Arizona republican., 1899-03-23
ALONE ON ISLANDS.
Men Who Live Hermit Lives on the
 Pacific Coast.
Wind Swept San Nicholas Occupied by Solitary Frenchman>- Lonely GalIs ghcr of San
 CIemente.

Wind-swept, mass of sand shifted
 at every whim of the wind, the home of
 the wind gods of the Pacific. San Nico-
 las island. would not be considered at
 tractive as q place of residence. yet Is
 cur yacht rounded to off a spit Of sand
 that reached out into the sea a small
 shanty could be seen on the rocky shore
 and near by a man and two dogs. The
 island appeared to be- about ten miles
 long, perfectly fiat on top. rising to
 height of 2o0 CT more feet in places and
 cut and scared by the wind in mar
 vicious fashion.
 After many attempts to land we suc-
 ceeded. almost at the risk of our lives,
 hoping to see the sole inhabitan Of the
 dreary spot. But he had disappeared,
 and we made our way to his shanty-a
 single-roomed affair under the lee of
 the hills near the beach, On the door
 was the satirical notice: No trespass-
 CTS allowed on this island"
 The impression the island had con
 veyed was that. the sea and wind were
 making a com mbined effort to destroy it.
 Devastation was everywhere. Not a
 green thing. no water was in sight,
 only the sand dunes shimmering in the
 sunlight. The path to the summit was
 over hard sandstone in yellow. blue
 and white tints strangely incrusted
 and cut by the wind and water in mar
 vicious shapes; mimic busts and statues, grand stairways, broken in by the fall of rock from above. windows covered
 with a delicate lacework, festoons and thousand and one strange carvings caught the eye and fancy as we climbed
 upward When the summit was reached the eyes rested upon plain without spear of grass or a particle of vegcta- tion- It may have been four miles long and its surface was covered with small stones, arranged in wind rows, which were picked up and blown along blythe | terrific winds. Or the north end3the sand was in full possession and seemed imbued with a life of it's own. It-was ever creeping upward, filling the can , yons and gullies, rising in clouds and whirled aloft in spectral shapes.
 Desolation could not better be il- frustrated than by this island, a bout GO miles off Los Angeles county, Cal; vet | there lived a man who delighted in his surroundings. He had avoided us. in | the afternoon, but finally came along the beach, appearing mysteriously. He | was a Frenchman, fall Of stature. with | a mahogany-colored skin, deep-set eyes and kindly expression. On his head | was a great sombrero-like hat, tied by string beneath his chin. On his shoul- der he carried all old-fashioned shot gun and a canteen of water a cane or staff completing lis outfit. Two shep- herd dogs which followed at his heels were his sole companions. He was very reticent and refused the papers offered him, and had no desire to hear of the world. We told him of the ending of the war with Spain, but he did not know there had been war He had turned | his back on the world long ago; had two faithful friends, his dogs, and was not dependent upon anyone.
 Sixty or more miles, to the south is the inland of San Clemente. about g miles in length, where lived an Irish man up to the present year. His name was Gallagher-Gallagher, of San Gle he, too. was at war with all the world, though it is but fair to say that once a year he left his island home and repaired to Los Angeles, where he diligently spent his money, then re- turned to live alone for another year. Gallagher preferred his own society and that of his sheep and dog. He never was afraid of their overreaching him, he once said. He lived on San Jlemente, 50 miles off the coast, for 20 years, and was finally stricken with pa | 'alysis, being found by some fisher men sitting in his chair looking out over the sea and unable to move They ook him to Los Angeles, where he died.
 At Santa Catalina island, 30 miles rom land. there are several men who ! prefer solitude to the world and have urned their backs upon civilization for reasons best krown 10 themselves. One If the most isolated places of this group 2 San Miguel, small island opposite santa Barbara. Here a man lives alone. | -Wo years ago the island was shaken l y an earthquake. The cliffs fell in. | he harbor changed and a small vessel I vas wrecked. Twenty miles south of [ his is an island known as Anacapa. the . It is about mile long, cry narrow, with a small sloping mesa ( Pon which all the pelicans of the Pa me slope seem to have settled. There no water here, so it is said, except , that Is caught in winter, and the few heep upon it obtain what they get by cking the dew from each others wool. n this desolate sea-beaten spot lived a ian for many years, contented to be it alone, resenting any intrusion.- | asadena Cor. N. Y. Sun.