The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-06-28
LOU PARKS, SCALP.
GAkem BY en- fmdfan. Then Grated Baclr IN
Place as Coed = sew.

&a&EAM "a
Taksm BY an Imdfau. Then Gsafte6 Baclr IN
Place - Coed = sew.
a tall old man, with hair rapidly
changing from gray to white, sanntered
into the Arlington. A peculiar feature
about his head attracted the attention
Of an observer. Shining through his
thin locks and forming d semicircle On
the back Of the scalp was q bright red
irregular line. The card that he twirled
lervously in his fingers bore the name
of Louis Parks. and an old gentleman
In the lobby greeted him af~fectionately
rs Lou. When he went out his friend
talked about him TO a circle of interest
ed loungers THAT was old Lou Parks,
he remarked, with al infection Of nd
miration. HE was one of as when we
went mp into the Bitter Root country,
away back in 1853. Did you notice
that red ring ON his head? Well, gem
tlemen, the ragged edge of a Black
eoot's knife made that scar, and all the
skin and hair inside of 1t 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 oven in that neighborhood
to search for something or other, / for
get what, and one day Lon went ont
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 or shoot again, as
the country just swarmed with game.
Then they concluded to go ont and find
ont what was the matter.
About half or three-quarters of q
mile away they saw a man lying i'm
some bushes and rode up to find Lou.
He wa unconscious, and his head was
covered with blood pouring from a hole
about as big as a tin cup. 1t was easy
to see he had been scalped. No Indians
had been seen in the neighborbood, and
the boys couldn't understand where they
had gone, because LOUIS gun and knife
We're still with him. They looked around
for signs, and deeper in the chaparral,
about 90 yards away, found the dead
body Of a Blackfoot Indian. He was
shot In the spine, and in his clinched
hand was a bunch of hair. 1t was LOUIS
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 1t ON with strips Of horse blan-
ket. When Lou came 10 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 of he saw something black go 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 of,
some time after the attack, by am army
surgeon at 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 1t be-
came as You see it now. Lon would give
d COW any time to find ont what that In
dian was doing out there alone and why
he took the chances on scalping him
alive when he had q dead cinch on ct
ting his hair by sticking the knife In
his neck hrst. Lon il here from Mis-
souri, whore he is now living, but he
after amy p~ostofice. you a bet. ("
Washington Star.