Indian Biography; Vol. 2 (of 2): Or, An Historical Account of Those Individuals Who Have Been Distinguished among the North American Natives as Orators, Warriors, Statesmen, and Other Remarkable CharactersThatcher, B. B. (Benjamin Bussey)
History
Indian Biography; Vol. 2 (of 2): Or, An Historical Account of Those Individuals Who Have Been Distinguished among the North American Natives as Orators, Warriors, Statesmen, and Other Remarkable Characters
Thatcher, B. B. (Benjamin Bussey)
Indians of North America -- Biography; Indians of North America -- History
"No. 1. Containing forty-three scalps of Congress soldiers, killed in
different skirmishes. These are stretched on black hoops, four inch
diameter--the inside of the skin painted red with a small black spot, to
note their being killed with bullets. Also, sixty-two of farmers killed
in their houses; the hoops painted red--the skin painted brown and marked
with a hoe--a black circle all round, to denote their being surprised in
the night--and a black hatchet in the middle, signifying their being
killed with that weapon.
"No. 2. Containing ninety-eight of farmers, killed in their houses, hoops
red--figure of a hoe, to mark their profession--great white circle and
sun, to shew they were surprised in the day-time--a little red foot, to
shew they stood upon their defence, and died fighting for their lives and
families.
"No. 3. Containing ninety-seven of farmers. Hoops green, to shew they were
killed in the fields--a large white circle with a little round mark on it
for the sun, to show it was in the day time--black bullet-mark on some, a
hatchet on others.
"No. 4. Containing one hundred and two of farmers, mixture of several of
the marks above, only eighteen marked with a little yellow flame, to
denote their being of prisoners burnt alive, after being scalped--their
nails pulled out by the roots, and other torments. One of these latter
supposed to be of an American clergyman, his band being fixed to the hoop
of his scalp. Most of the farmers appear, by the hair, to have been young
or middle-aged men, there being but sixty-seven very grey heads among them
all, which makes the service more essential.
"No. 5. Containing eighty-eight scalps of women, hair long, braided in the
Indian fashion, to shew they were mothers--hoops blue--skin yellow ground,
with little red tadpoles, to represent, by way of triumph, the tears of
grief occasioned to their relations--a black scalping-knife or hatchet at
the bottom, to mark their being killed by those instruments. Seventeen
others, hair very grey--black hoops--plain brown color--no marks but the
short club or casse-tete, to show they were knocked down dead, or had
their brains beat out.
"No. 6. Containing one hundred and ninety-three boy's scalps, of various
ages. Small green hoops--whitish ground on the skin, with red tears in the
middle and black marks--knife, hatchet or club, as their death happened.
"No. 7. Containing two hundred and eleven girl's scalps, big and
little--small yellow hoops, white ground--tears, hatchet, club,
scalping-knife, &c.
"No. 8. This package is a mixture of all the varieties above mentioned, to
the number of one hundred and twenty-two, with a box of birch bark
containing twenty-nine little infants' scalps, of various sizes--small
white hoops, white ground--no tears, and only a little black knife in the
middle, to shew they were ripped out of their mothers' bellies.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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