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Ujetnica v Ameriškem jašku
259 The Prisoner in American Shaft
Myths and Legends of Our Own Land · Charles M. SkinnerO besedilu
Ujetnica v Ameriškem jašku
- 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
- 259 The Prisoner in American Shaft
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
Ujetnica v Ameriškem jašku
Indijanec le redko pozabi krivico ali opusti maščevanje zanjo, pa naj bo resnična ali namišljena. Mlad domačin iz okoliša New Almaden v Kaliforniji se je zaljubil v dekle istega rodu in menil, da je njegovo dvorjenje uspešno, saj je bil sam ves vnet, dekle pa mu, kot je kazalo, ni bilo nenaklonjeno. Toda nenadoma je postala hladna, se ga izogibala in mu, kadar sta se srečala, na pozdrave odgovarjala le z eno besedo. Pretvarjal se je, da mu ta sprememba ne pomeni kaj dosti, vendar ni miroval, dokler ni odkril njenega vzroka. Njeni starši so ga zasovražili, kar so poznejši dogodki pokazali kot povsem upravičeno, in ji ukazali ali jo prepričali, naj zavrne njegovo dvorjenje.
Njegovo maščevanje je bilo hitro in po indijansko. Ob prvi priložnosti je ubil očeta in mater, zgrabil dekle, ko je bilo daleč od vasi, in ga odnesel v opuščeni rudnik živega srebra blizu Spanish Campa. V rovu, ki se je odcepil od jaška American Shaft, je iz kamenja in lesa napravil preprosto celico, jo nasilno spravil vanjo in zaprl. Celico je založil z vodo in živežem ter nesrečno dekle več tednov držal ujeto v popolni temi. Obiskoval jo je, kadar se mu je zahotelo, dokler se ni, ko je potešil svojo strast, odločil zapustiti deželo.
Da bi vsaj deloma popravil krivico, ki jo je zagrešil, je ob vhodu v rov obesil usnjen plašč, na katerem je s slikovno pisavo nakazal, kje je dekle. Iskalne skupine so jo iskale vse od njenega izginotja in ena izmed njih je po naključju naletela na to sled ter jo rešila, ko je bila že na pragu smrti. Divjak, ki se je maščeval tako okrutno in brez mere, je pobegnil daleč proč in nihče ni nikoli izvedel, kje je.
Izvirnik
259 The Prisoner in American Shaft
Naslednje strani prikazujejo izvirno besedilo za primerjavo.
An Indian seldom forgets an injury or omits to revenge it, be it a real or a fancied one. A young native of the New Almaden district, in California, fell in love with a girl of the same race, and supposed that he was prospering in his suit, for he was ardent and the girl was, seemingly, not averse to him; but suddenly she became cold, avoided him, and answered his greetings, if they met, in single words. He affected to care not greatly for this change, but he took no rest until he had discovered the cause of it. Her parents had conceived a dislike to him that later events proved to be well founded, and had ordered or persuaded her to deny his suit.
His retaliation was prompt and Indian-like. He killed the father and mother at the first opportunity, seized the girl when she was at a distance from the village, and carried her to the deserted quicksilver mine near Spanish Camp. In a tunnel that branched from American Shaft he had fashioned a rude cell of stone and wood, and into that he forced and fastened her. He had stocked it with water and provisions, and for some weeks he held the wretched girl a captive in total darkness, visiting her whenever he felt moved to do so until, his passion sated, he resolved to leave the country.
As an act of partial atonement for the wrong he had done, he hung a leather coat at the mouth of the tunnel, on which, in picture writing, he indicated the whereabouts of the girl. Search parties had been out from the time of her disappearance, and one of them chanced on this clue and rescued her as she was on the point of death. The savage who had exacted so brutal and excessive a revenge fled afar, and his whereabouts were never known.
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