"I know thou dost." replied the woman abashed, for she was then very young.
"Yes! I love thee. I think I could eat a piece of thee, I love thee so much."
The girl exclaimed at his rashness. There were but three of them: the father, daughter and her husband.
When it was dark he put himself stark naked. And uttering a strong tremulous noise, and his teeth chattering in his head as if through cold, [he] rose up and walked out of the tent and laid himself, curled as a dog in a heap, upon the wood that his daughter had that day brought to the door. Here he remained all night in spite of what they could do. A little before day he returned. Thus did he every night for about a month, and every time slept out naked. Nor would he eat, excepting at times a little raw flesh. In the daytime he was more composed, but his face bore the appearance of one possessed of the Devil. He recovered and became as usual— composed, and good natured. I knew them all well, but had no dealings with them from the year before (1812).
[Executing a Wetiko]
A young Indian a few years back had one of the above dreams. He became very uneasy and thoughtful finding it recur so very frequently. And he would have willing undergone any torments, any death, rather than become an anthropophagi. He also frequently desired his friends, upon any the least appearance of these symptoms in him, to kill him. "For if you do not kill me 'till I have eaten of human flesh, you'll perhaps not be able to do it afterwards. But my children! Oh! my children! How grieved am I to leave ye! But it must be so; I have no alternative. Spare me not my friends, I conjure [sic] you!"
He had been a good hunter and a peaceable Indian and, of course, much loved by his friends. This business depressed them a great deal. At last, the time approaching fast, his brother one day remained behind with him to watch him whilst the others pitched off. About the time this one thought the others had finished the encampment, he proposed their setting off to join them. But before long he left his brother behind and laid an ambush for him not far from the tent. This was a preconcerted scheme; the other men, of course, were not far off.
The sick one drew near in a very slow and thoughtful manner. However, when he came near to where his brother was hid, he stopped, looked up and called out, "Thou thinkest thyself well hid from me, my brother, but I see thee. It is well thou undertakest [this]. It had been better for thee, however, hadst thou begun sooner. Remember what I told you all. It is my heart; my heart that is terrible, and however you may injure my body, if you do not completely annihilate my heart, nothing is done."
The brother was sure that he was not discovered—this knowledge being the information of some of the spirits. He therefore did not answer. Some of the other men had gone to meet him and endeavoured to amuse him, that the brother might give the first blow. Accordingly he shot—straight for the heart. He dropped but rose immediately and continued towards the camp that was within sight, laughing at their undertaking. The ball went through and through, but not a drop of blood was seen—His heart was already formed into Ice.
Here they seized and bound him, and with ice chissels and axes set to work to dispatch him. According to his desire they had collected a large pile of dry wood and laid him upon it. The body was soon consumed, but the heart remained perfect and entire; it rolled several times off the pile. They replaced it as often. Fear seized them. Then with their (ice) chissels they cut and hacked it into small bits, but yet with difficulty was it consumed!