Stories of the Cahto Tribe
Treatment of the Stranger
(This is a line-by-line translation (within the limits of English readability)
"I'm the one who just came back up (from the coast)," he said, they say.
"Who said, 'I came back up'?
"Quickly, look here (to see) who said it."
They looked around, they say.
They searched for him in vain, they say.
He wasn't found, they say.
They came back, they say, because he wasn't found.
"I'm the one who's just come back up," he said, they say.
"He's talking right here.
Look for him."
Many of them went again, they say.
They looked for him.
He wasn't found, they say.
There was a tree standing there, they say.
It said it (from) a small hollow tree, they say.
He was found in a small hollow tree, they say.
"You'd better kill him."
"Yes, we will kill him."
He was pulled out, they say.
He was cut to pieces, they say.
His arms were chopped up, they say.
His legs were chopped up, they say.
He was split in two, they say.
He didn't die, they say.
It was not his "heart" (vital spot).
It was not his "heart" (vital spot).
His "heart" was cut, they say.
He died, they say.
That is all.
Professor P.E. Goddard's Translation
"I'm the one that has just come from the coast," they heard some one say. "Who's saying 'have come from the coast?'" asked the chief. "Go and see who's saying it." They looked everywhere in vain; he was not to be found.
No sooner had they come back and reported their failure than "Just now I have come from the coast" was heard again.
"It sounds as if it were right here, look for him." Again many of them went and looked for him. They didn't find him. A hollow tree was standing there. Through a small opening in it they heard him talking; they found him there in the hollow tree.
"You'd better kill him," said the chief.
"Yes, we will kill him," they replied. They pulled him out and cut him to pieces. They threw his arms in one direction and his legs in another; they split him in two. For all that he did not die; his vital spot was not there, but between his toes.
When they cut between his toes he died.
That is all.
(Based on Cahto oral traditions and beliefs)
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