The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-09-14

! oh ah isiahu-lhe Mhhy U
 Find Her-Final Success.
 The story of the Indian woman lief
 alone on the island of San Nicholas fol
 nearly twenty years has been writer
 by number of romancers who gave
 but little heed to fact and free rein tc
 the imagination. From occurrences
 that have passed into history and are known to be authentic, this tale is drawn.
 The aborigines of San Nicolas Islano
 were supposed to be be of Aztec ol
 Toltec origin, a peaceable people like
 all tribes indigenous to the tropcs.
 War with the savage Alaskan Indi-
 ans had nearly eXtermInated the Ind1- l ans of San Nicolas when the Catholic
 fathers who founded the missions on
 the mainland desired to bring the few
 remaining natives across the channel
 that they mght teach them the Chris | tian religion. Accordingly, after re- peated efforts to accomplish this a l schooner was sent to the sland in 1886 | for this purpose. Some time was con-
 
 | pie and their effects.
 As the last boat was leaving the strand, a woman with young babe in her arms sprang on shore. Her little girl, a child of eight years had slipped from her side in the confuson-gone possibly in search of some remembered
 trinket dear to her childish heart-or, perhaps, run away, overcome with ter TOT at the unusual migration of her people.
 The woman besought them to await her return, and hastened over the hill, calling as she went. The moments passed-the white man is ever impa- tient, and he grumbled at the delay. An hour went by, but the woman had not returned. hTe wind was rising rapidly, and a storm was imminent. The schooner had signaled them twice in the last hour The waters about the island were shoal, and there was no safe anchorage along it's shores The waves were running high upon the ledges surrounding the little bay, and their crests were white with the foam of action The ship signaled again, and with a muttered imprecation and gruff command, the boat pushed off to join the tossing vessel.
 As soon as all were on board, Cap tain Hubbard weighed anchor and stood away for deep water. When the relatives and friends learned that the woman had been left behind, they be- sought the captain with many tears, and with pleadings in their own tongue, I,o,,
 The gale increased in fury and con- tinued for the space of week. The heavy laden schooner labored hard, and disaster threatened.
 hWen San Pedro Harbor was finally reached, the San Nicolas Indians were between Los Angeles and San Gabriel missions, and Captain Hubbard departed for Monterey, where he had orders to take on cargo of | lumber for San Francisco.
 On reaching the Golden Gate, in | rough weather, the improperly laden | craft capsized and was eventually | blown out to sea and is supposed to 1 nave been taken by a Russian vessel. | The crew reached shore in safety, and | t was always Captain Hubbard s in- | ention to return to San Nicolas for he lost woman. There was now no raft of any description except open | boats and Indian canoes from San Francisco to San Diego, and no one | .ould be found willing to risk voy age to San Nicolas in one of these
 It was generally known along the l ,oast of California that an Indian wo- nan and her children had been left lpon the island of San Nicolas, but as ime passed and they were not rescued, t came to be generally believed that III had perished. Fifteen years slipped ,y, and in the spring of 1851 Captain of Santo Barbara, with one ther white man and small crew of Mission Indians, visited San Nicolas in schooner search of otter They made a landing at the eastern end of he island and walked along the south rn shore distance of five miles or nore. Captain Nidever discovered ootprints of a human being soon after anding. These were no doubt made vhen the ground had been soaked by he previous winter rains, for the inn ressions were deep and quite dry and ard. The footprints were small, and he captain felt convinced that they ,ere made by a woman. short dis ance from the shore were found seve- al circular, roof1ess huts made of rush, about six feet height and the anne in diameter. These inclosures ere fully nnle apart, and near them ere st takes of driftwood driven in the round, from which were suspended ieces of seals blubber out of the each of wild animals. The blubber as comparatively fresh, and had no oubt been placed there but few 'eeks previous. |. Captain Nidever had landed upon an Nicolas early in the morning, in ending to remain during the day to earch for seal and otter, but near noon 1
 northwestern began blowing, and he ley remained at anchor for eight l ays in the ice of the island, the sea be- g at times so rough and the wind so cree that he expected momentarily to ] 3 driven from his anchorage. When le storm abated sufficiently, Captain idever returned to Santa Barbara ithout again landing upon the island. The next year he once more visited m Nicolas for game, landing near the me place as on his previous voyage. e and the ships mate explored the is- nd nearly to it's western extremity. he blubber found on the previous visit Id been replaced by fresh stock. In e crotch of d tree near the west end |