Posted
on October 7, 2014
Let's
get this very clear: Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo wasn't the first human
to discover Catalina Island – which is the largest of the Channel
Islands off the coast of Los Angeles.
On
this date in 1542, when Cabrillo and the sailors he led reached the
island we now call Santa Catalina Island, there were people living on
it who called the island Limu or Pimu. The crew of Cabrillo's fleet
called it “La Isla Capitana” (The Captain Island) or “Isla de
Juan Rodriguez.” And Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo himself called it “San
Salvador” (Saint Savior).
Unfortunately,
it's not clear what happened during the historical landing, because
the official log book was lost. Apparently there are some 70,000
pages of ships' logs, legal documents, and statements by Spaniards in
the New World that we get most of our information about this voyage
and other long-ago events...
And
from wading through all that morass of pages, historians determined
the likely truth: Cabrillo and his men were greeted by a “great
crowd of armed Indians,” but they later were able to “befriend”
the islanders. However, when Cabrillo and his fleet later came back
to Catalina to overwinter and repair their ship, a shore party got in
trouble with the Tongva islanders. Cabrillo himself led a rescue
party to shore, but while dealing with the surging surf and the rocky
shore, Cabrillo broke his leg. Everyone made it back to the ship in
one piece, apparently... but Cabrillo's wound would later kill him.
On
January 3, 1593, Cabrillo died of infection and gangrene. He was
buried on an island....but we aren't positive which one. Many
historians think that Cabrillo was likely buried on Catalina Island,
but there are some other theories as well.
Any
questions?
We
don't actually know whether or not Cabrillo was buried on Catalina
Island. There is no tombstone on that island, although there is a
monument for him on San Miguel Island, also rumored to be his burial
site.
- The island isn't called Limu, Pimo, La Isla Capitana, Isla de Juan Rodriguez, OR San Salvador now. So who named it Catalina?
Another
Spanish explorer landed on the island in 1602. It was he who named it
Santa Catalina, for Saint Catherine of Alexandria.
- What is Catalina Island like?
Chewing
gum magnate William Wrigley bought controlling interest in Catalina
Island and built a casino; he promoted the island by holding events
there and using the island for spring training for his baseball team,
the Chicago Cubs. Now many tourists go there—after all, the island
is very close to the 16 million + people in the greater Los Angeles
area.
The
island is famous among locals for having some non-native animals such
as American bison, mule deer, and feral cats (wild cats whose
ancestors were pet cats). One of the coolest native animals is the
island fox.
- What is the best thing about Catalina?
The
answers to this question have to vary widely – as many answers as
answerers, perhaps – but the thing I like best is the Catalina
Island Marine Institute, an outdoor education camp for kids. All my
kids have attended the institute multiple times (I got to go, too, once!), and they loved snorkeling and
kayaking, hiking and going in "the maze," doing dissections and other
hands-on labs, trawling for plankton and doing a glass-bottom-boat
ride!
 |
| When I think of snorkeling at Catalina Island, I think of the bright orange garibaldi fish. |
And the instructors from the Marine Institute (pictured here, below) helped discover this giant oarfish!
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest boards for:
And
here are my Pinterest boards for:
No comments:
Post a Comment