Lost Woman of San Nicolas Island and Peor es Nada

In the book, Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell tells the story Won-a-pa-lei, a young girl living on the island of Ghalas-at. She is the daughter of Chief Chowig.

One day, Russians and their Aleut hunters come to the island in search of sea otter pelts. After the hunt is over, a dispute arises over division of the pelts between the hunters and the islanders. There is a brief but bloody battle in which both the islanders and Aleuts die, including Chief Chowig. The battle proved too costly for the islanders. Their new chief, Kimki, decides that the people must leave Ghalas-at. He takes a canoe to travel to a country many days sail to the east to make a place for the villagers.

Months later, a ship comes to take the people to their new home. As the ship is leaving, Won-a-pa-lei realizes that her younger brother Ramo has been left on the island. She jumps from the ship to return to the island to be with her brother. The ship sails on. She tells Ramo the ship will come back for them soon. The ship never returns. But, within a few month, Ramo is killed by wild dogs that roam the island. Years later, Won-a-pa-lei is rescued and taken to Mission Santa Barbara. At the Mission, she learns that the ship that had taken the villagers away "had sunk in a great storm soon after it reached his country and that on the whole ocean thereabouts there was no other. For this reason, the white men had not come back for me."

The real story on which the book is based, like many others from that period of history that have been told and retold, is a mixture of legend and fact. As the story is told, otter hunters had attacked the natives who lived on San Nicolas Island, 53 miles off the southern California coast. All the men of the village were killed, except for an elderly man named Black Hawk. On hearing about the plight of the islanders, Californians mounted a rescue mission. In late November 1835, the schooner Peor es Nada commanded by Captain Charles Hubbard left Monterey under charter to rescue the natives. The ship made it to the island and the villagers gathered on the beach to be taken on board. One of the women realized that her child was not on the beach and was allowed to go back to the village for him. Before she could return, a strong wind arose. Captain Hubbard, fearing that Peor es Nada might be wrecked, sailed toward the mainland and dropped the islanders at San Pedro.

The ship was ordered to Monterey to take a cargo of lumber to San Francisco. Captain Hubbard intended to return to the island to rescue the woman as soon as the trip to San Francisco was completed. But, as she entered the harbor at San Francisco, Peor es Nada struck an object in the water, reported to be a "heavy board" and she turned "over and over and over" until she sank. Although the crew was rescued, the ship was a total loss. She would never return to pick up the "Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island." She would be found by Captain George Nidever and taken to Mission Santa Barbara in 1853, seventeen years after she had been left on the island.

Separating legend and fact is not easily done, and it is one of the major challenges facing historians. We know from records that the islanders were removed from San Nicolas and taken to San Pedro. We also know that Peor es Nada wrecked shortly thereafter. Whether the woman taken to Santa Barbara had indeed been the woman left on the island 17 years earlier is still in question, nearly 150 years after her rescue.

The Wreck of San Buenaventura

The wreck of San Buenaventura illustrates how historians use a variety of sources to try to figure out where and why a ship was lost. It also shows how they often must reconcile different versions of the story.

A story in the San Francisco newspaper Alta California of October 13, 1858, reported that the sloop San Buenaventura of Santa Barbara sailed to "...the island of Santa Rosa, having on board Peter Hammond and Miguel Cota, as passengers. She was under the command of Vizenzo Panatieri. When near the island of Santa Cruz, at about 4 o'clock a.m., she sprang a leak and soon filled and sank. All who on board succeeded in making it to shore, which at that point is very high and precipitous. Pasatieri climbed up the steep bluff, and after wandering about for two days and nights naked, hungry, and thirsty, reached one of the houses on the island. The others, less fortunate, have not been heard of. Diligent search has been made upon and around the island, but no traces have been discovered of them. It is supposed they must have perished at the foot of the bluff, where they landed...."

What other evidence can we find to verify this story? Miguel Cota was descended from one of the Spanish soldiers who came to California. The family's genealogy is contained in records at the Santa Barbara Historic Society. Within the family history is a document that states, "On March 4^th, 1844 Miguel and Manuela became the parents of a baby boy baptized, Victor Guillermo Cota....At that time, Miguel was in the cattle business and in 1862, when his son was about 18 years of age, the cattle boat sunk on the way to the Santa Rosa Islands from Santa Barbara. Years later, Victor Guillermo told his son, Julius Manuel Cota that he helped his father build the cattle boat that sunk. Victor said: 'I told my father the boat was too light and should be somewhat heavier.' He said, that upon his return from the islands, he would build a larger and heavier one,--but father never returned."

So, family history confirms the newspaper story, except for the date of the wreck. In this case, we can be sure that the newspaper gives the correct date of the wreck especially since the 1860 census shows Miguel's wife, Manuela Cota, as the head of the household--an indication that she is a widow. Still, the family history gives us information the newspaper does not, such as, that the boat was built locally by the family for use in their business and that they realized that a larger more seaworthy boat was needed. Yet, precise information about where the vessel when down still eludes us to this day. Perhaps this information waits for discovery somewhere in an archive.

Web Master: Nollie Gildow-Owens
Page content last updated 09/20/2006
Page last published 09/20/2006