Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-09-07

a horrible din of rattles warns the in
truder not to set his foot upon the shore,
while incredible numbers of gigantic igua-
mas bask undisturbed in the sunshine The
latter singular animal is by no means
beauty He is type of the family Igua-
nide, to which crocodiles belong-a rela-
tive of the stupenduous sauriens that ex-
Isted in former geological periods. He
has lizard-like form and long tail, a
huge mouth like trap-door, from which
is perpetually protruding a thick, feshy
tongue notched at the tip. Along his
back, and continued to the end of his tail,
are rows of elevated, pointed scales, and
under his ugly chin is a great dewlap-like
pouch, and his coat is greenish-yellow,
mottled with darker green, the tail ringed
with brown. The feet are not webbed, but
have long toes with sharp claws, we'll
adapted to climbing trees, while the COM
pressed tail enables him to swim like a
duck. The average length of iguanas in
this part of the world is about four feet,
but | have seen occasional specimens
nearly double that size. They are
A FAvoRITE ARTICLE OF FOOD
Among all classes of Lower Californians,
and are really no more disgusting to con-
template in that line than are the terrapin
and crabs of the North. Their eggs (which
are about the size of the pigeon, and are
laid in the sand, with no hard SHELLY are
also considered great delicacy. The
| iguana is generally caught by means of
moose, thrown over its head. Dogs are
trained to assist in their capture, and
when pursued, it takes either to the trees
or to the water, whichever happens to be
nearest.
Nearly opposite Angel de la Guardia
towers the highhst mountain in Lower
! California - the Calamahue, sometimes
known as Santa Catalina, from the ancient
mission of that name near its base. Its
ragged top-snow white by reason of the
rocks that crown it-attains an elevation
of more than 10000 feet, and In clear
weather can be distinctly seen 100 miles
| away. From some unknown reason,
however, it was never laid down on
any map or chart until the United
States steamer Narragansett pub
lished its survey in 1875. Friar Kino
writing in 1902, spoke of it as crowned,
with perpetual snow" but that was a mis-
take, the good Father being doubtless de-
ceived by its chalk-white appearance
! Near its summit is said to be large lake.
which feeds the various small streams
flowing toward the Pacific The Cocopa
Indians, who inhabit the region
about, report the existence of
much gold, and they occasionally
come down to the mouth of the Colorado
river bringing nuggets of pure ore, which
| they trade for firearms, ammunition and
whisky. But they are wise enough to per-
NIT no white man to enter their domain,
and so far have succeeded in retaining un-
disputed possession of its treasures.
Near the upper end of the Gulf, close to
the Mexican mainland, is found that mys-
terious and much -talked-of island called
TIBURoN,
! Which is held by small but powerful
band of Indians of the Ceres or Seris tribe.
The gulf-girt principality is about thirty
miles long, with an average width of fif-
| teen miles, a high and rugged surface COW
cred with cones and cliffs rising from 900
to 1000 feet, separated from the State of
Sonora by narrow and intricate channel
named FL Infernillo, which is perilous at
all times and frequently impossible. YES
| sells sail shv Of this island and give it as
wide berth as circumstances will permit,
| for the Indians therein, whose huts and
encampments may be seen scattered along
the beach, have the reputation of being
| cannibalistic in their tastes and uncom-
| fortably expert in the use of poisoned ar
rows. | have no idea that cannibalism
was ever practiced among them, but it is
no doubt true that the shipwrecked
stranger would better leap into the cruel
sea than trust himself to their tender
mercies. They are said to differ from
any other Indians on the islands or
coasts or in the interior of Mex
leo, and to speak a language of
their own, holding no intercourse
either with the whites or with other Indi-
ans. The men are as gigantic in stature as
the Patagonians, many of them being seven
feet in hight, and some even taller. What
the women look like none can tell, as they
never leave their island home. The whole
tribe is believed to number not more
than three hundred, but nobody can
say with certainty. 1t is stated that
Greek vessel was wrecked on Tiburon a
few years ago, and the sailors, ignor-
antly seeking shells among the Indians,
found that they caHld speak and under
stand the language, which closely re-
sembled their own. The theory is, that at
stranded here, married Indian wives and
thus populated the island. At any rate,
all attempts to Christianize or utilize
them, or even to get acquainted with them
have signally failed, and their little do
main, almost within stones throw of the
Mexican mainland, remains to Mexico as
well as to the nearby United States,
complete terra incognitd. Their canoes are
81 l.
ing merely long bundles of reeds, bound
together with withes, after the manner of
taScines;, three bundles, hitched point to
point, possessing sufficient buoyancy to
support one or two persons In this queer
canoe the Indian kneels when padding.
the water on the inside of the boat being
on the same level as outside of it. 1t is
asserted that pearl-oyster beds surround
this mysterious island, and that its hills
contain gold-mines of fabulous richness,
but both reports lack confirmation. And
now we corle to the great
RIO COLORADO.
That mighty stream flowing down
through Arizona and emptying itself into
the gulf Though navigable more than six
hundred miles above its mouth, the en-
trance is marked by mud flats, bare at low
water springs, but which at high tide
have navIgable channels between them
and the main channel lying close along
the Sonora shore. There are 10 settle
ments near the mouth of the river, and
none of consequence north of Muleje on
one side of the gulf and Guaymas on the
other. The principal exports from above
are hemp (which grows wild in surprising
profusion, copper and argentiferous lead
ores. The river navigation is entirely
monopolized by what is known as the