to dry long, thick hair, many women do not wash the scalp often enough. In the healthy state of the scalp it should be washed at least once a month. ”

“ The scalp is the region most frequently the seat of the disease, but other hairy parts, especially the face in the male, are often invaded, and even the whole surface may be involved. Occurring upon the scalp, one or several patches may be present, which are usually rounded and circumscribed. The hair may fall out suddenly without any previous signs of weakening, the individual awaking in the morning to discover an area of partial or complete baldness on the scalp ”

“ Men go on war-path and hide near where Sioux get their water. Two women come to spring and as they run away one is seized, and scalp taken from side of her head. Men hurry back, and when they come to timber, leader takes fat from scalp and divides it into five pieces, which he places in four directions with one in center, first on his hand and then on the ground, to show that scalp is offered to gods. Scalp ceremony used when they get home. Fire-sticks are used to burn scalp. ”

“ Brandishing the scalp in one hand and the knife in the other, the exultant conqueror utters the terrible “scalping yell,” which even when given in a mock battle seems as if it were uttered by a demon rather than a man.
The scalped man is always supposed to be dead or dying, and, as the scalp is always accepted as a proof of death, the native warrior would never scalp a man whom he thought likely to recover. ”

“ The scalp is well supplied with blood, but it is not given much exercise. The tendency is for the blood stream to become sluggish, deposits gradually forming in the walls of the blood-vessels, which make them less elastic and decrease the size of the lumen. The result is less food for the hair roots and food of inferior quality. ”

“ Finally the “green scalp,” after being dried and mounted, is consecrated by the solemn dance, and becomes then fit for public exhibition. Some tribes attach it to a long pole used as a standard, and others to their horses’ bridles, others to their targes, while others ornament with its fringes the outer seams of their leggins; in fact, its uses are many. The more scalps the more honor; the young man who can not boast of a single murder or show the coveted trophy is held in such scant esteem as the English gentleman who contents himself with being passing rich on a hundred pounds a year. ”

“ For I can't help feeling that a younger man—myself, for example, twenty years ago—would have been into it before you could say scalpel, snatching his joy as one of your own parr will take a Wickham on a clear pool before the half-pounder beside him has even decided to inspect it. And if I have not done this, if I have learned the better way, the art of lingering, the value of the "bouquet," [Pg 10] well, there's a rather forlorn piece of scalp in the opposite looking-glass to tell me the reason why. ”

“ It is usually met with upon the scalp, but it may occur upon any part of the integument. Occasionally the nails are invaded. It is seen at all ages, but is much more common in children.
Describe the symptoms of favus of the scalp.
The disease begins as a superficial inflammation or hyperæmic spot, more or less circumscribed, slightly scaly, and which is soon followed by the formation of yellowish points about the hair follicles, surrounding the hair shaft. ”

“ The bristles of the brush must be stiff enough to warm, but not to scratch, the scalp. Brushing and massage remove any loose hairs that are ready to fall, but they will soon be replaced by new vigorous ones.
Combing simply disentangles the hair. The teeth of the comb must be far apart and have rounded ends. In no case should a fine-toothed comb be used. It tears out the hair, and often causes an irritation of the scalp which leads to disease. ”

“ The practice of scalping is not now universal, even among the tribes least influenced by civilization, if it ever was, and therefore the cultivation of the scalp-lock separated from the rest of the hair of the head, or with the removal of all other hair, is not a general feature of their appearance. The arrangement of the hair is so different among tribes as to be one of the most convenient modes for their pictorial distinction. ”

“ These "soft spots" should not be depressed neither should they bulge. The head is usually covered with a growth of soft, silky hair which will soon drop out, to be replaced, however, by a crop of coarser hair in due season. The scalp should always be perfectly smooth. ”

“ More than two million Americans-men, women, and especially children-suffer from a disorder known as alopecia Areata. It is a serious disorder of unknown origin that usually produces small, coin-shaped patches of hair loss on the scalp. ”

