The herald., 1893-07-07
UNCANNY SAN NICOLAS ISLAND.
Its Habitants Abandon the
Place in Terror.
Singular C0nvulsions 4 Nature
Noted by Some Fishermen.
The Island IL Covered with Dend Mons
Bones, and IL Altogether an
Uncomfortable
Place.

Gan Diego UNION: Ine bteRm bcuuOhoA
Jennie Griffin arrived this morning
from San Nicolas island, and Captain
Mullett and crew tell OF strange and
wonderful meteorological disturbances
ON the island. The schooner is engaged
in the crawfish business for the Pacific
Coast Fishing and Packing company OF
this city, and couple OF weeks ago lett
gang Of eight men on San Nicolas
jalsnd to prosecute the work OF crawfsh-
ing. The Jennie driffin arrived there
last Sunday to load the catch ior this
port, but received news instead wnicn
astonished the whole party, and caused
Captain Mullett to take on the gang
from shore and leave the Island as
quickly az he could. !,
The men reported that the island had
been visited by tremendous gale of
wind, which raised the sea in the nature
of tidal wave, completely filling with
sand the only harbor OF the Island,
which is marked "Coral harbor' on the
government charts. Captain Mullett
was dumbiounded to find q stretch OF
anchor in q small but safe harbor. A
big crawfish Car, holding about FIVE tons
OF fish, which was moored in the bay,
was half covered with sand and the fish
lost.
THREE EARTHQUAKE SHOCKS.
The men told the people on board of
the schooner that the weather had been
the most remarkable they had ever
known, and something seemed to fore
tell disaster. All Heabirds and living
things acted strangely. On June 26th, at
Ira. M, a heavy earthquake was expert
enced, the island oHcillating from east to
west, and the shock lasting several sec'
onds,
On June Both at q. M, another
earthquake was felt. and another at
noon, each continuing for come Sec
onds. The weather was very foggy and
the heat oppressive and sitting. A
peculiar light covered the sea in spite OF
the Jog, which seemed to center about
the island.
On June 30th. large ocean steamer
wao seen by the men within few yards
of the breakers. Captain Mullet thinks
her compasses were affected by the
strange occurrences and the probability
of extraordinary electrical disturbances.
The Jennie Griffin was in the neighbor-
hood, in the fog, and her two compasses
would not work together while near the
island.
During the last few days the foreman
on the island was unable to compel his
men to work, and nothing was done be.
yond getting water and wood. Several
of the fishermen were Kanakas, who
were scared almost to death and who
prophesied the island would be swal-
lowed up. All tho crawfsh caught in
the pots died from some inexplicable
cause. The uncanny aspect OF nature,
the gale, fog, heat and earthquakes.
were too much for the men, and they
went wild with Joy when the Jennie
.sts r'fdn cnr,e ABREAST OF the island and
they v'7fe taken off in small boats.
THlE ISLANDS STRANGE HISTORY.
San Nicolas is the most westerly OF
the group known as the Santa Barbara
islands, and is about $50 miles distant
from San Diego. Twenty years ago
it WAS covered with grass, which
affor0ad pasture for thousands Of eheep,
and j. owner lived there in fine resi-
Ats.Ange transformation has been 60
ing OF since then. 1t is now a windy,
haven, sandy waste, where but a few
hundred sheep, without shepherd, exc
out miserable existence. 1t ia but
eight miles long and four wide, but
wherever one Gigs can be found human
bones and skulls. In the distant past it
was either densely populated, or burial
ground, or q great battle field. Some
30 years ago the laet inhabitant was
found in the person of an old woman. A
Santa Barbara otter hunter named
Nideyer found her, and took her to his
home, where che died shortly after,
without being able to make anyone un-
derstand the language. She was found
in cave, subsisting on fish which she
caught with hooks made out of abalone
shalls. Her discovery caused consider
able interest in the scientific world at
the time.
Captain Mullet, who has visited the
island many times during the last &c
years, says he was glad to get away from
it with his men, and has visited it for
the last time.
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