The New era. [volume] ([Portsmouth, Va.]) 1845-1847, 1847-01-21
A FEMALE CRUSOE

y,
lndoent race Of Indians. wh. subsisted aIu,,,s, en-
uteiy upon fish. which they caugh, from The
'"cks' ana muscles. which they found in The
sands ut the beach. They were a lis,l.ss qniet
race ct beings. who seldom had comma ncaiion
WIN others OF the human family, and wliv had
but few wants and fewer cares
About the year eighteen hundred aud eighteen
ar twenty. the Russians, from their settlements
AZ the North. landed on this island party If
kodiac Indians. for the purpose of hunting the sea
utter. which, at that period. abounded in those
waters This party remained IN the ISLAM, for
more than two years; and were the inca ms of SOW
ing the seeds of disease and cnnteniion a,nonus,
It's unsnspec,ipg and unsuphislicaled Inhabitants
Some Ten or twelve years after the departure
ct the kodiacs. this tribe had hecune diminished
To about twenty or thirty individuals, when The
Governor ot the department Of California sent
nveI a small vessel and removed them To the
main.
In the las, boat which was emharkinp with tho
last If this people. (sume six or eight perhaps in
nunber.) To convey them TO the vessel, which
was To carry them from The hume uf their mali .ly
forever. waS "ne cat the tribe, small i'm stature mi,
lar advanced in years. and his dusky male. then
in The bIoom of life. The order had been given
I" shove from The shore he oars had dipped in
'ne wave; Inc boat was rising The fuaininu
SUR. then breaking on the beach with awful roar
III
were. this ynnng and blooming bride of the red
man, the imprint of whose fno,siep had heen The
last ipit ON The sands of her island home, waved
| an auieu to her chosen male, plunged into the
abyss, :" strove through the SURGE and, in
another moment. siond alone on the shures of her
native land. She turned To give the las, Inner
ing look To her departing lpnlate; and then
gathering round her form he flowing mantle, we,
by The ocean wave, in an instant disappeared for
| fIn cnht ,f hor, ol,o a
| inc cumpaninns
The vessel weighed anchor spread her can
vass; and in forty eight hours, this remnant ur
he Inhabitants of San Nicholas were landed ON
Point San Pedro hnuseless and f,rlorn.
From that period 10 he present--if she be not
dead, or has not left within the past eighteen
mon'hs-has resided alnne. on the Isle of San
NICHOLAS. his female Crnsue. the rch of ali
she surveys She preferred To part even with
her chosen mate, and sever every human tie that
could he binding, rather than leave the hume Of
her birih--ihat lonely liile Isle, that had been TO
| her a world, which she cared not 10 EXCHANGE for
The abode OF civilized man, with all its promised
| lnxuries
Since our Crusoe became The sule monarch of
! the lsle San Nicholas has been visited perhaps
ten or twelve different times. by different indivi
duals but there she has continued tu he found
with none 10 dispute her righi-alone, solitary
and fnrsaken.
Her dress. or covering, is composed Of the skins
ct small birds. which she kills with stunes, and
sews them together with needle of bone and the
| 'ight slnews at The hair seal, sometimes found
dead amongst the rocks Her only food is a she'll
| fish, of The muscle Species With now and then
still smaller fish. which the surf sometimes throws
on The beach. She never remains long in one
spot but is constantly wandering around the
shores of the Island. sleeping which she seldom
does. in small caves and crevices in the rock
During the few last years, it has been very
dlfflcnlt 10 obtain any communication i,h her
Al the approach Of the white man she fecs. rs
from an evil spirit; and The only way To de,ain
her is by running her down, as you would the
WILD goat OF the mountain, or the young fawn of
the plains
| Those who have seen her at the latest neriod
report that she appears 10 have lost all knowledge
| ct language; that she makes only wild noise.
altogether inhuman and when taken and detain
ed against her will. becomes frightened and rest
less; that the moment she is liberated she darts
on, and endeavors 10 secrete herself in The wild
grass. or amongst the rocks which hang over the
| never ceasing surf
Every endeavor has been made, and eyerv in
dncemen offered. by different individuals. TO pre-
vail upon her 10 leave the island. hut in vain
i ne only home size appears to desire is her own
little isle Her last hope, if she has any, is, to
finish her journey alone. She has no wish now
to hear again the sweet music Of speech. IT'S
sounds are no longer music in her ear-.and. rs
Tor civilized man. his iameness is shockin even
lo her dormant senses
To all appearance, she is strong healthy. and
content 10 he alune. What can reconcile her Ia
her lot, who can conjecture Humanity NAV
hope that cnnteniment may cuniinne io be hers
to the last hour; for she is destined 10 lie down
and die alone, on the rolJ shore of her isolated
home, with one 10 administer 10 her last wants
and none to cnyer her cold budy, hen the spirit
shall have left the clay
But the story of onr Crusoe's chnsen mate. The
companion Of her early life. has yet to he told =
lie saw her TOR The last time as we have stated.
when she stood alone on the shores Of her Isle
when the boat with himself and his companions
was dasblng through the wild surf, and broke in
uninterrupted succession against the rocks which
encrced the resting place of his fathers, and
which he was then leaving forever With the
remnant Of the family from San Nicholas nnr he
70 was landed at Pedro, and there left, with the
others WIN had accompanied him, Ia find house
in the land Of strangers.
SaH Pedro. 1t may be known, is bleak bar
rem, bluff point running ont into the blue waters
oi The Pacific. on which no verdnre is 10 be seen
and but one solitary abode nC man. rising amid
The desolation which surrounds il, The Pueblo
de los Angeles is situated Ten leagues distant.
with one farm huuse between The one un the
point aud those Of the tuwn. The mission Of San
Gabriel lies vet farther on, some three or fur
leagues. where. in that lime, might be found. per
haps, three or four hundred converted Indians
But our hero, as he may be called, never left |
The beach on which he was first landed Alone
and IriendleSs' there he remained, an isolated be-
ing, I'LL life ceased To animate his frame. True
it is. that several lines he was induced tu Won |
lure as far as he Pueblo and even the mission Of
San Gabriel hut he always, as soon as al liberty,
returned and resumed his old station on the beach.
or hxPd himself on the rocks which hung around
the point. And there he might always be seen, !
solitary outcast it were, and more constantly