30 CHANNEL ISLANDS OF CALIFORNIA 



arms bound to his knees, on which rested his head, 

 while in front, behind, on each side, and over him were 

 flutes, each carefully placed, and bearing the beautiful 

 abalone mosaic. Here rested some savage Mendels- 

 sohn of the Isles of Summer, 



Exactly when the islands were deserted is not known. 

 I believe the people to have been decimated in wars, 

 by the Russian otter hunters, and by disease; the last 

 natives were doubtless taken off by the Fathers and 

 distributed about the missions, in the early part of 

 the nineteenth century. San Nicolas had native inhab- 

 itants as late as about 1830, and the last woman was 

 taken off in 1851. 



Vizcaino found many languages among the tribes of 

 the islands, and this was a singular feature of all the 

 well-inhabited regions of the coast. Every few leagues 

 would be found a different tribe, and a different dialect. 

 I give it as my opinion, that the natives of San 

 Clemente and Santa Catalina spoke the dialects of the 

 natives about the missions of San Gabriel, San Juan 

 Capistrano, and San Luis Rey, as the missions were 

 opposite the islands, and I have seen mortars of steatite 

 at all these towns, or rancherias, which came from 

 Santa Catalina. There were three languages, as spoken 

 at the towns near these missions — Kizzh, Netela, and 

 Kechi. 



Netela was the dialect of San Juan, which is almost 

 opposite the east end of Avalon; and that the natives 

 crossed here in their large canoes is beyond question. 

 This route v/as the smoothest, a canoe striking the lee 

 of Santa Catalina nearly tv/elve miles offshore, or half- 

 way over. This language suggests Sonora and the 

 Aztecs in its idioms. The following is the Lord's 



