Murder, Massacre, and Mayhem on the California Coast, 1814 –1815: Newly Translated Russian American Company Documents Reveal Company Concern Over Violent Clashes
Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology | Vol. 34, No. 1 (2014) | pp. 81–100 Murder, Massacre, and Mayhem on the California Coast, 1814 –1815: Newly Translated Russian American Company Documents Reveal Company Concern Over Violent Clashes SUSAN L. MORRIS Susan L. Morris Consulting, 155 Rincon Street, Ventura, CA 93001 GLENN J. FARRIS Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2425 Elendil Lane, Davis, CA 95616 STEVEN J. SCHWARTZ Range Sustainability Office, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, Point Mugu, CA 93042-5049 IRINA VLADI L. WENDER Department of English, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3170 BORIS DRALYUK Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1502 The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, whose solitary 18‑year stay on an island off the coast of southern California was commemorated in Scott O’Dell’s novel, Island of the Blue Dolphins, has been of considerable interest since she was abandoned on the island in 1835 and brought to Santa Barbara in 1853. We examine one of the factors that may have contributed to the Lone Woman’s abandonment and discuss several newly‑translated Russian American Company (RAC) documents, one of which gives details of a long‑rumored deadly conflict between a Russian‑led crew of Alaskan native otter hunters and the San Nicolas Island natives (Nicoleño). All three documents contain important new information about the nature of the sometimes violent interactions between the Spanish, Russians, Americans, California Indians, and Alaskan natives in the early nineteenth century. ore than 160 years have passed since Santa Barbara is certainly compelling, the deeper Mthe last native representative of the Nicoleño lived historic context is complex and equally fascinating.
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