The remainder of her time on the island was spent in total isolation. For part of that time, she lived with her son before his untimely death in a boating mishap. Nevertheless, Juana Maria lived on the island for 18 more years. However, many researchers have written off this account as dramatized lore. According to legend, she was taken to the boat but jumped out and swam back to shore to be with her baby. It’s unclear why she didn’t go with the last of her people as they moved to the mainland. In 1835, the 200-300 remaining Nicoleños joined the crew of a visiting Mexican schooner named Peor es Nada and moved to the mainland. That attack and disease decimated their population. In 1811, they had suffered a vicious massacre at the hands of Alaskan Kodiak sea otter hunters hired by Russian fur traders. The Nicoleños were the last to leave their island.
Wikimedia Commons Juan Maria sustained herself on dried meat and etched records of her time alone on the island.
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