Historical Photos To Blow Your Mind: New Release!

Survivor

This is Robert McGee, who was scalped by the Sioux as a 13-year-old child and survived. His family was killed. In 1864, McGee was headed west on the Santa Fe Trail with his parents. His survival was miraculous, and he later told the tale to a local newspaper (when the photograph above was taken.) Talk about some seriously messed up early childhood memories!

Josiah Wilbarger also survived being scalped around Austin, Texas and lived to tell the tale. He said the scalping was surprisingly not very painful but that the removal sounded like the “ominous roar and peal of distant thunder.”