The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1891-08-22

u about the extraordinary little
woman who lived all alone on
~ one of our islands for nearly Il
4 n quarter of II century, but some
of the facts seemed to have es-
capped notice shall write them down
here is briefly rs possible for the use
of the coming DE Foe. In the first
place this woman, although an Indian,
was almost white and of extraordinary
intelligence and sensibility.
The late Dr. BrinkerhOff, 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 at Santa Barbara they
began to gather in all the docile or
friendly Indians and utilize AS well as
civiliZe 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 the
most intelligent and gentle people
there that had yet been discovered on
the continent. They were loyal, affec-
tionate, and loved their narrow and
lonely little home in the sea above all
things. They had never visited the
main land 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 one low cliff, and they were
very skillful in spearing fish and cap
turing all sorts of sea birds. They
made mOcassins for their feet out OF
sealskIns, for seals were and are tC
tins day so abundant there that yor
can scarcely walk about without tread
inc on some of the little baby seals
And all along to right and left, as you
pass by, yon see the mild-eyed mother
seal nursing her baby at her breast, as
she half rests and reclines against 4
rock, and lifts her kind, human eyes tt
yours, rs if to ask yon to please moi
hurt her little hairy baby.
THEIR FOOD AND CLOTHING.
| found the eggs of water fowl Sc
plentiful when ! visited this little is
land almost twenty years ago to gather
material for an English magazine thai
it was absolutely impossible to wall
about without crushing great numbers
under foot. And these simple natives
dressed their bodies not in furs, but il
feathers. fhey skinned the sea lions
and out of the skins they made remark
ably beautiful garments of all hues ant
fashions.
And this wonderful skill in all theil
simple walks of life, together will
their perfect docility-for it seems they
knew nothing at all about war or even
anger-tempted the monks to undertake
the transportation of the whole tribe
numbering less than two hundred, Il
their settlement at Santa Barbara.
| And so they sent their ship, ant
contriving to get the simple and con
iiding islanders all on board the,
hoisted sail for the mainland.
After time the poor prisoners he
came alarmed, and fearing they wer
20 be taken from their beloved lslan'
forever, attempted to escape over tn
sides of the ship into the sea. But tn
cunning Spanish soldiers and sailor
had taken precautions against this, ant
only one managed to leap into the Sc
and swim back to the island.
Now the monks told various storie
about this woman's reason for escap
ing back to the lonely island. On
was to the effect that she had hidde
away her babe in the rocks on consent
ING to 90 on board the ship, so as t
make sure that 1t ut least should not b
torn from its happy little home in tn
: sea and made to serve the strangers
and then finding she was being carrie
away to return no more, she, in he
. desperation, dashed through her guard
5 and so got away. A kindlier story
E to the effect that her mother hid til
babe, but that she did not know it an
thought il had been forgotten. Sti
r another version of the story runs To til
= effect that the child was about to h
devoured by numbers of dogs tn;
| were left behind, and that she leape
into the sea to save it, But this is til
most unkindly and the hardest of a
the versions of this eXtra0rdinaI
story. For to believe this last is to be
lieve that the little child was indee
destroyed by the dogs; since the mott
er when found there and taken to I'll
' mainland nearly Il quarter of Il centul
ago was found entirely alone.
My own notion of the matter is th;
4 the jesuit fathers entrusted the cal
turc and transportation of the simp
natives entirely to some cruel leader I
their few seamen and soldiers; th;
with the usual high handed audacity I
the early Spaniards he decoyed the
all on board, and only this one couI
get away. see no reason for belle
: ing there was any baby in the case
ali.