Island of the Blue Dolphins is based on the true story of The Lost Woman of San Nicolas.
From 1835 to 1853, a Native American woman lived alone on an island off the Californian coast known as La Isla de San Nicolas. Discovered by Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602, the island had been inhabited by indigenous peoples since around 2000 B.C.
In 1835, when Captain Hubbard carried these people away from the island they called Ghalas-at, a girl jumped from his schooner into the sea. Eighteen years later, Captain Nidever landed on Ghalas-at, and discovered that the woman was still living there.
She lived in a hut on the headland with her dog. She was later befriended (we learned this vocabulary word this afternoon, what does it mean?) by Father Gonzales of the Santa Barbara Mission, though the two could only communicate using signs, since no one could understand the woman's language. Father Gonzalez learned from the woman that her brother had been killed by wild dogs.
The Lost Woman of San Nicolas is buried on a hill near the Santa Barbara Mission.
In Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell has tried to re-create the story of The Lost Woman of San Nicolas from the facts that he was able to gather about her life.
