﻿332 PICTORIAL MISCELLANY. 



withstanding the many barbarous practices of these savages, and 

 though so far from home and friends, I soon mingled with my new 

 associates freely and without fear. 



Summer passed rapidly away, and already autumn was close at 

 hand. Time did not hang heavy on my hands, for almost every 

 day some new species of amusement or recreation was brought for- 

 ward ; and I found that I had gained many friends among the sav- 

 ages of the village. Jollie was my constant companion, and the 

 more I saw of him the more I loved him. His heart was a large 

 one, and in the right place. Once, indeed, he came home to the 

 camp, after a few days' absence, with his hands covered with blood, 

 and a terrible-looking tuft of hair in his girdle. It was the scalp of 

 a "Crow" Indian, whom he had slain. I turned with horror away 

 from the sight, and thought I should never forgive him for that 

 cruel act of butchery. Yet when I reflected that it was the habit 

 of the Indian to scalp his defeated enemy, that it was in fact a part 

 of their religion, and that hardly a single month had passed, since 

 my arrival at the fort, during which time some bloody, cruel act of 

 aggression had not been committed among his tribe by the " Crows," 

 I felt that it was the result of ignorance and a bad habit, rather than 

 a bad heart. Nor is the simple act of scalping so cruel as civilized 

 people generally imagine. An Indian never scalps his enemy until 

 he has killed him, or left him for dead, and then it is done in order 

 to show his companions the trophy of his victory, rather than a 

 desire to torment his victim. It brings him honor among his tribe, 

 as a brave warrior ; and he who can show twenty scalps has reached 

 the very pinnacle of fame among them. In our own country, when 

 a premium is offered by the magistrates for killing bears, foxes, 

 wolves, or dogs, when they are troublesome, the ears are cut off and 

 brought in, and this being deemed a sufficient proof of their destruc- 

 tion, the premium or bounty is paid. So with the Indian's scalp, 

 with this difference, that they receive honor instead of gold. There 

 are various other peculiarities, touching this cruel practice of scalp- 

 ing, which I will mention. The following anecdote, which is said 

 to be true, will show you how strong this habit is, when once 

 implanted in the human breast. 



