Scalp (warfare)

“ Yesterday a shell which had wrecked far too much of a section of trench to be at all comfortable had provided this disillusioned warrior with a means of escape, had he so wished, by knocking him senseless, with a severe scalp-wound. Counselled to seek the dressing-station at the rear, when he had recovered his senses, however, he had flatly declined; all his boredom lost in annoyance at his aching head, and a wild desire to obtain enemy scalps in vengeance. ”

“ The scalp, then, is a patch of the skin taken from the head of an enemy killed in battle, and preserved and highly appreciated as the record of a death produced by the hand of the individual who possesses it; and may oftentimes during his life, be of great service to a man living in a community where there is no historian to enrol the names of the famous—to record the heroic deeds of the brave, who have gained their laurels in mortal combat with their enemies ”

“ When a savage kills his enemy he runs his scalping knife round the dead man’s head, seizes the hair with his left hand and tears the scalp off. Indeed this dreadful cruelty is sometimes practised before death has occurred. The scalp with its lock of hair is taken home by the victor, and hung up in his tent as a trophy of war. The man who can show the greatest number of scalps is considered the greatest warrior. The dresses of Indian warriors are usually fringed with human scalp-locks.
“That’s a bad business,” said Jasper, who was concerned to hear such news of his intended father-in-law. ”

“ But see you not that the scalping process, as it produces the most terror and annoyance, is decidedly the most merciful, as being most likely to discourage and deter from war. If the scalp could bo taken from the head of every Seminole shot down, be sure the survivors never after would have come within range of rifle-shot. ”

“ 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. ”

“ This they soon overcame, and the warriors rushing forward to secure their scalps, discovered the lodges filled with dead bodies, and they could not withstand the stench arising therefrom. The party retreated, after securing the scalps of those whom they had killed, among which was the scalp of an old man who must have been a giant in size, as his scalp is said to have been as large as a beaver skin. On their return home, for five successive nights, this scalp, which had been attached to a short stick being planted erect in the ground, was found in the morning to lean towards the west. ”

“ To the dead, this, of course, would not be absolute cruelty; but it is too frequently the case that the process is performed and the scalp severed while yet the mangled victim lives; and there are instances where parties have recovered, and long survived this barbarous mutilation. Occasionally, a warrior is not satisfied with the part of the scalp usually taken, but bares the skull entirely, and carries away in triumph even the ears of his victim. ”

“ When any of the combatants is struck in a vital part, he is obliged to fall as if dead, when his antagonist goes through the operation of scalping with his wooden knife, places the scalp in his belt, utters the wild yell, and again joins in the battle. As no one may fight without a scalp-lock, the fallen adversary is obliged to withdraw from the fight. ”

“ Men, who at the sight of blood become fiends, tear off the scalps, and hand them to the chief, who hangs them around his neck. Women and children with tomahawks and knives, cut deep gashes in the poor dead bodies, and scooping up the hot blood with their hands, eagerly drink it. Then, grown frantic, they dance and yell, and sing their horrid scalp-songs, recounting deeds of valor on the part of their brave men, and telling of the Sioux scalps taken in former battles, until, at last, tired and satiated with their ghoul-like feast, they leave the mutilated bodies festering in the sun. ”

“ You can stop this war! It is not too late yet, but a scalp taken means war—God in heaven! a scalp means war to the death!"
"Don't touch that scalp!" roared Cresap, hurrying towards the ranger, who was kneeling on one knee beside the dead Cayuga. "Nathan Giles! Do you hear me? Let that scalp alone, you bloody fool!"
It was too late; the ranger squatted, wrenching the scalp free with a ripping sound, just as Cresap ran up in a towering rage.
"They take ours," remonstrated the ranger, tying the ghastly trophy to his belt by its braided lock of hair; "I guess I have a right to scalp my own game!" ”

“ 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. ”

“ It may possibly be asked whether or no a man, who has simply lost his scalp, can recover. In reply we can safely say that without any other wound, and under favorable circumstances, with good care the sufferer stands a chance of being restored to health. There was a man who formerly was living and working at his trade as a blacksmith in Santa Fé, who, in a fight with the Camanches while crossing the plains, was wounded by a lance and then scalped. ”

“ This is usually taken from the crown of the head, of a small circular size; sometimes however they take the whole integuments of the skull, with which they ornament their war jackets and leggins, or twist into a brush for the purpose of keeping off the mosquitoes. The scalp is their glory and triumph, and is often carried by women stretched upon a stick, and hung with various articles so as to make a jingle to men when they perform the war-dance. ”

“ Scalping does not count more than striking. Taking an enemy’s gun or horse or bow by any means counts a coup, likewise killing a grizzly bear alone and on foot. Scalps are very little valued by him who takes them. They are mostly cut up in small pieces and sent to the different camps. The hair seen on the warrior’s leggings is sometimes really the hair of the enemies slain by him, and at others his own, or horsehair. ”

“ At this business they are exceedingly expert. They seize the head of the disabled or dead enemy, and placing one of their feet on the neck, twist their left hand in the hair; by this means, having extended the skin that covers the top of the head, they draw out their scalping knives, which are always kept in good order for this cruel purpose, and with a few dextrous strokes take off the part that is termed the scalp. ”

“ I crept along cautiously, expecting that the Indians would be so absorbed in their scalp dance that I would get in close pistol shot before they discovered me; but in this I was mistaken, for when yet a long rifle shot away they espied me, and the moment I saw I was discovered I opened fire with both pistols, which caused them to flee in hot haste, leaving the two scalps hanging on the sticks. I went up to where they were and found that one scalp was that of a woman and the other that of a man. ”

