East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1906-04-21

sas City star. is SO fascinating from .
historical standpoint that the Eas
Oregonian gives ii to its readers il
full. Captain lnman says in regard
TO Indian warfare and cruelty:
With the North American savage
there appears TO be some close affili.
alton between the departed and his
hair. I have often asked many q
blood-be grimed warrior why he
should care for dead mans hair
and invariably a number of reasons
has been assigned.
1t is an evidence to his people that
he has triumphed over his enemy
The scalps are very prominent fac
tors in the incantations of the "Medi-
cine Lodge" feature of religious
rites. The savage believes there, is a
wonderfully inherent power in the
scalp of an enemy; all the excellent
qualities of the victim so with his
hair the moment it is wrenched from
his head. If the victim is renowned
warrior, so much greater is the ankle
ty to procure his scalp. for the fortu-
nate possessor then inherits all the
bravery and prowess of its original
owner.
All Indian tribes with which I am
acquainted scalp their enemies killed
in battle. OF the origin of scalp-tak-
ing but little is known. and that
vague and indefinite. Nearly every
tribe has some wild; weird legend to
account for the custom, but these
traditions vary> wildly as TO the
cause. That raising the hair" of an
enemy is of great antiquity there is
no doubt, for in the Bible it is related
how the soldiers tore the skin from
the heads Of their vanquished foes.
l never knew of but one instance in
all my experience among the Indians
covering period of more than the
third of century, where a white man
taken prisoner in battle. escaped
scalping. 1t was a'great many years
ago; the party, a dear friend. still liv-
ing, a grand old mountaineer, but the
homeliest man on earth, probably. He
was red-faced, wrinkled and pock-
marked, with a mouth as large and
full of teeth as a gorilla, and there
was no more hair on his head than
there is on a billiard ball.
He was captured in a prolonged
fight and taken to the village of the
tribe where the principal chief resid-
ed. That dignitary gave one disgust
: ed look at the prisoner and said that
he was bad medicine" and if not
the Evil Spirit" himself, closely re-
lated to it. The chief ordered his
subordinate to furnish him with pro-
visions, provided him with a rifle and
told him to go back to his people.
For reasons stated the Indian of
the great plains and Rocky mountains
would rather take one scalp of a
famous scout or army officer who has
successfully chastised them-for ex-
ample, Custer, Sully, Miles or Crook
than a dozen scalps of ordinary white
men.
There are many instances on record
where men have been scalped and
yet survived the terrible ordeal but in
every case the scalper supposed his
victim dead. the latter taking good
care that his foeman should not be
disabused Of the supposed fact
In 1867 party Of Indians took up
a rail on the Union Pacific railway
and laid distractions on tba tracl,
After dark a freight train ran into the
trap and was wrecked. The engineer
and fireman we're instantly killed
The conductor and brakeman iumned
off TO find themselves beset nv a hand
Of. yelling savages They ran in.o tho
darkness and all escaped excant one
who was pursued shot and fell The
Indian who had fired disrnorDtad from,
his pony. and straddIing that unIuozv
mans body. scalped him. stripped him
Of all clothing but shirt and shoes and
rode away,
Early in the morning an,tbe,.
freight train was Tagged nv bidao,,s
looking object. which turned ont TO
be the brakeman who had beep shot
through the bodv and scaInadr Hs
had recovered his senses and kDovvine
that the traip was due walked some
distance down the track to save II
from being wrecked He was talon
on board and the train moved nm "a
the wreck. which. after nIundarina II
the Indians left iust as If wac tbrou.,
over through their devilisb act
1 saw the unfortunate man Soma
months afteryyard He u.as rerfao.I,.
recovered but with borribIa Iool,ir.,
head. He stated that tho bulIet al
though knocking him down had mo. |