Life in the Village: Chapter 6

Thousand Springs spring on San Nicolas Island. Courtesy of Steve Schwartz.

A month after Kimki paddled away from the island, the villagers begin to watch for his return. They search the sea day and night, but there is no sign of the returning chief.

Fresh water springs around the island provide water for Ghalas-at, but the villagers are worried that the water might run low.

While they wait for Kimki, the community plans its escape from the island, in case the otter hunters return. They store canoes and supplies at the base of a cliff so that they can escape to Santa Catalina Island.

A ship is spotted nearing the island. At first, everyone worries that it is the otter hunters returning. It is a white man’s ship, but it turns out that Kimki sent the boat to bring his people to the mainland. The villagers are relieved and many begin talking at once. Karana describes the scene: “We were fearful of where we were going, yet we were happy, too.”

Fact Check: Ship

Was a ship sent to take the Nicoleños off the island and to the mainland?

What do we know?
The Peor es Nada took Nicoleños off the island in 1835. Native islanders were taken off other California islands in the early 1800s as well.

What is the evidence?
Primary source: A Mexican government document from Alta California places the Peor es Nada at San Pedro, California, on or before November 21, 1835.

Secondary source: In his memoir, George Nidever, who took the Lone Woman to Santa Barbara in 1853, shares what he knows about the islanders’ removal in 1835 on the Peor es Nada. George Nidever heard about the event a month after it happened and reported what he heard 40 years later.

Secondary source: Researcher Susan Morris describes the removal of the islanders in Voices from the Field.

Secondary source: Link to full article written by Susan Morris and other researchers sharing new research on what became of the Nicoleños taken from the island to San Pedro in 1835.

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