The herald., 1894-12-25
CA1AuNA ISLANDS LOST TRIBE,
Strange People Who Lived by
Themselves.
Dialect Of the California Indian I'm,
known to Them.
A Raid by Sea Aftsr Hunters Cost the
Natives Many Lives-Ths 6qpaw
Hormik

A Raid by Sea Ansr Hunters Cost the
Natives Many Livss-Ths sqlaw
Hermit.
In paper by Mr.. O. F. Holder
printed in THE HERALD of November
Goth. mention ia made of theory re-
garding the islands lying off the coast
and to the south of Point Conception, to
the effect that the islands are vestiges
of q sunken continent that was in.
habited by race of people other than
found upon the American continent at
the time of it's discovery by Europeans.
In support of this theory it is stated
by the writer that DR.. Carr found human
skulls upon the island of Santa Catalina
differing 40 far from the skulls of people
now inhsbiting the earth as to warrant
a belief that they were the skulls of an
entirely different and extinct race. Il
may be pertinent to enquire OF Mr..
Holder what length Of time human
skulle would retain their form and struo-
ture if exposed on the surface or buried
in the ground, under climatic conditions
like those of Santa Catalina. Another
circumstance referred to by Mr.. Holder
in support of the theory is that q
woman brought from the island of st.
Nicholas could not speak any one of the
dialects spoken by the Indians along the
shore of California.
SCRAPS OF INDIAN HISTORY.
AZ the time of the founding OF the
missions of Upper California, the islands
OF Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Catalina
were all inhabited by Indians. brought
over to the maitland and incorporated
into the Indian communities of the mis-
eions. intercourse had previously been
kept up between the Indians living ON the
islands and those on the mainland, and
| from their proximity to the mainland,
| the mission fathers had no difficulty in
gathering them into the fold of the
Roman Catholic church. The distance
| TO st. Nicholas however, was 40 great
| that the fathers and the soldiers, who
guarded them, had no intercourse with
the inland tribes.
| In 1882 there were, and had been for
many years, two Indian villages in the
town of Los Angeles; one was near tho
intersection of Also and Alameda
streets, the people of which were of
and they spoke the same dialect
| as the San Gabriel Indians,
The other village was near whore the
crossing Of Eighth and San Pedro streets
now is. These people, or their anoes-
tors, had come from Santa Catalina, and
their dialect differed slightly from that
of the other village.
| POTTERY WORKERS.
There were in this latter village some
elderly men who were stonecutters.
These men occasionally visited their
"fatherland." and occupied themselves
with making pots and other eooking
utensils from soapstone found on the
island. The utensils they disposed of
at the missions and to the inhabitants
of the town. 1t was known to the peo-
pie of California that in 1918, or about
that time, vessel belonging to
the INSTRUMENTATION Fur company, en-
gagged in hunting sea fur.besrinR ani-
mails, with q crew OF Kodiao Indian
hunters, visited the island Of st. Nicho-
las, and while there dispute arose be-
tween the other hunters and the ma.
tives. During q battle that followed
nearly all the natives were killed. 1t
was known in the early part Of the
fourth decade of this century to . few
|
otter around the islands lying off this
coast that there were native inhabitantg
living on the island of st. Nicholas.
TAKEN FROM THE ISLAND.
In 1885 Captain James johnson and
Isaac Williams. both residents of Los
Angeles, sent boat to that island to
bring the Indians to Los Angeles. Only
seven people were found, and comprised
an elderly man and woman, q man and
woman about 40 years of age respect
lively, one girl of about Is years and two
boys of IA or Is years each. While the
boat's crew were busy with other mat
ters the old woman escaped. The re-
manning six were taken to Los Angeles
and taken into the families of Captain
johnson and Mr.. Williams as servants,
and were treated in the same manner a.
other Indian servants. They did not
speak the dialect of any of the Indians
of the mainland with the exception of
the girl, who was halfbreed; the others
were ell Indians and not distinguishable
from the native Indian of California.
A CHARACTER AT SAN PEDRO.
Whether from a radical change in
their diet or from some other cause, the
islanders that were brought to Los An =
geles soon fell sick and it was not long
before all of them were dead. except the
old man, who recovered with the loss of
his sight. He found his way to San
Pedro, where he lived a number of
yeare, spending most of his time along
the beR CHI gathering such shsllfsh ior
food as he could find on the rocks at
low tide.
Some years later George Neidever of
Santa Barbara, who devoted much of
his time to hunting sea otter. was at the
Island of st. Nicholas and brought from
thence TO Santa Barbara the woman
that had been left by the johnson and
Williams party. She was very old and
owing to her lonely life had lost the
power of speech. There was nothing In
her physical appearance to distinguish
her from the Indian race on this coast.
]. J. WARNER.
Some idea of how much money q sue
| E.,l ~,