The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1907-03-14
A AMYSTER|OUS ISLAND
San Nicolas Was Once peopIed
by a Race Of Indians.
AN ENIGMA or THE PACIFIC.
On This Barren. Wave Swept ssnd
Dune Are Mounds Of Shells and Bones
and. Stone implements, Monuments ef
Lost Race of Ancient Fsopis.


About eighty miles duo northwes,
OF San Pedro, In California, lies q
desert island that has all tho combined
romance OF tho ages In its history. II
u rarely visited and has but assingls
inhabitant yet II has a peculiar fas
cinaiion for many people. The very ole
ments scom 70 conspirc 10 make the
place forbidden. NJ II almost invariably
blows a gaie NJ wind 10 the vicinity
aud when ono reaches tho inhospitable
Island there In no bay or harbor for n
craft much larger than rowbont.
The island Ia about seven milea long
BY two or three In width and rises 10
q height OF 800 10 1000 feet In the
center. Wind swept, forbIdding. haunt.
ed BY the spirits OF storms, II does NOT
Invite inspection and appears TO have
been cursed by the elements. yet Dc,
spite this the island was Mt one time
tho home Of a numerous people. a race
that has been lost sight OF. The writer
made several attempts to reach the
.inland In a sixty ton yacht and was
literally blown off. finally making II
one day about noon. coming TO anchor
near a long, upecter.like tongue Of
land that extends out into tho ocean,
where the tide ran like a mill race
and heavy ground swell swept
around the point from tho windward
side. The island OF San Nicolas ap.
pears like sand dune. The landing
was a wave swept beach that received
. high swell from three points. and II
was evident that skill In landing
alone would make II possible.
The boat lay on, waiting for low
sea. and finally went sailing In upon
one Of less sixe. and the crew jumped
overheard and hold on TO the boat that
the undertow aud back rush attempted
10 claim. In this manner the entire
party landed. and an lnyestiga ton of
tho island was begun. Tho one inhnb.
itant a Basque. came down 20 the
beach. He had not heard the news OF
tho world for year and did not dis.
play any disposition to learn II. but he
was not happy--too many dead peo-
pie. too many bones that make wind
spirits blow. he said and when he
heard that the party was after the re-
mains Of thcan dead people he showed
an inclination TO leave. In nil proba.
bility there In not In any land more
remarkable mound TO be seen. About
ten feet In height and nearly mile
In length, II was at this time verita-
BILE Golgotha. collection OF bones and
implements OF the lost people. ever
changing, ever shifting today expos.
Ing numbers Of skeletons, tomorrow
covering them up In sheets Of sand
The mound was town site upon
which hundreds OF people had lived
for untold ages. They had brought lrf
their shells aud fish bones, piling them
up at the doors OF their huts. slowly
building themselves up higher and
higher, until In time they came to live
on the top Of vast shell mound Here
they buried their dead, concealed their
household goods. and when man or
woman died his or her possessions were
buried with them. and 30 the big
mounds were made up Of shells. stone
implements, i,sh and human bones-.a
monument Of this lost race.
Where the original islanders came
from. who they were or why they
lived on such wind swept, nearly
wateFiess isiani Is one Of the mys-
teries, but II is known that the mission
fathers visited San Nicolas years ago
and took or the few survivors fouhd
there and divided them up among the
various mainland tribes When this
human loot was being carried into cx-
ecution, a storm came up, and In the
hurry of departure II was found that
woman had left her baby on the
beach.
It was impossible to land, 80 the
captain sailed away, but not with the
mother. She had plunged into the
waves and swum long distance to the
shore and with her child was deserted, |
the captain intending to return later
For her San Nicolas, however. was
not visited for many years, The yes
sci was wrecked. but the legend lived,
and many years after priest decided
to visit the island and learn if the
woman had survived. An expedition
was got up In 1850, the party making
a safe landing. They formed a line
across the island In order not to miss
any signs Of human habitation and be-
gan slow search from the south
point north They soon found EVIL
dence OF ancient occupation and In a
deep canyon discovered a hut and a
woman, the mother who had been de-
serted years before. She was living In
the hut, which was made of whale ribs
and sen lion hair. her sole companions
being several wild dogs that savagely
charged the strangers.
The woman could not make herself
understood, and, singularly enough, no
one in all the Indian tribes In southern
California could be found who under
stood her. She told her dlscoverers by
signs that the Wild dogs had killed her
child long ago and that she killed sea
lions and sea birds with stcnes and