The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-09-25

hiEdS n was ever known of her tongue. A
H 1paS sne called O-co (to-kay); a man, nache
bodIr cney(; the sky, te-gua (tay- gwah) the
fa,uy ptnche, (pin-O0 -chey) She learned a
fnota Spanish words: pan (bread), pdpas,
caIIed cGbdlLo (hOrse). Sometimes she
1fatIa captain Nidiver in Spanish, tdta,
\iT TL sometimes mana (mother).
,,nti ny gentleness, modesty and tact of the
90 tod wild woman Of the Pacific were
~ toIelgn TO ideas of the savage nature, that
I IOd; parties believed that she was not an
~, uI, out person Of distinction cast away
bssf SnIpwreck and adopted by the islanders
, uenole thelr removal from their home. Others
a.. certain, from her evident refinement,
Snas she had not been long alone, but had
lifted to San Nicolas after the Indian
W. mIman persisted in the serf, and had by mis-
odSo Deen taken for the original savage. The
uiu sailors who rescued her affirm that she
. Nus an indian, the same who jumped from
tne schooner to save her child. The represen-
ga.,fe OF lost tribe, she stands out from the
Indians of the coast, the possessor of noble
an anu distinctive traits; provident, Clearly,
Ca:s',,eIul, amiable, initiative, considerate, and
Mi.n maternal devotion which civilization
mas never surpassed.
one was greatly disappointed when none
VI her kindred were found. She dropped
ne 0I ner island camp. After a few weeks
sue became too weak to walk; she was car
rleo on to the porch every day in chair.
9ne uozed In the sunshine, while the chill
uren played around her. She was patient
anu cheerful, looking eagerly into every new
lac :e, 1or recognition, and sometimes singing
softly to herself. Mrs. Nidiyer hoped a re-
turn to her old diet would help her. She
procured seaPs meat, and roasted it in ashes.
Wnen the sick woman saw it, she patted her
nurses hands affectionately, but could not
eau tne food. She fell from her chair one
morning, and remained insensible for hours
Seeing the approach of death, Mrs. Nidiver
ut for priest to baptize her prOtege. At
first he refused, not knowing but that she
had been baptized previously, although the
burden of proof was against it. At length,
needing the kind Catholic lady's distress, he
consented to administer the rite, condition
ally. AS she was breathing her last, the
sign OF the cross was pressed on her cold
brow, and the unknown and nameless crea-
ture was christened by Father Sanchez, In
the beautiful Spanish Juana Marie" In
walled cemetery, from whose portals
CLEAN CHASTITY skull and cross bones, close
to the Santa Barbara Mission, under the
shelter of the tower, is the neglected grave
OF a devoted mother, the heroine of San
Nicolas.
The abandonment of San Nicolas occurred
forty-siX years ago. The survivor of eight
cen years. solitary captivity arrived in Santa
Ddl Ddl q bhC OIL VI OCpIculUcI, 1000 zap
tain Nidiver's house, where the stranger
died, stands in sight Of the ocean, and can
be pointed out by any schoolboy in town.
Nidiver and his wife are living, and their
son George follows the sea, as his father did
before him. Carl Detman,or Charlie Brown,
as he is called by the old sailors, may be
found any day where the retired boatmen con-
gregate. Thomas Jeffries walks the streets
in blouse, wide hat, and flowing gray hair.
DR.. BrinkerhOff, who attended the woman of
San Nicolas, is a well known physician of
the city. Father Gonzales died few years
ago, after continuous residence of more
than quarter of century in the Mission
For long time he was partially paralyzed,
and was carried about in a chair. remem-
Der him as little dark man, with eyes
that blazed unnaturally from sunken sock
cts, his appearance rendered more startling
by a white turban bound around his head. He
is buried under the floor of the old chapel.
The rambling mansion on State Street, known
as the Park Hotel, may have sheltered tour
lists who read this account. 1t was the first
brick house built in Santa Barbara, and was
the private residence of Isaac Sparks, the
lessee of the sail-boat from which, in 1885,
the woman jumped overheard. Burton's
Mound" a picturesque knoll, threaded by
rows of olive trees, belongs to Lewis L. Bur-
ton, another lessee of the Pe0r es NADIA. A
lady in San Francisco has some of the island
er's needles. Nidiver and Brown retain her
curious water-tight baskets. The Mission
fathers sent her feather robes to Rome. They
were made of the satiny plumage of the
green cormorant, the feathers pointing
downward, and so skillfully matched as to
seem one continuous sheen Of changeful lus-
ter.
The record of baptism is in the church reg
ister Her grave will be pointed out to any
one by the Franciscan brothers on the hill
Scribner's M0nthly.