RELICS OF THE SANTA BARBARA INDIANS. 749 
Our first historical knowledge of these Indians dat'=i-^^p ck 342 years, or to 
the year 1543, when Cabrillo discovered this coas*:. -^'^^j -'-esents this portion 
of California as thickly populated with Indians^'^'^^.'^^'' Int where not far from the 
town where the writer is living and dating this comti linication, he speaks of a 
large Indian town called by the natives, Xucu, but which he named De los Ca- 
noas, because of the great number of canoes owned by the Indians at that place. 
While anchored here two Indians came on board of one of his vessels and pointed 
out twenty-five Indian towns, the names of which Cabrillo records. 
For 100 miles along this coast between Point Concepcion and Point Magu, 
the writer has examined about one hundred rancherias, or sites of old Indian 
towns. Back in the mountains and along the streams in the territory above 
mentioned they are also abundant, while the islands are literally covered with 
their shell-heaps or kitchen debris. 
This genial climate and the abundance of food produced by land and ocean 
made this a desirable spot for the Indian, who is naturally antagonistic to labor. 
The sea yielded abundance of fish, mollusks and water-fowl, while the foot-hills 
and mountains contributed much game. In their shell heaps may be found 
every variety of mollusks now known here, prominent among which were edible 
clams and the haliotis, all of which still exist along the sea-shore. The bones of 
whales, seals, sea-lions, sharks, black-fish, porpoises and many other fish are 
prominent in the old rancherias ; also the bones of water-fowl, deer, bears, etc. 
This section was the Indian paradise of the Pacific coast. When the Jesuit Mis- 
sions were founded here a century ago the islands and the mainland teemed 
with multiplied thousands of Indians, but now none are left to tell the story of 
their existence. They rapidly faded away before another form of civilization. 
Most that we can now learn of this race is obtained from their burial places, 
which were generally located in the midst of the village. They seemed to have 
had but one method of burial and that was to draw the knees up against the 
breast and place the face downward, burying one on top of another. In some 
places in a radius of a rod or less the writer has exhumed a hundred skeletons. 
These were found from one to four feet below the surface, and in some cases, 
six and even eight feet. 
It is most likely that all the earthly effects of the individual were buried 
with the body, but only the stone, bone and shell implements and ornaments 
remain. In some rare instances the writer has discovered ornaments of red- 
wood, which of all California wood is probably most durable. Coarse cloth has 
also been found with the skeletons. After the Missions were established the 
Indians were probably buried in the cemeteries of the priests, and it is not likely 
that burials have taken place in the rancherias later than seventy years ago. It 
is known that the last of the Indians were removed from the channel Islands 
nearly seventy ye-irs since, yet thousands of skeletons have been dug up on these 
islands in a fine state of preservation, while the shells in the rancherias still retain 
their markings perfectly. 
The relics found with the dead often show superior workmanship. Mortars 
