Winnetou

[rhialto]

For a while now, I have Karl May's first book (Winnetou) at my bedside, partially re-read. (I wonder if Winnetou is known at all outside the Netherlands and Germany... for me he has always been *the* canonical Indian, and Old Shatterhand shows that there are even some reasonable christians). The reason I am not continuing is that I reached the point where they have just met Santer - and I know that what is coming next is the most sad and horrible and enranging part of the whole series... I almost don't dare to continue.
Spoiler: earlier in the story (which is set between 1860 and 1870), Klekih-petra ("white father", a white man who had joined the tribe) was shot dead (because he threw himself in front of Winnetou) by some white crook named Rattler, but despite that Winnetou decides to give his sister Nsho-tshi ("beautiful day") an education among the white people, to give her a chance to survive the inevitable downfall of the red men. However, while they are on their way to St Louis, they meet more white bandits (including a certain Santer) who want gold and she is killed too, and also his father Intschu-tschuna. Santer comes back a few times in later books, but it is only many many years later that Santer gets what he deserves.