An Account of the Indians of the Santa Barbara Islands in California. g 



Santa Catalina Island. Called San Salvador by Cabrillo, but 

 named Santa Cathalina by Viscaino. Later on the Indián tribes on 

 the islaud vere known as „Pineugna". The island is almost di- 

 vided in two, near the northem end, forming thus two fine harbors, 

 one on the outer and one on the inner shore. The island is 18 miles 

 long by about 7 wide. It is 2,110 feet high and is visible 53 miles. 

 It is 18 miles from the port of San Pedro on the mainland, and 23 l / 2 

 miles from Point Lasuen. Ferrelo's as well as Viscaino's anchorage 

 must hâve been on the northern side of the island at the ibthmus. 

 Cabrillo and his men went ashore and „there issued a great number 

 of Indians, and yelling and dancing made signs that they should 

 come ashore, The Spaniards made sign that the Indians have no fear, 

 whereupon these then laid their bows and arrows on the ground. 

 The Spaniards remained there untill .noon." 



Viscaino's account of the natives of this island is much more 

 interesting. He found on the island many men, women and children. 

 They were kind and gentle and received the Spaniards with extreme 

 kindness. The women were handsome and honest, and the children 

 fair and rosy and of a laughing disposition (Salmeron, Relaciones). 

 They were in fact a fine looking race. They had many rancheiïas or 

 Indián villages, with dwellings, and they built canoës with which they 

 hunted seal and fishes. The canoës were made of bent planks tied 

 together with ropes and cemented with asphaltum. The Indians were 

 such expert fishermen with spears and harpoons, that one of them 

 went down diving and soon appeared with a fish on the point of his 

 spear. But the most interesting part of Catalina was the Indián temple. 

 Viscaino describea it as large and circulai', ornamented with feathers 

 of various kinds. Within the circle was an idol, painted in various 

 colors. At the sides of the idol were représentations of the sun and 

 the moon. Before this idol the natives were accustomed to sacrifice 

 birds, the feathers of which adorned the enclosure. There were also 

 two extraordinary large crows (ravens) which at the advent of the 

 soldiers flew away and perched on rocks near by. The soldiers could 

 of course not resist shooting the birds, at which the Indians set up 

 a wailing. Other crows seem to have been quite tame and took food 

 from the hands of some woomen washing fish on the beach. The na- 

 tives ušed many roots as foods, which the Spaniards compared with 

 potatoes and „jicamas". The latter are probably the roots of lilies 

 (Calochortus) which even now are abundant on the island. With these 

 roots the Indians traded with the natives on the mainland, to which 



