Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1894-06-29

LOU PARKS SCALP.
Taken by an Indian, Then Grated Back In
Place as Good as New.

Taken by an Indian, Then Grated Back In
Place as Good as New.
A tall old man, with hair rapidly
changing from gray to hite, sauntared
into the Arlington. A peculiar feature
about his head attracted the attention
Of an observer. Shining through his
thin locks and forming a semicircle on
the back Of the scalp was bright red
irregular line. The card that he twirlcd
nervously in his fingers bore the name
of Louis Parks, and an old gentleman
in the lobby greeted him affectionately
as Lou When he went out his friend
talked about him to a circle of interest
ed loungers "ls,lat was old Lou Parks.
he remarked, with an infection Of adj
miration ''He was one of us when we
went up into the Bitter Root country,
away back i'll 1853. Did you notice
that red ring on his head? Well, gen
tlemen, the ragged edge of Black
foot's knife made that scar, and all the
skin and hair inside Of it were torn
from the skull by red scoundrel's
muscular arm. The event occurred just
about where Pocatello, Ida, now is.
''Lou Parks and three other white
men had gone over in that neighborhood
to search for something or other, I for
get what, and one day Lou went out
from camp to kill some meat. The other
fellows heard him shoot once, and after
awhile wondered why he didn't bring
his game into camp OF shoot again, as
the country just swarmed with game.
J., al, Io1 10 md fi1,d
out what was the matter.
"About half or three-quarters of a
mile away they saw a man lying in
some bushes and rode up to find Lou.
He was unconscious, and his head was
covered with blood pouring from a hole
about as big as tin cup. 1t was easy
to see he had been scalped. No Indians
had been seen in the neighborbood, and
the boys couldn' understand where they
had gone, because LOUIS gun and knife
were still with him. They looked around
for signs, and deeper in the chaparral,
about 20 yards away, found the dead
body Of a Blackfoot Indian. He was
shot in the spine, and in his clinched
hand was bunch Of hair. It was Lou S
scalp.
''The boys loosened the Indians
grasp and released the thing, and one Of
them suggested the bright idea Of stick
ing it back on Louis head. They washed
it in water from one fellows leather
bottle and washed their partners head.
Then they fitted the scalp back in place
and tied it Oh with strips Of horse blan.
ket. When Lou came to his senses, he
said that he was kneeling down waiting
for an elk, which he thought he heard
below him, to come along, when he sud-
denly felt something grab his hair from
behind and then pull the whole top of
his head of. He said that before he
went off he saw something black so in
front Of him and pulled his rifles trig-
ger as he himself fell forward On his
face.
''For months he fingered between life
and death, but finally recovered. When
the blanket strip bandage was taken off,
some time after the attack, by all army
surgeon at a post 400 or 500 miles away,
where Lou was taken, it was found that
the scalp had begun to grow on again,
and after several years treatment it be-
came as you see itnow, Lou would give
COW any time to find out what that In
dian was doing out there alone and why
he took the chances on scalping him
alive when he had dead cinch on get
ting his hair by sticking the knife in
his neck first. Lou is here from Mis-
souri,, where he is now living, but he
amt after any postoffice, you can bet. +"
washington Star