SAN MIGUEL 297 



to Cabrillo in itself; until the real monument is built 

 I propose that we substitute "Cabrillo" for "Prince." 

 It is characteristic of the old adventurer and geog- 

 rapher; it faces the sea with a bold and changeless 

 front. Cuyler's Harbor, where Cabrillo is supposed to 

 lie, is on the north shore of the island facing the main- 

 land and about a mile by two-thirds of a mile in extent, 

 the best anchorage at present being in the western 

 part, opposite the spring. There is landing for small 

 boats at various places, especially at Crow Point, 

 Tyler Bight; but the island abounds in rocks, small 

 islands, and shoals, and should be approached care- 

 fully in heavy weather. Over it are the same kinds of 

 shell mounds that are found on the other islands, 

 showing that in the early days the place was the home 

 of many Indians who lived well and easily on the 

 vast fish supply of the surrounding waters. 



To-day the island has but one or two inhabitants, 

 herders, who care for the sheep; and it is a singular 

 fact that while the name Dry Tortugas was consid- 

 ered a terror to prisoners during the war, it was an 

 agreeable place compared to San Miguel or San Nicolas 

 as a permanent residence; yet it is easy to find men 

 who will live there by the year or ten years, as the 

 old Basque of San Nicolas; O'Reilly of Mosquito, 

 who lived alone at San Clemente for years; and 

 old Gallagher of Gallagher's. Nearly all the islands 

 have had scores of characters living on them in years 

 gone by. 



The San Clemente Channel is a rough place at times, 

 yet Gallagher crossed it with a skifif with a flour-sack 

 sail, and the last time I saw him he came sailing into 

 Avalon Bay with his poor skiff, a goat, four or five 



