Note 23 — JOURNAL.

Scalp—a term applied to the tissues covering the human head, and embracing all the hairy integuments and flattened muscles from the back of the skull to the brow above the eyes. Taking the scalp of an enemy, living or dead, has been held from remote times as a special sign of victory and token of triumph. The North American Indians, particularly during the early colonial wars, took the scalps of their enemies, preserving and exhibiting them with savage pride and occasionally wearing them as decorations and trophies. The assembly of Virginia, in 1755, established a reward of £10 for every scalp of a male Indian above the age of twelve (Hening's Statutes, vol. VI, p. 551). In 1757 this sum was raised to £15, and £30 more for every scalp taken within the next two years (Hening, VII, p. 122). Maryland and Pennsylvania also offered rewards for Indian scalps.