The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-02-08
HOW 1T FEELS TO BE
SCAlPED BY AN INDIAN.

There IS a man living now in England
who can tell how it feels to be scalped. His
hair is now hanging in the Public Library
in Omaha. That is, part OF it Is there. He
has a fringe around his head still. and an
other part may still be on an Indian reser-
walton. if the Indians are at all careful
about preserving relics OF this sort.
William Thompson. an E~nglishman, once
in the employment OF the Union Pacific
Railroad. is the man whose hair il scat
tered over two continents. He Is getting
along nicely. with 4 small remnant of his
original headgear.
Thompson was one Of five men who were
sent on a hand car out OF Omaha in the
early days OF the Union Pacific to spice up
Il telegraph wire. 1t was in August. 1857.
line railroad only extended to North Platte.
the rest of the trip to Denver was made
by stage, ana a perilous trip it was. There
had been trouble along the line and the
squad of five men were sent out to locate
and remedy 1t.
1t was located near what is now Central
City. 1t was discovered that the Indians
had cut the wire. Scarcely had the lines
MEN stopped their car. when they were nied
on by a party OF Cheyenne Indians concealed
in the prairie grass. The men returned the
me-. u Gil thot tHcy "SiS
~outnumbered. took to their heels. ,
Thompson was shot in the arm while run-'
ming. and the next moment one of his pur-
suers Knocked him to the ground with .
blow with 4 tomaflawk. He was stunned.
but not rendered unconscious. He had the
presence of mind to feign death. and the
Indian supposed that all that was necessary
was to take the scalp. As to what follows
Thompson says:
.-NNf-b tho .lof,na.. 49,. uoy-
age whipped out his knife and made IN
cisions around the top OF my head. When
he had cut the skin loose all around. doing
it with great speed, he jerked the hair OH.
The sensation was just as IL a red-bot iron
had been touched to my head"
The Indian In his hurry tucked the scalp
lock insecurity in his belt. That is why it
happens TO be now In the Omaha library.
thompson did not dare to move. and while
he lay there. pretending to be dead and suf-
1eriig rom his wounds. another Indian
found him. He decided there was a little
more hair on the dead mans head which
might as well come off. so he repeated the
performance of the first and took off some
more around the corners.
In the meanwhile other Indians had placed
instructions on the track. From where ne
lay Thompson could hear the approach of a
iteight train carrying Government supplies.
ne couid not flag II. and he heard the en-
eihe crash INTO the distractions. The next
moment the train was n wreck. with the
ineiahs hring on the train crew.
ineh negan an orgy which the wounded
man was forced to hear. The Indians found
WHISKY. with which they proceeded to get
themselves into a beastly state OF ~intoxica-
tioh. .Iney rugged themselves up in caiicoes
ana woolens which they found on the train.
They then took the still living engineer ana
hfeman and threw them into the furnace OF
the engine.
men darkness came Thompson manages
to crawl away. At Willow Creek he fell In
with a rescue party which had been sent
cut, and by which he was taken to Omaha.
he mad noticed the scalp lock which bad
fallen from the Indians belt. and when Re
erawlsd away be picked It W. -