It Gets Worse

Hey, they found that cave from Island of the Blue Dolphins, yay! We’d love to know more about the woman whose life inspired such an enduring, compelling story.

After a month on the island with Nidever and his crew, the Lone Woman left her home for Nidever’s in Santa Barbara. Native Americans and priests who spoke various Indian tongues couldn’t understand the songs she sang or the four words she used repeatedly.

But she was adept in signs. She indicated that wild dogs had devoured the baby she’d gone back to retrieve. But her grief was long past, and in Santa Barbara she seemed curious and happy. Nidever turned down offers to display her in San Francisco.

After seven weeks, she died of dysentery.

“The food of civilization, of which she partook in excess, did not agree with her,” said the Times in 1899.

Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ.