A little bit of history:
"Presently a large fire was seen, around which were more than thirty warriors, and about double that number of boys and squas. As soon as the Colonel arrived, he was stripped naked, and compelled to sit on the ground. The squas and boys then fell upon him, and beat him severely with their fists and sticks. In a few minutes, a large stake was fixed in the ground, and piles of hickory poles were spread around it."
"Colonel Crawford's hands were then tied behind his back; a strong rope was produced, one end of which was then fastened to the bottom of the stake. The rope was long enough for him to walk around the stake several times and then return. Fire was applied to the poles, which lay in piles at the distance of six or seven yards from the stake."
"His ears had been cut off, and the blood was streaming down each side of his face. A terrible scene of torture now commenced. The warriors shot charges of powder into his naked body, commencing with the calves of his legs, and continuing to his neck. The boys snatched the burning hickory poles and applied them to his flesh. As fast as he ran around the stake, to avoid one party of tormenters, he was promptly met at every turn by others, with burning poles, red hot irons, and rifles loaded with powder only; so that in a few minutes nearly one hundred charges of powder had been shot into his body, which had become black and blistered in a dreadful manner. The squas would take up a quantity of coals and hot ashes, and throw them upon his body, so that in a few minutes he had nothing but fire to walk upon."
That is torture in every sense if the word, and we worry about water boarding. Thanks for the history.