LAST SURVIVING ISLANDER. 43 



and not alone those from the islands and sea-coast. In 1875, the year in which we 

 write, not a soul can he found to give any information as to the ancient inhabitants of 

 this part of the coast. There is a tradition that many years ago a Mr. Nidever, while 

 on a trip to the island of San Nicolas, discovered there, much to his surprise, an aged 

 hag, and that he removed her to Santa Barbara, but no one could understand her 

 language, and after a short time she died; also, that she was a young woman at the time 

 the Indians were removed to the mainland, and returning from the boats to seek her 

 children, in the hurry and confusion of the embarkation she was left behind ; that when 

 found she was clothed in furs, ornamented with the feathers of birds. Doubtless this 

 woman, if the story be true, was the last survivor of the island tribes. 



Of then' manner of living little if anything is known. Cabrillo states that on most 

 of the islands miserable huts existed, but on the mainland there were houses similar 

 to those of the Indians of New Spain. On one of the islands, however, which he states 

 was four leagues long, there were many good houses of wood. We are at a loss for 

 further information on this point, but it is certain that the dwellings of these people 

 were constructed of perishable materials and not of adobe bricks like the Pueblo 

 Indians of New Mexico, since no trace can be discovered of such material, and it is 

 hardly possible this would be the case in the short space of time since Cabrillo's visit. 

 It is extremely probable, therefore, that they built their houses of timber, or else used 

 the skins of animals slain in the chase. Referring to the matter of houses of wood 

 upon the islands, some doubt might apparently be thrown upon this portion of Cabrillo's 

 narrative, for at present no trees of a size sufficient for building purposes are found on 

 the islands; but this author states that on the Isle de St. Augustin he saw trees simi- 

 lar to red cedar or cypress that had been washed up by the sea, GO feet in height, and 

 of such girth that two men could not encircle them with their arms joined. 



In their choice of localities for towns these ancient people showed the same 

 degree of sagacity as that evinced by the American aborigines down to the present day. 

 On the islands were myriads of water-birds and quantities of sea-lions and seals; the 

 water fairly teemed with fishes and molluscous animals, affording a plentiful supply of 

 food, and no doubt at the time they were occupied there was plenty of sweet water to 

 be had, which, unfortunately, is not the case at present. On the mainland, at all the 

 localities visited, the circumstances of environment must have been such as to render 

 the struggle for existence extraordinarily easy. For instance, at Santa Barbara and 

 up the coast, or what was called the Pueblos de las Canoas, the land is extremely fer- 

 tile, and must have yielded good crops, for Cabrillo especially mentions that the Indians 

 lived in a fertile valley, and had an abundance of corn and many cows.* In addition to 

 tlieir pastoral pursuits, the Santa Inez Mountains afforded them game, and the waters, 

 fishes, clams, mussels, etc. From the great quantities of shells found in the graves 

 and kitchen-heaps, and the absence of mammalian bones in any quantity, it is fair to 

 suppose that the tribes living near the seaside derived the greater portion of then- 

 sustenance from the waters. " The favorite places for towns appear to have been not 

 far from groves and near small mountain-streams. Anterior to 1542 these Indians must 

 have been idolaters, but we have good reason for believing that after the advent of 

 the Mission priests many of them embraced the Roman Catholic religion, and faithfully 

 followed its teachings. Cabrillo speaks of h-.iving seen on one of the islands (probably 



"Probably bison. 