“ The want of cleanliness of the barbers, and the custom of using public combs and brushes at hotels, clubs and entertainments accounts for nine tenths of the baldness in the world. Barbers’ brushes bear the germs of baldness and badness from scalp to scalp, and their infected fingers rub it in. ”

“ Excessive anxiety or grief, and intense study and thoughtfulness, also tend to promote the early decay of the hair. The natural baldness of the aged, and frequently the premature baldness of earlier years, arises from the gradual attenuation of the scalp, which ultimately becomes too thin to afford room for the performance of the functions of the hair-producing organs, and too scantily supplied with blood for their due nutrition and support. ”

“ Smash eggs and break up 'e nest. Dat what he whisper, day and night, for twenty winters. Whisper so much, was force to b'lieve him. Bad to have too much whisper of same t'ing in ear. Den I want scalp. Couldn't have too much scalp. Took much scalp. All pale-face scalp. Heart grow hard. Great pleasure was to kill pale-face. Dat feeling last, Blossom, till I see you. Feel like fader to you, and don't want your scalp. Won'er great deal why I feel so, but do feel so. Dat my natur'. Still want all udder pale-face scalp. Want Bourdon scalp, much as any. ”

“ The roots of the hair are embedded in the hair follicles, and cannot be reached by any fluids applied to the scalp. Not only is the use of hair-dyes to be deprecated as an exhibition of poor taste, which happily is going out of fashion, but the use of hair-dyes is extremely dangerous. ”

“ A partial baldness requires merely a scalp which may, according to the circumstances of the case, be either large or small, but when the baldness is extensive, a wig will be found the most convenient and suitable head-covering. Scalps are consequently made in a variety of shapes and sizes; the mountings are equally variable, and the method 164adopted for holding them firmly in position admits of great ingenuity. Some scalps are mounted with galloon, net, and springs ”

“ The scalp dance is generally danced by torch light, at a late hour in the night; and, in all tribes, the women take a conspicuous part in it, by dancing in the circle with the men, holding up the scalps just brought from battle, attached to the top of a pole, or the handle of a lance.
A scalp, to be a genuine one, must have been taken from the head of an enemy, and that enemy dead. ”

“ The men generally part the crop on their head in the middle, so that it flows on either side of the skull, just covering the ears, and I found the same strange custom that I observed years ago among the Ainu of Yezo of shaving a lozenge-shaped portion of the scalp in the centre of the forehead directly above the nose. ”

“ The scalps, called, by the Canadians, les chevelures, are often preserved for a long time stretched upon small hoops, and the hair is afterwards used as an ornament to the dress of the men. The skin of the scalp is generally painted red. The Mandans, Manitaries, and Crows, never torture their prisoners like the Pawnees and the eastern nations. When a prisoner has arrived at the village, and eaten maize, he is considered as one of their own nation, and no person ever thinks of molesting him. ”

“ As a matter of fact the nerves of the scalp are irritated by the hair being drawn tightly back and put on the strain, not as a whole, in which case the strain would be spread over a large area of the surface, but by small bundles of hair which are pulled back and held in place by hair-pins. ”

“ Moreover, in the absence of soap, there is no liability to chapped skin, glandular sores, sore eyes, ears, and crusty scalp. Especially should the scalp be well cleaned, and kept so; as it not only adds to the tidy appearance of the child, but favors an even, healthy growth of the hair bulbs. The foundation for a love of cleanliness can best be laid in infancy. There are many adults who desire good hair, yet do not or will not know that combing the hair daily, and keeping the scalp clean and cool, promotes a healthy growth of the hair. ”

“ The Care of the Hair.—There is never any danger of shampooing the healthy scalp too frequently. The oil in the scalp is not removed by washing, but is, on the contrary, always increased through the improvement in the circulation. Where there is much dandruff, or if the hair has begun to fall out prematurely, owing to long neglect or following an illness, it is well to begin by washing the hair two or three times a week, and then gradually increase the interval to every two or three weeks. ”