But there's always that ONE GUY who decides to cause trouble. A Cree man snuck into the Blackfoot camp that night, stole a bunch of horses, and murdered a Peigan chief. BAD idea. He's pursued by the Peigan and actually runs into the fort, hoping for protection. The Chief Trader, not knowing what else to do, closes the gates, puts the Cree man in chains... and waits for Rowand to get back.
Rowand has a reputation for a nasty temper, so you can only imagine the reaction when he gets back. I imagine it's something like "I LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR JUST TWO WEEKS, AND-!!" D:< He's also a rather large and blustery man (picture like, five & a half feet tall and 300 pounds). He's an intimidating man.
Anyway, he is in a bit of a bind. The Cree just want their man back. They promise to punish him for what he did, but Rowand knows that the man will probably just get a slap on the wrist, and that'll make the Peigan angry. The Peigan bring in a lot of furs: he doesn't want to alienate them either. But he can't just give the Cree man over to the Blackfoot: they'll probably torture the man to death, which will incense the Cree, and the Fort does stand in their territory... But he can't let the Cree man go unpunished.
In the end, as he wrote in his journal, the Peigan man was given a "haircut". Now, you have to understand that these journals were at the very least seen by his superiors in London and may even be published. He was aware of his audience. However, this was PROBABLY a euphemism for scalping. Shaving the man's head wouldn't have shamed the man enough. Rowand gave a knife to a member of the Peigan chief's family and had the Cree transgressor scalped.
Remember, you can be scalped alive, and you will live. It's very painful and bloody, though, and a permanent injury. Rowand's father was a doctor in Montreal: he could have then treated the man for his injuries, given the man back to the Cree and said "There, he's still alive: don't let it happen again." He could also say to the Peigan: "There, the man's been punished, I'm sorry this happened, and please come back again." Win-win.
Again, we have very scant evidence for the whole story - just this brief account in Rowand's journal that glosses over the details, but it is a dramatic story nonetheless. Rowand was an interesting figure.
As a side note, here is an image of a man who was scalped as a boy and was photographed when he was much older, courtesy of wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_McGee,_scalped_as_a_child_by_Sioux_Chief_Little_Turtle_in_1864-2.jpg
Anyway... and that's the story of the Peigan Haircut. Please ask questions!
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Date: 2011-02-16 12:34 am (UTC)Rowand has a reputation for a nasty temper, so you can only imagine the reaction when he gets back. I imagine it's something like "I LEAVE YOU ALONE FOR JUST TWO WEEKS, AND-!!" D:< He's also a rather large and blustery man (picture like, five & a half feet tall and 300 pounds). He's an intimidating man.
Anyway, he is in a bit of a bind. The Cree just want their man back. They promise to punish him for what he did, but Rowand knows that the man will probably just get a slap on the wrist, and that'll make the Peigan angry. The Peigan bring in a lot of furs: he doesn't want to alienate them either. But he can't just give the Cree man over to the Blackfoot: they'll probably torture the man to death, which will incense the Cree, and the Fort does stand in their territory... But he can't let the Cree man go unpunished.
In the end, as he wrote in his journal, the Peigan man was given a "haircut". Now, you have to understand that these journals were at the very least seen by his superiors in London and may even be published. He was aware of his audience. However, this was PROBABLY a euphemism for scalping. Shaving the man's head wouldn't have shamed the man enough. Rowand gave a knife to a member of the Peigan chief's family and had the Cree transgressor scalped.
Remember, you can be scalped alive, and you will live. It's very painful and bloody, though, and a permanent injury. Rowand's father was a doctor in Montreal: he could have then treated the man for his injuries, given the man back to the Cree and said "There, he's still alive: don't let it happen again." He could also say to the Peigan: "There, the man's been punished, I'm sorry this happened, and please come back again." Win-win.
Again, we have very scant evidence for the whole story - just this brief account in Rowand's journal that glosses over the details, but it is a dramatic story nonetheless. Rowand was an interesting figure.
As a side note, here is an image of a man who was scalped as a boy and was photographed when he was much older, courtesy of wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_McGee,_scalped_as_a_child_by_Sioux_Chief_Little_Turtle_in_1864-2.jpg
Anyway... and that's the story of the Peigan Haircut. Please ask questions!