"Yes, there is no shortage of shameful moments in American history, quite unlike most other nations by the way."

I think other nations can compare to us just as unfavorably. I just read an article in Military History about a Chezch named Zizky, in the 1400s. He trained serfs and other poor folks to adapt farm tools into weapons, because they were easier to train that way. He changed the face of warfare from a gentlemanly conflict usually not involving non combatants to a Shermanesque total war. His army burned towns, whether they had surrendered or not. They killed men, women, and children. He was engaged in a religious war after the Church had burned Jan Hus at the stake for daring to disagree with the Church.

Indian mutilation of the dead had a religious reason, as some mentioned in passing. It had a very practical belief; since the Indian believed that the dead lived on in what we have come to refer to as the "Happy Hunting Ground", they wanted them to be crippled, blind, and unable to reproduce. Hence, the chopping up of legs, arms, etc., and the removal of eyes and sexual organs. If you didn't have 'em, you couldn't use 'em. Incidentally, Custer was strangely left unmutilated. I wonder if was out of respect, or if it was a formm of insult.

Torture of live prisoners was a, to us, twisted way to honor their courage. Those being tortured abd those doing it often joked with each other while it was going on. If a man showed much bravery, he was usually killed quickly after a time. Screamers were made to last as long as possible.

While warfare was a way of life, it did not always result in death, as our version does; counting coup was more valued than killing, as it was a greater risk to the coup taker, who had to touch his enemy, than killing from a distance with a bow or spear, and later, firearms. If it wasn't a fair fight, the potential losers would retreat to fight when terms were more favorable.

Chivington's men may have had some personal grudge, but making tobacco pouches out of women's breasts goes a little beyond the pale. We killed and totured for revenge; the Indians did it as a way to show bravery. Granted, there were both excesses and forbearance at times from both sides. Perhaps we should just accept what was and learn from it. Stan