432 SCALPING IN AMERICA. 



theory that it mdy have thence been transmitted to Guiana finds 

 no substantial support. In a similar y\ay there is no evidence that 

 it was introduced by the whites. On the other hand, it does not seem 

 improbable that it was brought in through the slave trade; that is, 

 through enslaved Indians brought to Guiana from North America, 

 Indian slaves from New England, Carolina, Georgia, and Florida 

 vrere far dispersed by the whites, and a portion of them were brought 

 to the mouth of the Orinoco and the shore of South America for 

 pearl fishing. It is quite possible that some individuals or parties 

 from among these Indians, most of whom belonged to scalping 

 tribes, gained their liberty and, joining some of the natives, intro- 

 duced the custom of scalping among them. The source of the prac- 

 tice in Chaco is not traceable. 



SPREADING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CUSTOM OF SCALPING THROUGII 

 THE INFLUENCE OF EUROPEANS. 



It is a well-established fact that the conflicts of primitive peoples, 

 while very frequent, are in general not attended by many fatalities. 

 The same was true of the Indians, with the exception of the very 

 infrequent instances of a success of an attack by surprise, which was 

 followed by a general massacre. 



The introduction of firearms changed this state of affairs. The 

 guns became not only the direct cause of a greater number of fatali- 

 ties, but they also served to demoralize the party armed in a more 

 primitive manner and facilitated pursuit. In consequence the wars 

 became more bloody and there were more scalps. 



In North America the natives Avere supplied with firearms by the 

 colonists themselves, in some cases surreptitiously, in others openly. 

 They were also furnished with the iron or steel knife, which greath^ 

 facilitated the removal of the scalp lock. Formerh^ the scalping was 

 done with knives made of various materials. The reed knife was 

 found in Brazil, Guiana, and the southeastern part of North Amer- 

 ica ; the shell knife was used along the entire Gulf and north along 

 the Atlantic coast as far as the territory of the Huron-Iroquois, 

 also to some extent on the Pacific coast and among the Araukanians; 

 a fish-tooth knife existed in the Chaco, throughout Brazil and 

 the Guianas; and a stone knife prevailed in Mexico and neighbor- 

 ing regions, in California, the Rocky Mountains, on the Plains, and 

 in Texas. The Apache knew how to sever the scalp lock with the 

 sinew cord of the bow. All of these implements possessed disadvan- 

 tages when compared with the white man's knife, and the latter was 

 eagerly adopted. It became a much desired article of commerce and 

 exchange and was soon used in scalping, upon the frequency and 

 development of which it must have exerted a stimulating effect. 



