THE NAUTILUS. 7 



if I am allowed to use a pugilistic phrase in connection with 6uch a 

 saintly subject. 



Prof. Holder continues to tell us that the historian of Vizcaino 

 was Father Torquemada, a member of the party, who has left a de- 

 scription of a temple on Santa Catalina. " It consisted of a large 

 circular place decorated with feathers, in the centre of which was an 

 idol bearing upon its sides representations of the sun and moon. To 

 this object the natives sacrificed birds, yet when the Spaniards shot 

 the ravens the natives raised many lamentations." " I believe," 

 says Father Torquemada, "that the devil was in those crows, and 

 spoke through them, for they were regarded with great respect and 

 veneration. The birds were so tame that they would snatch fish 

 from the hands of the native women who did not dare to retaliate." 

 Torquemada considered the natives of Santa Catalina a superior 

 race and in advance of the natives of the mainland in every way. 

 The women were attractive, had fine eyes, and were modest and de- 

 corous, while the children were described as "white and ruddy." 



When Cabrillo discovered Southern California, Santa Catalina 

 had a large and vigorous population. To-day (1901), three hun- 

 dred and fifty-two years later, this is represented by a pitiful handful 

 of natives who are scattered about the foothills of the missions, by 

 graveyards despoiled, and by the quaint stone implements plowed 

 up by the modern ranchers. 



I am indebted to the U. S. Coast Pilot for the following informa- 

 tion in regard to the size, distances and elevations on these islands : 



" The general trend of these islands is southeast and northwest," 

 or about parallel with the general trend of the coast line of the main- 

 land south of Point Conception, which point is a little north of San 

 Miguel, the most northerly island of the group. 



" Santa Catalina lies about 18 miles southward from Point Fer- 

 min. It is about 18 miles long in an east and west direction, with 

 a greatest width of about 7 miles. About 6 miles from the western 

 end is a deep cut in a north and south direction that almost severs 

 it (this is known as the isthmus). The highest peak, 2100 feet high, 

 lies about the middle of the island." 



In February, 1897, the California Academy of Sciences issued a 

 Bulletin on the Geology of Santa Catalina Island., written by William 

 Sidney Tangier Smith, which goes largely into the details and analy- 

 sis of the rocks of the island. As the rocks form the basis of all 



