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An
estimated 21 bodies were buried in its cemetery, 13 of which were said to
have been killed and scalped by the Native Americans while
foraging for firewood. In 1989 a
study of the slaughtered remains was completed. 15 individuals were
excavated. 13 were buried in a cluster and 2 were in an extended burial.
According to the study, the 13 individuals in the cluster were the victims of
the ambush. Most of the
remains were incomplete due to decay and animal scavenging. Some had bones of
the hands and feet included, but others only had the larger bones. All of the
bones were put under a macroscopic lens and all the traumatic lesions
were recorded. And all bones were examined for blunt force, sharp force and
gunshot wounds. RESULTS All but one
of the crania was complete enough to be examined and 90% of them displayed at
least one traumatic lesion. 9 of the skulls exhibited more than one lesion. One
lesion suggested that the victim received a blow with so much force that it
broke through the occipital bone, passed through the brain and produced a
lesion on the right parietal bone. Only one
lesion was found on any of the postcranial skeletons, located on the second cervical
vertebra. All lesions
seem to be blunt force or sharp force, none displayed a gunshot wound. Multiple ‘fine’
lesions were found on all of the crania. The conclusion is that the weapons
used for this varied from small knives to tomahawks and hatchets. These
patterns of fine lesions are all indicating of scalping. They were found on
the frontal bones of the crania and also on the temporal regions. This, along
with the fact that each skull exhibited multiple perimortem wounds indicates
that this was not just any conflict between the Europeans and the Indians.
This was a massacre with the intent of revenge. |
