THE LOST WOMAN OF SAN NICOLAs 317 



demur with her captors, if such they can be called, 

 though she afterwards gave them to understand that 

 she would not have joined them if they had not found 

 her. Brown and his followers carried away with them 

 all her primitive belongings. "I took everything she 

 had," he says, "and she took a big sea-head in her 

 basket, and that was all." 



The Nidever-Brown party remained at the island a 

 month, and while they could not understand the 

 woman (nor could the Indians), they obtained a fair 

 idea of her life alone for twenty years or more on wind- 

 swept San Nicolas. She had abundant food to eat 

 in the abalones, fish, and all the shell fish eaten by 

 natives. She built herself a house or home by standing 

 whales' ribs in the sand, covering the top with brush. 

 She was skilful in weaving from grass fibre, and made 

 baskets from it. Of course she had a selection from 

 thousands of mortars and pestles made by her people 

 for thousands of years, which were strewn over the 

 sands — and in diminished numbers are occasionally 

 to be seen to-day. There were dogs on the island, and 

 she had their companionship. She killed seals at 

 night by stealing up to them and striking them with 

 stones. From them she made sinew fish-lines, and 

 from abalone shells she manufactured hooks after the 

 fashion of her people; first forming a round piece of 

 shell, boring a hole in it and breaking a piece out, 

 leaving a hook. Certain roots found on the island 

 constituted a food. She was skilful in catching birds; 

 and doubtess in the long time she became hardened 

 to the life and suspicious of the otter-hunters; hence 

 she hid from them when they landed. 



As soon as she was captured, she adapted herself 



