Waltey
Duhovi ob reki Hiawassee
168 Spooks of the Hiawassee
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land · Charles M. SkinnerO besedilu
Duhovi ob reki Hiawassee
- Vir
- Myths and Legends of Our Own Land
- Avtor
- Charles M. Skinner
- Jezik branja
- Slovenščina
- Jezik izvirnika
- English
- Čas branja
- 2 min branja
- Obseg
- 2 strani
- Naslov izvirnika
- 168 Spooks of the Hiawassee
O izvirniku
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land
Obsežna zgodovinska zbirka ameriških legend, ki jih je Skinner zbral in avtorsko rekonstruiral. Bralni jezik je Slovenščina, izvirnik pa prihaja iz vira Myths and Legends of Our Own Land v jeziku English.
Besedilo
Duhovi ob reki Hiawassee
Gričevje ob povirju Hiawasseeja je polno »prikazni«, med njimi tudi številnih živalskih duhov, ki iz čiste hudobije pustošijo po deželi. Tamkajšnji ljudje, nepismeni in vraževerni, brez pomisleka verjamejo vanje. Pripovedujejo vam o brezglavem biku in črnem psu iz doline Chatate, o belem jelenu iz Sequahatchieja in krvavečem konju iz gorovja Great Smoky Mountains — zadnji trije tistim, ki jih ugledajo, napovedujejo bolezen, smrt ali nesrečo.
Drugi duhovi so človeški. Ob zgornjem toku Hiawasseeja je jama, v kateri je mož, ki si je blizu vhoda postavil kočo, našel kup človeških lobanj. Iz nekega razloga, ki ga, kot pravi, še sam nikoli ni razumel, je ta kmet pobral stare, obledele kosti in jih zmetal v svojo lopo. Prav mogoče si ni upal priznati, da jih je hotel uporabiti za gnojilo ali jih sežgati za svojo perutnino.
Spustila se je temna in tiha noč, nad gorami pa je vzhajala pojemajoča luna — tako mirna noč, kot si je človek le more želeti za spanje. Proti polnoči je kmeta iz postelje vrgel zvok, kakor da se bliža vihar. Stekel je k oknu pogledat, ali mu bo odneslo hišo, toda gozd je miroval v nenavadni, tesnobni tišini — niti vejica se ni zganila, niti oblaček ni zastiral zvezd, niti žuželka ni cvrčala. Navdan z nedoločnim strahom je skušal prebuditi ženo, a bila je kakor v kataleptičnem stanju.
Zvok se je znova oglasil in zdaj je zunaj zagledal senčno trumo, ki je krožila okoli hiše kakor listje, vrtinčeno v vetru. Zdelo se je, da to krožečo trumo sestavljajo človeške postave, ki opletajo z rokami, zvok pa je prihajal iz mnogih glasov, od katerih je bil vsak zase šibak in votel, skupaj pa so bili silno glasni. Tedaj je opazovalec spoznal, da so se duhovi mrtvih, katerih lobanje je odnesel iz njihovega grobišča, dvignili v tožbo in protest. Pri priči je padel na kolena in do jutra goreče molil. Brž ko je bilo dovolj svetlo, da je videl pot pred seboj, je lobanje vrnil na njihovo mesto in »prikazni« ga niso nikoli več nadlegovale. Vse zlato v Ameriki, je dejal, ga ne bi premamilo, da bi iz jamskih grobnic neznanih mrtvecev odnesel še eno samo kost.
Izvirnik
168 Spooks of the Hiawassee
Naslednje strani prikazujejo izvirno besedilo za primerjavo.
The hills about the head of the Hiawassee are filled with “harnts,” among them many animal ghosts, that ravage about the country from sheer viciousness. The people of the region, illiterate and superstitious, have unquestioning faith in them. They tell you about the headless bull and black dog of the valley of the Chatata, the white stag of the Sequahatchie, and the bleeding horse of the Great Smoky Mountains--the last three being portents of illness, death, or misfortune to those who see them.
Other ghosts are those of men. Near the upper Hiawassee is a cave where a pile of human skulls was found by a man who had put up his cabin near the entrance. For some reason, which he says he never understood, this farmer gathered up the old, bleached bones and dumped them into his shed. Quite possibly he did not dare to confess that he wanted them for fertilizers or to burn them for his poultry.
Night fell dark and still, with a waning moon rising over the mountains--as calm a night as ever one slept through. Along toward the middle of it a sound like the coming of a cyclone brought the farmer out of his bed. He ran to the window to see if the house were to be uprooted, but the forest was still, with a strange, oppressive stillness--not a twig moving, not a cloud veiling the stars, not an insect chirping. Filled with a vague fear, he tried to waken his wife, but she was like one in a state of catalepsy.
Again the sound was heard, and now he saw, without, a shadowy band circling about his house like leaves whirled on the wind. It seemed to be made of human shapes, with tossing arms--this circling band--and the sound was that of many voices, each faint and hollow, by itself, but loud in aggregate. He who was watching realized then that the wraiths of the dead whose skulls he had purloined from their place of sepulture were out in lament and protest. He went on his knees at once and prayed with vigor until morning. As soon as it was light enough to see his way he replaced the skulls, and was not troubled by the “haunts” again. All the gold in America, said he, would not tempt him to remove any more bones from the cave-tombs of the unknown dead.
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