Leaving the Island: Chapter 29

Woman posing in whalebone hut reconstructed from remains of shelter possibly built by the Lone Woman. Photo taken in 1941. Courtesy of Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

Two years later, the ship returns to Coral Cove. Karana sees three men set up camp on the shore. Karana decides to meet them and she prepares to leave the island. She puts on her otter cape, cormorant skin dress, and black stone necklace.

The men spot the smoke from her fire and visit Karana at her home. One of the men wears a long grey robe and a string of beads with a wooden ornament. Karana does not understand what the man’s dress and ornament symbolize, and she doesn’t understand the words the men speak. But she knows that they want her to go with them to the ship. She shows them three baskets she has packed with belongings that she wishes to take.

Karana accompanies the men to their camp on the shore. Although they admire her cormorant skin gown, one of the men also sews her a new dress out of material from men’s trousers. The group stays at Coral Cove for nine days. The men want to hunt sea otters but the otters have gone away.

On the tenth day, the ship leaves the island with Karana, her dog Rontu-aru, and her two birds in their cage.

Life on the Mainland

Fact Check: Leaving the Island

Did the outsiders who the Lone Woman approached during her final time on the island consist of three people, two Caucasian (white) men who were hunting sea otter and a Catholic priest? Could anyone who came to the island in 1853 communicate with her?

What do we know? The party that brought the Lone Woman from San Nicolas Island to Santa Barbara, California, in 1853 included seven people, none of whom were priests. The captain was the American-born sea otter hunter George Nidever. His crew included Carl Dittman, who was born in Prussia (modern-day Germany) but who later became an American citizen; a man called Colorado, who was of Irish ancestry; and four native men, Melquiades, Policarpio, Hilario Valenzuela, and one man who name is unknown. Everyone tried to speak with the Lone Woman in the languages they spoke, which included several native California languages and dialects. No one could speak the Lone Woman’s language, and she could not speak any of the languages they knew. However, one or more of the native men may have had language skills that enabled him to exchange information with the Lone Woman. She also used hand gestures in an attempt to communicate.

What’s the evidence? Notes from American linguist and ethnologist J.P. Harrington’s interviews with California Indian consultants indicated that the native men on the island in 1853 were able to discern some of what the Lone Woman was trying to communicate.

Fact Check: Leaving the Island

Is this the party that took the Lone Woman off the island?

What do we know?
Yes, George Nidever’s sea otter hunting party took the Lone Woman to Santa Barbara in September of 1853. Carl Dittman first saw the Lone Woman seated in an enclosure of whale ribs covered with brush. Two dogs were with her, and she was surrounded by the tools, foods, and other items of her daily life. For more details follow the links below, which include text and audio files.

What’s the evidence?
Primary source: Carl Dittman describes this trip and finding the Lone Woman in excerpts from his memoir, “Narrative of a Seafaring Life on the Coast of California.”
Arriving on the Island and Searching for the Lone Woman
Finding the Lone Woman
Relocating the Lone Woman to the Hunting Camp
Camping on the Island
Leaving the Island and Arriving in Santa Barbara

Voices from the Field

Steve Schwartz, US Navy archeologist (retired), San Nicolas Island, discusses the retrieval of the Lone Woman in 1853 and the location where the hunting party stayed with the Lone Woman while they were on the island.

Dr. Kristina Gill, Research Associate, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, discusses the cultivation of plant foods by the people of the Channel Islands.

Photos & Multimedia, Maps

Photo: Location of George Nidever's 1853 camp on San Nicolas Island. Courtesy of Steve Schwartz.
Map: Route taken on San Nicolas Island to find Lone Woman in 1853. Courtesy of Steve Schwartz.
Map: Route taken to bring Lone Woman back to George Nidever's camp. Courtesy of Steve Schwartz.
Photo: Carl Dittman's percussion rifle. Courtesy of Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Gift of Henry Dittman.
Photo: Carl Dittman's powder horn. Courtesy of Santa Barbara Historical Museum, Gift of Henry Dittman.

See It Yourself!

Visit the Lone Woman exhibit at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. See a new, historically accurate portrait by Holli Harmon and small artifacts that the Lone Woman brought with her to the mainland in 1853.

Teacher Resources

Writing Prompts and Lesson Plans