1889.1 Across the Santa Barbara Channel. 389 
shells and debris of the camps of bygone times. In these bur- 
ial grounds the individual graves were formerly indicated by 
the ribs or lower jawbones of whales set in the earth above 
them. None of these now exist, and these shell-heaps have 
long ago been dug into by eastern collectors. The shell-heaps 
were not wooded, but here and there are large patches of the 
prickly pear or " Tunis," and flocks of sheep now graze over 
the graves of the former lords of the island. 
We continued our row past the Indian Cemetery to a nat- 
ural archway, eroded by the sea, formed by a projecting cliff, 
on each side of which there is a deep caiion with precipitant 
cliffs on either side. The cliffs of these cafions are possibly 
200 feet high, and so abrupt that they seem almost perpendic- 
ular. These natural archways rival in size the famous Arco 
Naturale of Capri, and are among the most instructive in- 
stances of erosion on the Californian coast. Of two fiords 
separated by the cliff of conglomerate, one which we may call 
Southeast Canon has a long, narrow entrance, and is stopped 
up at its entrance by large boulders, which prevent access to 
the caiion. There is, however, a small, gravelly beach at the 
mouth of this caiion, upon which we landed. On the right, as 
we entered, there is a picturesque natural archway, with an old 
Indian fireplace perched upon it. There are a few pines and 
wild flowers growing from the crevices in the cliff. A buttress 
which divides the two fiords from each other is composed of con- 
glomerate. On the right and left are slates in stratified masses, 
and red colored rocks, the conglomerate above the slates. 
From these two canons we made our way to Prisoner's 
Harbor, and after some difficulty boarded the "Angel Dolly," 
which came up soon after. 
Without anchoring, for a considerable sea had arisen, we 
continued to the eastward of Prisoner's Harbor to a point op- 
site Chinese Harbor, and cast our anchor in smooth water near 
shore. The rocks at this place differ greatly fom those at Star 
Canon. Here we find variegated formations forming white, 
chalk-like cliff much eroded, and very different from the black, 
asphaltic rocks of the region to the west of Prisoner's Harbor. 
