San Nicolas Island, [1930?]

Item Overview

Title

San Nicolas Island, [1930?]

Date Created

[1930?]

Date

1930

Publisher

Los Angeles Times

Language

No linguistic content

Collection

Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection
OpenUCLA Collections

Notes

Description

Possibly related to the article “Desert Island’s Repute is Grim, San Nicolas Tragedy Carries on Bloody History, Life on Channel Island Ever Bleak and Perilous, Sheep Tender’s Family Sole Inhabitants Now.” Los Angeles Times, 18 May 1930. The article states: “A desert island of cruel history … San Nicolas Island … again has lived up to its ill-omened reputation with the conviction and sentence last week of 18-year-old Milton Prentice for the murder of Steve Semerenko, a fisherman, who was thought to have been stealing sheep from the island’s flocks. … It is not only the quarrel between the fishermen and shepherds but more of a contest between the island and those brave enough to attempt to subdue it, to which interest attaches. … all stockmen on the islands are quite willing to give … but the story of the shepherds is that the fishermen are not content with one mutton but continue shooting … The first Indian inhabitants undoubtedly led an equally isolated and difficult existence … In 1830 a lone Indian woman was left on the island when the mission fathers from Santa Barbara sent an expedition to rescue the survivors who had escaped the raids of the Russians. This woman was in turn taken from the island in 1852, but died shortly after her rescue. The island remained unoccupied then for years wielding its evil influence only in the occasional wreck of a schooner or fishing boat until taken over for sheep ranching--with its destiny of native warfare and murder to be continued in the grim battles of a sheep rustlers’ war.”
Rocky shore of San Nicolas Island, with ocean and boat in background, wooden structure at right, man in overalls and cap leaning on large rock at left

Caption

Text from nitrate negative sleeve: California, San Nicholas
At lower left corner of negative: 4

Physical Description

Extent

1 photograph

Medium

b&w nitrate negative

Keywords

Genre

news photographs
cellulose nitrate film

Location

San Nicolas Island (Calif.)

Longitude

33.264483

Latitude

-119.493388

Resource type

still image

Subjects

San Nicolas Island (Calif.)
Islands--California