Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-07-06

who once garrisoned the island, have been
sent to Guatemala. Great numbers of
wild goats roam here, as on all the other
islands, said to have sprung from the few
| put there by the priests more than a CEN
| tury ago.
The first accurate account we have of
this region is the report of Captain c. NJ.
Scammon, who came in 1858, with the brig
Boston, on whaling and sealing expedi-
ton. At that time the waters of San Sc
bastian bay were literally alive with por-
poises, whales, and other large fish, while
seals and turtles found breeding places
along the shores, and so abundant were
another sort of game that acres of sand
bank, left bare by receding tides, were
crowded with duck, snipe, etc. The whales
were of the variety called California
gray" and it is historically stated that be-
tween the years 1851 more than
TwENTY-THREE THOUSAND BARRELS OF
| OIL
Were taken from this region alone. The
| crop must have been quite exhausted, or
the whales frightened away, for few are
seen here now; though Jewish grow to
surprising size, sometimes weighing 400
pounds
The great Island of Cerros, which di-
vides San Sebastian from the Pacific is
twenty-one miles long, by from four to
nine miles across, with numerous lofty
peaks, evidently ofs volcanic origin Its
sides are sheer cliffs, showing scanty
patches of verdure here and there, with a
fringe of cedar trees on top. Nearly the
whole island is succession Of these mac
cessible bluffs and peaks, the highest one
towering nearly 5000 feet, each with its
scanty crown of trees while a heavy surf
constantly breaks on the basaltic reefs
below. White washed stones, set up at
intervals mark the recent United States
| Government coast survey.
The southernmost point Of this big island
is named Cape San Augustin. In the
northern portion is spot of comparative
fertility, where pines and cedars attain an
enormous hight. There is also species of
dwarf oak in some of the ravines, and nG-
ture has decked the widest sol:tu les with
a profusion of flowers. The only denizens
Of Cerros are such as deer, goats rabbits
and serpents, while otters seals and "sea-
elephants" resort to its shores. The sail
ors spin turtle yarns of great magnitude
anent this neighborhood. On the strength
of such high authority, beg to assure you
that each female turtle will lay as many as
200 eggs at single Sitting" every one of
which is warranted to hatch; and that
each turtle mother digs a number of holes
in the sand, but deposits her eggs in only
one of them, the rest being merely blinds"
to deceive the searchers. For many years
report has assigned great mineral wealth
to this island. A few years ago company
of San Francisco prospectors mot very ex-
pert, as their doings will show came here
to crack the bald heads of the hills and
I make them disclose their secrets. The
men remained several weeks on the island,
picking up all the glittering bits they
could find; and just as they were embark
ing happened to gather few rather dull
however, they took along, though not sup
posing them of any account When the
findings came to be overhauled by experts,
except those same dull bits, which proved
to be
| COPPER ORE OF PURE QUALITY,
But nothing has ever been done about it.
| If one had sufficient capital to work these
Cerros veins they might pay better than
many gold mine, especially now, since
the French syndicate have combined to
buy up and control the copper interests of
| the world.
They tell US that in all these islands, as
throughout Lower California, hydropho-
bia is fearfully common among animals,
wild and domestic. Coyotes are said to be
especially subject to it, and then only do
those cowardly beasts become dangerous.
Horses also have it, and become terrible to
encounter. Deer, rabbits and snakes seem
to be exempt. The theory among the ma
tiyes is that the distemper originates with
skunks, which are Eiuch smaller here than
in the United States, though not less odor-
Gus, and therefore lively war is waged
against these pests.
Though there were never any houses on
Cerros Island cemetery has been started,
all of whose occupants, so far, "went to bed
J with their boots or" as the miners say
/ Some fourteen years ago small schooner
anchored off the coast, containing three
Americans and Chilean, who came pros
pecting for gold. After few days-so the
story goes-the Chilean, crazed with rum,
determined to murder his companions as
they lay asleep in the camp and make of
with their combined belongings. One he
succeeded in killing another was severely
wounded, but the third was merely
stunned. Believing himself to be the only
living person on the island, and therefore
secure from pursuit, the would-be murderer
concluded to sleep off his debauch before
seeking pastures new. Meanwhile the
recovered American managed to get his
wounded fellow down to the waters edge
intending to wait at the point where they
came ashore, in the forlorn hope that some
vessel might pass that way and rescue
them from starvation. What was theil
JOY, as they approached the spot, to SET
their own little bark yet in the ofhng
while close by, fast asleep, with his som
brero over his face, to keep off the sun
lay the villain who had left them for dead
1t is needless to add that they lost M
time in
STARTING THE GRAVEYARD
With two occupants instead of one. Por
San Bartolome, little way below, has alsC
, It's gruesome tradition. Two summers age
the Captain of a man-of-war, that ther
sailed these waters, lay down on his deck
one hot afternoon, to take the usual siesta
when a gun-carriage, that had mad
: vertently been left loose rolled over OF
: him and rendered his sleep eternal. TIL,
/ sailors put into Port Bartolome and buriet
, their Captain; and during April of las
t year his friends came to remove the bod,
5 to the Campo Santo of Mazatlan. The,
, found the corpse completely mumified
the flesh dried upon the bones, but per
, fectly preserved. The strangest part o
l this story is that, close to the Mexican
: unmarked grave, lay the dead body of
young Observation-Disclosures with soft
white hands that showed no traces of toll
t with no indications of disease or marks o
violence about him, or not scrap of writ