“ When the Indian sees his enemy fall he draws his scalp-knife—the modern is of iron, formerly it was of flint, obsidian, or other hard stone—and twisting the scalp-lock, which is left long for that purpose, and boastfully braided or decorated with some gaudy ribbon or with the war-eagle’s plume, round his left hand, makes with the right two semicircular incisions, with and against the sun, about the part to be removed. The skin is next loosened with the knife-point, if there be time to spare and if there be much scalp to be taken. ”

“ It was soon to come; for the enemy, exasperated by many circumstances, were determined on our destruction, cost what it might. Again we heard their fierce war-cry, and amidst its wild echoes the savages came galloping into the gap.
“Now’s yur time,” cried a voice; “fire! Hooray!”
The cracks of fifty pistols were almost simultaneous. The foremost horses reared up and fell back, kicking and sprawling in the gap. They fell, as it were, in a body, completely choking up the channel. Those who came on behind urged their animals forward. Some stumbled on the heap of fallen bodies. ”

“ The bullet in this case was so badly deformed by ricochet that part of both core and jacket were lost. While the appearance of the shadow seems to indicate a direct impact of the nose of the bullet, the line of contact with the skull must have been tangential, with some laceration of the scalp; otherwise a cursory examination of the scalp wound would have revealed the slightly protruding end of the bullet. The dark shadow above the projectile is due to material used in dressing. The great thickening of the scalp in the region of the wound shows a marked cellulitis. ”

“ A scalp was the recognised trophy of victory. It was not regarded as absolutely necessary to kill an enemy; if his scalp could be torn from his head, no more was required, and not infrequently a wounded man was left scalpless on the ground, writhing in speechless agony, to linger and die miserably.
After undergoing the preliminaries of an Indian toilet, young Kerr had moccasins given to him, and a blanket to wear—a costume perhaps more convenient than becoming—and he entered on a round of duties new and strange. He was not, after a time, unkindly treated by Peewash and his squaw. ”

“ These scalps are often stretched, dried, decorated and frequently kept for years as trophies. The more scalps a warrior takes, the greater favorite he becomes with his tribe; and finally, having obtained a given number, he is considered eligible to fill the office of War Chief, provided he has other qualifications, such as the power of quickly conceiving the right plan on which to act in case of emergency. When a party of Indians in the Rocky Mountains have been on a war trail, met the enemy and vanquished them, they appoint a brave who is honored as being the scalp-bearer. ”

“ The granular structure of the hairy scalp is opposed to the occurrence of the slit forms of exit, hence the openings were usually irregularly rounded. Any increase of size in the exit wound in the soft parts due to the passage of bone fragments with the bullet, was equalised in that of entry by the fact that the latter, as supported by a hard substratum, was usually larger than those met with in situations where the skin covers soft parts alone. ”

“ Scalping is an act of no small celebrity in Indian warfare; and, in performing it, the victor sets one foot on the neck of his dead or disabled enemy, entwines one hand in his hair, and, by a few slashes of the scalping knife in his other, round the top of the head, is enabled to pull off the skin with the hair. ”

“ First, it is an evidence to his people that he has triumphed over an enemy; second, the scalps are employed very prominently in the incantations of the "medicine lodge"—a part of their religious rites; third, the savage believes there is a wonderfully inherent power in the scalp of an enemy. All the excellent qualities of the victim go with his hair the moment it is wrenched from his head. If it be that of a renowned warrior, so much the more are they anxious to procure his scalp, for the fortunate possessor then inherits all the bravery and prowess of its original owner. ”

“ The hair of most of their chiefs and warriors is scrupulously removed from the head; being careful, however, to leave enough, as in honour {119} they are bound to do, to supply their enemy with a scalp, in case they should be vanquished. This residuum consists of a portion on the back of the head, of about the breadth of the hand, rounded at its upper termination near the top of the head, the sides rectilinear, and nearly parallel, though slightly approaching each other towards the origin of the neck, where it abruptly terminates; on the exterior margin, the hair is somewhat longer and erect ”

“ It is not unlike the return of a victorious army from the field, with the prisoners and colours, taken from the enemy, but the appearance is far more frightful and terrific. The 217 scalps are carried in front, fixed on the end of a thin pole, about five or six inches192 in length; the prisoners follow, and the warriors advance shouting the dreadful scalp-yell, which has been called by some the death-halloo, but improperly, for the reasons which I have already mentioned. For every head taken, dead or alive, a separate shout is given. ”

“ It was several days before I could be moved, a local physician meanwhile ministering to me with more devotion than surgical skill. You may imagine how happy I was to learn that my head was so hard that it had not been feazed by a 45 calibre conical ball. The bullet had entered my head at the left temple, glancing around the skull, plowing a huge furrow in the scalp and cutting a groove in the outer table of the bone along which it left a trail of lead clear around to the occiput, whence it had been deflected. ”

“ A shadow of unpleasant feeling was visible on the face of the young trapper. In the presence of so many hunters of every nation, to be thus equalled, beaten in the in of his favourite weapon, and by an “Injun”; still worse by one of “them ar’ gingerbread guns!” The mountain men have no faith in an ornamented stock, or a big bore. Spangled rifles, they say, are like spangled razors, made for selling to greenhorns. It was evident, however, that the strange Indian’s rifle had been made to shoot as well. ”