50 BULLETIN UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY. 



dug up at the isthmus, no others could we discover within the reach of 

 our boat-excursions during the limited time of our stay. By all the in- 

 formation I could gather, and by the circumnavigation of the island, I 

 am convinced that the southeastern end is the richest part of the island, 

 and promises a good reward to a collector. There we find many small 

 coves offering fine boat-landings, bold, rocky shores, with an abundance 

 of shells and fish in the kelpy waters. Here also we may find the rocks 

 used by tbe Indians for the manufacture of their house utensils, which 

 are claimed to come from this island, where they were made and dis- 

 posed of in canoe-loads among the inhabitants on the mainland, taking 

 such necessities in return as the island was in want of Only steatite is 

 found about the isthmus, and, as it appears here, it was only used for 

 making ornaments ; but no magnesian mica, of which the cooking- ves- 

 sels are manufactured, nor did we find any serpentine, of which the 

 beautiful bowls and cups consist. But this island is very rich in varie- 

 ties of minerals, and it is therefore probable such rock is found, which, 

 no doubt, oifered a great field of industry to the islanders, considering 

 the many utensils we have found already made of this material. Ac- 

 cording to the reports, there is no doubt that factories existed on this 

 island which supplied the Indians on the mainland, even as far as San. 

 Luis Obispo and Monterey, with their cooking pots, or ollas. The rock 

 must be looked for at the southwest end ; and if any manufacturing has 

 been carried on there, fragments will be revealed at the different 

 coves, and guide the investigator to the quarries and factories. 



Before leaving the islands, I wish to mention those which I did not 

 visit, the reason being want of time, and to explain why I gave prefer- 

 ence to those explored. The first island I passed was Santa Rosa, 

 which lies between San Miguel and Santa Oruz. It is 15 miles long 

 and about 10 miles in its greatest width ; is much the same in appear- 

 ance as Santa Cruz, only not so high — being about 1,200 feet above 

 the sea — and more of the rolling-hill order ; yet much of its shore-line, 

 which is about 50 miles in extent, is bold and diflicult of access. Hav- 

 ing had better information as to San Miguel and Santa Cruz when I 

 began the research on the islands, I visited these two first ; and as the 

 channels between these islands and Santa Rosa are only 4 and 5 miles, 

 respectively, I was satisfied that the large collection made comprises 

 about all the forms that may be found on islands lying so close together -, 

 or at least I thought there was more probability of adding new forms at 

 a distant island, as, for example, San Nicolas, which I therefore selected 

 instead. I am well aware of the great deposits of kjokkeumoddings 

 on Santa Rosa Island, as I was informed of them by the owner, who 

 is a reliable man, and I observed some of them while passing by. I 

 was also told that many implements are scattered over the surface, 

 especially where the contents of a cemetery have become exposed by the 

 winds, and the bare skeletons now bleach in the sun. Moreover, certain 

 parties spoke of caves containing human remains, which may be 



