Waltey
Solna čarovnica
225 The Salt Witch
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land · Charles M. SkinnerO besedilu
Solna čarovnica
- 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
- 225 The Salt Witch
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
Solna čarovnica
Na nebraški ravnici je nekoč stal steber snežno bele soli, kakih štirideset milj gorvodno od kraja, kjer se Saline izliva v Platte, in belci so zanj slišali pripovedovati kot o Solni čarovnici. Ob sotočju rek je dolgo prebivalo indijansko pleme, katerega poglavar je bil krepak in bojevit mož, na katerega je bilo njegovo ljudstvo ponosno, a obenem tako divji, da se z njim ni družil nihče razen njegove žene, ki je edina znala krotiti njegove tigrovske izbruhe besa.
Resnično jo je tako ljubil, da je po njeni smrti postal samotar in se zaprl v svojo kočo ter ni hotel videti nikogar. Takšno razpoloženje ga je držalo tako dolgo, da se je med plemenom začelo šušljati in govoriti o izbiri novega poglavarja. Nekaj teh govoric je gotovo slišal, kajti nekega jutra je stopil iz koče v bojni opravi in brez besede komur koli odkorakal čez ravnico proti zahodu. Ko se je po celem mesecu vrnil, je bil bolj zgovoren in imel je povedati nekaj nenavadnega. Svojo junaškost je dokazal tudi tako, da je pred očmi svojih bojevnikov vihtel pas s svežimi skalpi, prinesel pa je še kos soli.
Povedal jim je, da se je po dolgem potovanju čez prerijo zleknil na tla, da bi zaspal, ko ga je prebudilo toženje v bližini. V soju mlade lune je zagledal ostudno starko, ki je vihtela tomahavk nad glavo mlajše ženske; ta je klečala, prosila milosti in si skušala z vratu odtrgati roko, ki jo je stiskala. Pogled na ženski štirideset milj od vasi je poglavarja tako presenetil, da je stekel proti njima. Mlajša se je obupno skušala osvoboditi, vendar, kot je kazalo, zaman, saj ji je starka z levo roko zagrabila lase, z drugo pa dvignila sekiro in se pripravila, da udari.
V tistem trenutku je poglavar uzrl obraz mlajše ženske — bil je obraz njegove mrtve žene. Z besnim renčanjem je planil na starko in ji zaril svojo sekirico v možgane, toda še preden je lahko ženo stisnil v objem, se je zemlja odprla in obe ženski sta izginili, na kraju, kjer je videl ta prizor, pa je stal steber soli. Indijanci so še dolga leta trdili, da je steber pod varstvom Solne čarovnice, in kadar so šli tja nabirat sol, so s kiji tolkli po tleh, saj so verjeli, da vsak udarec zadene njeno telo in ji preprečuje, da bi povzročila še več zla.
Izvirnik
225 The Salt Witch
Naslednje strani prikazujejo izvirno besedilo za primerjavo.
A pillar of snowy salt once stood on the Nebraska plain, about forty miles above the point where the Saline flows into the Platte, and white men used to hear of it as the Salt Witch. An Indian tribe was for a long time quartered at the junction of the rivers, its chief a man of blood and muscle in whom his people gloried, but so fierce, withal, that nobody made a companion of him except his wife, who alone could check his tigerish rages.
In sooth, he loved her so well that on her death he became a recluse and shut himself within his lodge, refusing to see anybody. This mood endured with him so long that mutterings were heard in the tribe and there was talk of choosing another chief. Some of this talk he must have heard, for one morning he emerged in war-dress, and without a word to any one strode across the plain to westward. On returning a full month later he was more communicative and had something unusual to relate. He also proved his prowess by brandishing a belt of fresh scalps before the eyes of his warriors, and he had also brought a lump of salt.
He told them that after travelling far over the prairie he had thrown himself on the earth to sleep, when he was aroused by a wailing sound close by. In the light of a new moon he saw a hideous old woman brandishing a tomahawk over the head of a younger one, who was kneeling, begging for mercy, and trying to shake off the grip from her throat. The sight of the women, forty miles from the village, so surprised the chief that he ran toward them. The younger woman made a desperate effort to free herself, but in vain, as it seemed, for the hag wound her left hand in her hair while with the other she raised the axe and was about to strike.
At that moment the chief gained a view of the face of the younger woman-it was that of his dead wife. With a snarl of wrath he leaped upon the hag and buried his own hatchet in her brain, but before he could catch his wife in his arms the earth had opened and both women disappeared, but a pillar of salt stood where he had seen this thing. For years the Indians maintained that the column was under the custody of the Salt Witch, and when they went there to gather salt they would beat the ground with clubs, believing that each blow fell upon her person and kept her from working other evil.
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