DCHP-2

scalp-lock Hist. DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

• 1 n.

  See also: scalp ((n.)) (def. 1)  

  • 1848  I'll cause . . . the plundered scalp-locks of the pigmy and giant to flutter in ghastly bloody glory. . . .
  • 1900  Indeed, there were times when the gathering of scalp-locks was to all intents and purposes a branch--and that not the least lucrative branch--of the commerce in peltries.
  • 1934  . . . their leggings and the arms of their shirts [were] fringed with ermine tails, or scalp-locks taken from the heads of enemies slain in combat.

• 2 n.

  a long tuft of hair worn by some Indian warriors with otherwise cropped or shaven heads as a challenge to their enemies.

  See also: fore-lock  

  • 1859  He was the first Indian I had seen whose hair had been pulled out, all except the scalp-lock; this custom is common amongst many tribes of Indians, though not universal amongst any.
  • 1925  The Indian is naturally a brave man . . . wearing his scalp-lock as an emblem of defiance.
  • 1965  [The Canadian Indians] shaved their heads either in whole or in part; in the east and on the plains they retained the scalp-lock.