An Account of the Indians of thc Santa Barbara Islands in California. 23 



the islaud about four miles froui the harbor facing Santa Cruz. The 

 heap from which the bones were taken was situated about 200 feet 

 from the water or shoreline, and so high on a rocky ledge that the 

 waves at no time could reach the place. The skeletons appear to 

 hâve been covered with only a couple of feet of shells and sand 7 and had 

 undoubtedly been buried in the immédiate vicinity of the houses which 

 once existed there. In some places I found dépressions of several 

 feet, indicating that an house had existed there and that the refuse 

 thrown out had so accumulated as to raise the ground several feet 

 around the house. The bodies were ail doubled up and had been bu- 

 ried in a lying down position, and not in an upright one. They were 

 evidently placed face downwards. It appears that the bodies had been 

 placed | close together, a few inches perhaps apart. They were ail 

 found within a space of not over twenty feet square, and not over 

 two feet below the surface. The easiest way to find them is after 

 a heavy rain or even after a heavy wind storm, when many of the bones 

 and skulls will be found to be exposed on the surface of the ground. As 

 regards the entire skeletons I was very careful in keeping the bones 

 belonging to each skeleton separate and together with the skull belong- 

 ing to each. But as regards the odd skulls I am not certain if in every 

 case the inferior maxilla is the one that originally belonged to the 

 skuli. Some of these skulls were found on the top of the ground and 

 the inferior maxilla was nearly always separated and some distance 

 away. I found no implements or Ornaments, though such hâve been 

 found in many places in similar heaps. The shellheaps were situated 

 on a ledge of rock perhaps about fifteen feet above the waterlevel, 

 and the waves were breaking so violently against the rocky shore that 

 it is not to be supposed that the Indians could ever hâve launched any 

 canoës at this place. It is more probable that the Indián settlement 

 at this locality was due entirely to the great amount of abalone 

 shells (Haliotis splendens), which were very numerous and could be 

 gathered at low tide by the thousands. 



Indián Languages. 



According to Major Powell there are some 22 différent Indián 

 languages in California, and what is as remarkable or even more so 

 is that among these languages nearly one half of ail the linguistic 

 stocks of North America are represented. When we consider that there 



