The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-05-12

M4N-EArING GIANTS or SER.
Stories 81 n Horrible People Living on al
Island I'm the Gulf OF California.

FtOIIee or n uOfriulf Ieoplt Living bh Oh
Island I'm the GulfOf California.
There are ia giant canmbals, men and
women. living on Seri Island, in the Gulf of
California. and not sixty miles from the MAIN
land of Mexico" said George G Mcnamara
o. an Examiner reporter at the Palace Hotel
recently.
What say might seem ridiculous, but it
i nevertheless a fact, for l have seen some OF
them during my travels in Mexico. VINO
their ancestors were or how long they have
occupied the island is not known. but they
are now becoming extinct.
Il saw three women and one man. and
their appearance and manner gave me the inn
preston that they are brute, by nature and
i-ltes 10 heart and soul. ii was Just by
chance that | saw them. as few 81 them ven
tre away from the island except TO sell the
mats and shawls which they make from the
skins and feathers of the albatrOes They are
cunning thieves. but otherwise their minds
sre duh in fact they seem stupetied. They
lave p vacant stare IN thoir eyes, and when
not serious. an idiotc smile spreads over their
aces
"The island of SER is about twenty miles
ioreand no places ten miles wide and / was
t0lI0 Mexican or white man ever ventures
Zeal .r attempts 30 land on II, as they clam
the ISLAND is their domain and shoot the IN
tu0ers with poisoned arrows or capture ana
which are plentiful Low houses bullt OF
shubbery are their abode. Some live in ding
ogs' OF caves cut into banks. They roam
ABOUT the island and lead the LATEST HE Of
a-v people that I have ever heard of. No one
can really tell what their daily routine of llv-
ing is but 10 Is a fact that the tribe IS dying
oll and it viii not be many years before they
VII become extinct.
Their mode of burial is not known, but it
was estimated that where there are now @
handful there were several thousand not ten
te.rs ago, and If they bury the dead and DO
MT burn the bodies as cannibals do, the bones
o. their enormous frames Will cover large
area IF the ISLAND
The man / photographed Is over seven
ie'' IN height His face was a study when he
Sw the lens pointed at him, and he could not
understand what was being done. He, as are
all ms race was superstitiOus, but we over
came that obstacle by giving him present Of
ID old pair of trousers, which he
Immediately tied around his neck
TIE gentleman standing next 10 him
about six feet tall, and he had
n hold the Indians hand. An old rag encir-
cet the upper portion of the Indian limbs,
aud was tied around the waist The blan-
ihe- is made OF albatros SKIN and feathers.
--e bow and arrows which he holds are the
ooly weapon they know of or use. His legs
I2m the knee down are not covered. The
.4i 1e wears is Of straw. and he, as be stands
Uere is tine typical Sen Indian
TIE women wear patched dresses made Of
con which they receive for albauOs9 mats
srd shawls. They are wrinkled and old, very
~" girls being among the tribe. The bowls
ol Their heads contain broken vessels made
Of clay
., hey are a wonderful people" continued
NJ Mcnamara. and no doubt their past his
Wv, IT revealed. Will bring 10 light facts that
r-Ate 90 The magnificent reign OF the Monte
tla- or even far beyond the time Of Cortez."
San Francisco Examiner.