The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-06-26
Scnlping of the Indians by tho COlOnists.

The taking OF ScaIps came to be Il
j recognized part of Colonial warfare.
Hannah Dustin, who escaped from In
dian captivity in 1868, took ten scaIps
with her own hand and paid for them.
| captain Church, undertaking his eXpe-
| dition against the Eastern Indians, in
| 1705, after the Dccrlicld massacre, an
| nOunccd that he had not hitherto per
mittcd the Scalping of "Canada men, -
| but should thcnccforth allow it. In
1922, when the Massachusetts colony
sent an expedition against the village of
spraying lndians," founded by Father
Raslc, they offered for each SCALP :,
bounty of 5Gl5, altcrward increased to
| GlO0; and this inhmanity was 81 far
| carried out that the French priest him
self was one OF the victims. jeremiah
Bumstead, OF Boston, made this entry
| i'll his almanac in this same year; SAT
gust so, twenty-eight Indian scalps
| brought to Boston, one of which was
BombaZcn'S an Indian chief, and one
fryer Raile'S." Two years after the
celebrated, but inappropriatcly named
Captain Iovcwcll, the foremost Indian
| fighter of his region, came upon ten
Indians asleep round pond; he and
his men killed and scalppd them all,
and entered Dover. n. ii, bearing the
scalpS stretched on hoops and elevated
on poles. After receiving an ovation in
Dover they went by water to Boston,
and were paid 81, 900 for their scalps.
Yet Lovcwcll's party was always ac-
companicd by a chaplain, and had pray,
crS every morning and evening.
The most painful aspect Of the whole
practice lies in The fact that it was not
| confined. to those actually engaged in
fighting, but that the colonial ;,uthori,
ties actually established Il tariff of pri.
ccs for Scalps, including eien non-com.
batantS-So much for Il mans, so mucl,
Tor Il woman'S, SO much for Il child'S.
Dr. Ellis has lately pointed out the
| striking circumstance that whereas
William Penn declared the person of au
Indian to be ''Sacrcd," his grandson in
lW4 offered 9l}l for the scalp of an
Indian man, Sl3O for that of Il boy
| under ten, and $50 for that of Il woman
| or girl. The habit doubtless began in
fury OF retaliation, and was continued
| III order to conciliatc Indian allies; and
when bounticS were offered to them.
the white volunteers naturally claimed
Share. But there is no doubt that
Puritan theology helped The adoption
| OF the practice. 1t was partly because
the Indian WAS held to be something
worse than a beast that he was treated
| as bcingat least a beast The truth was
that ne was viewed as II fcnl, and there
could not be much scrupic about using
mhumanitics against a demon. Cotton
| Mather calls Satan 'thc old landlords
| OF the American wilderness, and says
| in his MotD0iia: 'ThcSe Parts were
then covered with Nations of Barbarous
| Indians and Inhdcls, in whom the
Prince Of the Power of the Air did
work as a Spirit; nor could it be expcc,
ted that Nations of Wretchcs whose
whole religion was the most Explicit
sort OF DevilW orship should not be ac.
tNatcd by the Devil to engage in some
early and bloody Action for the Extinc,
ton Of a Plantation SO contrary to his
Interests rs that of New England was. -