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>>The Separatists and Puritans were more afraid to lose their souls due to the presence of a Catholic, then their scalps to an Indian.
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>Interesting. Reminds me of reading -- in some book, I can't recall which -- that the purpose of the gated fences Puritans build around their little villages was as much for keeping their youth from escaping at night as it was to keep 'Indians' out. The young unaffiliated males, particularly if not first-born, found the idea of running off to live with the natives more appealing than their options in the village.
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>The interpretation of natives as being savage scalpers, while not completely unwarranted, became much exaggerated necessarily to support the 'Manifest Destiny' beliefs of the 19th century.

Steven;

According to what I have read, it is the French who "taught" the Indians how to scalp. The French also introduced steel knives to help make scalping more efficient.

Tom