Sorry to punch in here...it had been documented that the Colonists first scalped the Indians as punishment (ne: retribution) more humane than the burning at the stake depicted in Mann's glamorouse remake of _The Last of the Mohicans_. Thus the scalping (or the off the top of my head remark) as it plays in Hollyood is correct ONLY in that -some- Indian nations adopted this after the Colonial experiences spread with Western expansion. Also, "wampum", "papoos" and other "indian words" were traced by a historian many decades back to one or more nations first encountered by the Colonists on the lower East coast (the Powhattan comes to mind...) These words were adopted by the settlers and those who tread Westward. In their ignorence, they assume ALL Indian peoples spoke the same language, when they met 'friendlies' they greeted them with palms up in the air and said, "how!" Robert Johnson <[log in to unmask]>