The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-07-09
THE SCALP
An Art Not Confined to the North
American Indian.
ALLIED TO HEAD HUNTING.

Some Indians Removed the Skin Of the
Entire Head, Including the Hair and
Beard Of Their viotim-Ears and
Hands Also Served For Trophies.
The art Of scalping has declined
owing to the severe pains and penalties
dealt out to It's practitioners In the va
rious states of North America. 1t was
In certain sense a product Of Euro
pean settlement, for 1t would never
have become so widespread had 1t not
been for the white man.
Scalping is commonly considered
custom belonging exclusively to the
North American Indian. This Is
mistake. 1t is found In South America.
and Herodotus mentions 1t as having
been practiced among the Scythians.
But as the old Greek travellers book
was not published until 1902 1t Is
probable that scalping appeared to
the early explorers Of America as a
new thing. 1t was first described by
Francisco de Carey, who In 1920 came
across 1t In his Ill fated expedition to
Panuco. He found that the Indians
removed the skin of the entire head,
including the hair and beard. In 1885
Iaques Cartier wrote an account Of
scalping party which Is more typical
Of the custom as usually found. From
this time on It Is described by many
writers, notably Captain John Smith
and Champlain.
The Indians themselves were uncer-
tain as to the use of keeping an enc
my's scalp, except that they felt IL
would hurt him in some way, Some
said 1t put him In the power Of the
owner of the scalp, others that 1t ban
ished him from the happy hunting
grounds, while still others believed
that 1t annihilated him.
In the opinion of George Frederici,
whose monograph may be consulted In
the Smithsonian institution report of
1906, scalping Is modification of
head hunting. practice INDUCED In
by many savages. There Is primitive
notion that the possession of a token
or portion of man gives one a power
over that man. To keep the head of
an enemy puts him In your power, the
savage thinks. But 1t is often incon.
venient to carry so large thing as
head. A smaller token is therefore sub
stituted. This statement would seem
to be borne out by the following facts:
Many American Indians did not fol-
low the practice of scalplng. notably
those of the north. adjoining the Es-
kimo, the Frazer river Indians and
the Algonquins of New Jersey. Nearly
all Of these practiced head hunting. A
transition period is represented by the
Caddoes Of Texas. where the men took
the scalps and the women at a more
convenient period collected the heads.
Some tribes in California secured, in.
stead of scalps, the eyes of their enc
miles. which were preserved in some
way. while others In Mexico selected
the ears for their trophy, probably fol-
lowing the lead Of the Spaniards, who
Topped off ears as punishment for
crime.
The Hudson river Indians used to
preserve hands. probably in imitation
VI tue LUIGI, VINO III tne SO CHlleu
Esopus war gave a bounty for Indian
hands. Around the sources of the Mis-
souri, the Lewis and Clark expedition
found the custom Of preserving scalps
replaced by that Of preserving fingers.
In northern Mexico the custom of
scalping prevailed. but toward tho
south 1t was replaced by head hunting.
In South America there are two locali.
ties where 1t still fiourishes. One OF
these is northern Argentina and Para
quay. where 1t gives signs of being in
digenous. as 1t differs In many ways
from the practice of North America.
II Is also foupd around Guiana, proba-
bly, introduced by the Indian slaves
brought from Florida.
9 The Huron-Iroquois have been ac-
credited with the inyention of scalp
Ing, but unless 1t arose independently
In several places 1t much more likely
originated In Florida. where 1t was
drst discovered by Europeans. Con.