The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1891-05-16
THE ROBINSON CRUSOE OFCALIFORNIA
BY JOAQUIN MILLER.

-
the extraordinary little woman who
lived all alone on one of our islands for
nearly quarter of century, but some
of the facts seem to have escaped no
tice. | shall write them down here as
briefly as possible for the use of the
coming De Foe.
In the first place this woman, al
though an Indian, was almost white and
OF extraordinary intelligence and sensi-
biiity.
The late Dr. BrInkerhof, Of Santa
Barbara, who attended her in her last
illness, told me that he thought per
haps she was not of Indian extraction
at all. But to get on with the facts.
When the Jesuit priests founded their
settlement al Santa Barbara they began
to gather in all the docile or friendly
Indians, and utilize as we'll as civlllze
them.
After some years they found out that
one Of the small islands lying off about
twenty miles from their harbor of Santa
Barbara was inhabited. The priests
visited the island and found one of the
most intelligent and gentle people there
that had vet been discovered on the
continent They were loyal, affection
ate, and loved their narrow and lonely
little home in the sea above all things
They had never visited the mainland.
They had no wood to build boats with,
and so the long black and barren
mountain of land away To the south
was as inaccessible to them as is the
moon to us.
They had queer little houses Of stone
on the low cliff, and they were very
skillful in spearing fish and capturing all
sorts of sea birds They made mocas-
sins for their feet out Of sealskins, for
seals were and are to this day SO album
dant there that you can scarcely walk
about without treading on some of the
little baby seals. And all along to right
and left, az YOU pass by, you see the
mild-eyed mother seal nursing her baby
at her breast, as she half rests and re-
clines against rock, and lifts her kind,
human eyes to yours, as If TO ask you to
please not hurt her little hairy baby.
| found the eggs Of water fowl so
plentiful, when visited this little island
almost twenty years ago TO gather ma
terial for an English magazine, that it
was absolutely impossible TO walk about
without crushing great numbers under
foot. And these simple natives dressed
their bodies not III furs. but in feathe rs.
They skinned the seq lions, and out OF
the skins they made remarkably beauti-
full garments of all hues and fashions
And this wonderful skill in all their
simple walks of life, together with their
perfect docilitv-for ii seems they knew
nothing al all about war, or even anger
tempted the monks to undertake the
transportation of the whole tribe, num-
bering less than POO, to their settlement
at Santa Barbara.
And so they sent their ship, and, con-
irving to get the simple and Coniiding
islanders all on board, they hoisted sail
for the mainland.
After time the poor prisoners be-
came alarmed. and, fearing they were to
be taken from their beloved island for
ever. attempted 10 escape over the side
of the ship into the sea. But the cum
ming Spanish soldiers and sailors had
taken precautions against this, and only
one managed 10 leap into the sea and
swim back to the island.
Now the monks told various stories
about this woman's reason for escaping
back 10 the lonely island. One was TO
the effect that she had hidden away her
babe IN the rocks on conserving To 20 on
board the ship, SO rs 10 make sure that
II al least should not be torn from its
happy little home III the sea and made
70 serve the strangers. and then finding
that she was being carried away IL re-
turn no more, she in her desperation
dashed through her guards and GOT
away \ klndller story Is 10 the effect
that her mother hid the babe, hnt that
she did not know it and thought il had
been forgotten. Still another version
Of the story runs 10 the effect
that the child was about 10 be
deyonred by numbers Of dogs that
We're left behind, and that she
leaped into the sea to save it. But this
Is the most unklndly and the hardest Of
all the versions of this extraordinary
story. For To believe this il to believe
that the little child was indeed de
stroyed by the dogs: since the mother
when found there and taken 10 the
mainland nearly quarter of a century
later was found entirely alone.
NV own notion Of the matter IS that
the Jesuit Fathers entrusted the capture
and transportation of the simple natives
entirely 10 some cruel leader of their
few seamen and soldiers. that with the
usual high handed audacity OF the early
SpanlardS ne decoyed them all on board
and that only this one could Get AWAY
| see no reason for believing there was
any baby III the case at all
And now wears and wears rolled by
beautiful little city biossomed out at
santa Barbara, only twenty mics AWAY
from the lonely woman on her silent
little island. 4 huge stone cathedral.
still standing there with its frieze of
human skulls set in stonelike cement.
was reared by the hands OF the con
verts and captlves; hut She saw nothing,
knew nothing of this For her there
was no change day after dav. wear after
year. The same rise and fall of the sea,
the same solemn march of the seasons.
the same silent marching and counter
marching Of the stars above her and
about her on the edge Of the sea, the
same endless. awful monotouv Of the
rising and going down Of the san and
the moon and The stars. And that WAS
all. 1t seems Incredible 10 think that
any set of human beings could have
been SO entirely brutal as 10 leave this
woman there all these years So utterly
and So desalatelv alone. She did n0t
even have the goats ot Robinson IrusnC.
to say nothing of his man Friday and
like creatures. She had only the dogs
And they became so numerous and So
wild. as we shall presently see. rs 10 he
the greatest terrors.
But il should here Ice explained as :
sort Of justification of the Jesuit Fathers
that they had hardly got their religious
settlement solidly founded when they
we're recalled by the king 81 Spain. or
AT least made powerless by the contisca.
tion Of nearly all their privileges and
their property. And So other people
took their places and time swept on.
After years and years gold was found
IN California. and ships began 10 sail by
in great numbers. one ship after an.
other reported seeing lone figure like
that of \ human being standing on q
little pyramid Of heaped-up stones and
looking ont after the ship till lost tc
sight.
Finally inquiry III and around San
Francisco revived Ihe story about The
lone woman Who had been left Tor =
MANY years on the island. and the cir.
cnmstances as | have set them down s.
far as the facts were known at SAINTS
Barbara.
But everybody was busy getting gold
w