Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-10-21
Living on an Unexplored Island in
the Gulf Of California
Near Sonora.
They are Folbidding in Features
and Very Low in the
Moral Scale.
ShipWrecked Sailors who Sought
Refuge ON Their Shores
We're Often Murdered.

1t is Il curious fact that Mexico pos
SeSSeS al island in the gulf OF Cali
fornia only 4 couple of miles from the
mainland of the state OF Sonora, and
not over thirty miles from Hernoslllo,
the capital OF the state, over which the
national or state authorities exercise
no jurisdiction, which has never been
thoroughly explored, and which is in
habited by a race of Indians totally
unlike any o,her trIbe of dDorigiueS
in that part OF the world. Frank Oak
ley, who was for some years resi-
dent OF the GuaymaS and other Next
can places on the gulf, Yves recently
i'll Los Angeles, and from him cor
respondent of the New York Tribune
cleaned some facts about this wretch
ed little bit of Sayagedom and its more
Wretched inhabitants which will be OF
interest, not only i'll themselves, but i'll
the light they throw on MeNiCos i'll
difference to its wards. The island is
called Tiburon, which means 1.-The
shark, a very appropriate utle when
all its features are understood. Its
exact location Is between the twenty
eighth and tWenty-ninth degrees of 1ati
tude and the thirty fourth degree OF
longitude
The island is not large" said Mr..
Oakley, Its extreme length being about
twenty miles and its greatest width
something like twelve miles. 1t lies
Oil the coast of Sonora, separated from
tie mainland by strait only two OF
three miles wide. Taking it as the
crow flies, it is only about thirty miles
from the city of IIermosillo. 1t is in
hablted by Il tribe of indians of whom
! less is known. perhaps, than of the
Fuegians Of the southern continent,
and who are fully us low i'll the So
cial scale, though not as repulsive in
features Us the latter.
Notwithstanding the short distance
which separates these Indians, who
are called Ceris, from the mainland,
the inhabitants of that state know
next to nothing about them, and their
! island has never been thoroughly eA-
plOred on account Of their hostility to
visitors. | have seen parties of them
occasionally ut Hermosillo, and a sub
urb of that city is called after them,
Pueblo de CeriS. The island is i'll ap-
pearance most uIsnViting. 1t is noun
famous and barren, its fora suggestive
OF its people, as it consists chiefly OF
cacu OF the tuna ard plaza class which
produce 'prickly pears '-'besnagas,'
which by ArizoniaDs in the desert are
called ''niggerheads"-they are thick,
, round cacti growing to tue size of i've
gallon kegs-mesquit bushes, grease
wood aud stuntswood trees. In a few
OF the valleys, however, it is said that
sycamores grow and some grass is to
lie found
Jack rabbits, quail and rattlesnakess
appear, like the Ceris, to be natives
OF The island, and Durros, u few cattle
and ii great many dogs have been i'm
ported by the Indians as Il result of
their raids into Sonora. No one knows
how many Indians there are on the
island; but there are lot thought to be
over 500, and there won't be that
many very long, as they are dying
do not hesitate to eat those which
have been cast upon the sands by the
sea-, even ii they are more OF less de
cuyed. They will also eat most any
kind of animal, not being particular
whether it was killed for that purpose
or not. Some few years ago they were
very hostile and would not allow any
one to land on the island, and even
US yet no exploring party has ventured
to so any distance inland, SO forbid
ding are they and SO treacherous.
They would cross to the mainland oc-
casionally and make folays on the
ranches, but the rurales punished them
severely several times, and of late
Iney have maintained a sullen sort of
good behavior.
The NIexicans have only one naval
vessel on this coast, you know, the
Democratic she is called. a small Iicke-
ty wooden steamer; but she is a Won
der to these Indians, and when she
occasionally steams past they seem to
realize that there is u power which
could be brought to bear on them that
they could not resist. When they visit
HermosiIlo they always travel in
squads and sell bows and arrows and
singing birds and steal what they can.
Their nearest neighbors among the
aboHgineS are the CahuilIas. of Lower
California; the Cowpohs, of lower
Colorado, and the YaqUis, of southern
Sonora, but to these they bear no re-
semblance. They are different in con-
tour of the face and head; in size they
are smaller, and in cleanliness, indus
try and intellect they are not to be
compared, and their language is totally
different On the island they are most
inhOspitable, and show it plainly.
When parties Gre not strong enough
to inspire respect they VIII not be per-
mitted to land at all, and have heard
Of several cases in the last ten years
Of their numbering shipwrecked sailors !
who had sought refuge on their shores. |
As they are extremely treacherous and !
use poisoned arrows for weapons.
whose slightest scratch means a hor- |
rible death, the Mexicans leave them |
severely alone. Private individuals !
have no business relations with them /
and government officials can make |
nothing out of them. AS they have
ceased their raids into Sonora the /
authorities do not bother their heads
about them and the priests many years
ago gave up al hope of converting /
them to catholicism. The last vessel |
which touched At Tiburon was the