San Luis Obispo County CA Archives History - Books .....Chapter XI The Conquest 1883
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Book Title: History Of San Luis Obispo County California

CHAPTER XI
THE CONQUEST.

The Forecast of War—Instructions to Commodore Sloat—The First Battles—The Flag
Raised at Monterey—Proclamation— Discretion of General Castro.—Capture of
Military Stores— Sloat in a Quandary—Judicious Action of the Commodore
—Commodore Sloat's Departure—Arrival of Commodore Stockton—The News of War
Declared—A Bright Prospect— The Second Conquest—John Brown's Ride—The United
States Troops Expelled—Flores' Proclamation—Expedition to the South—Repulse of
Captain Mervine—The Campaign from San Diego—Coming of General Kearny—Battle of
San Pasqual—Orders to Kearny—Battles of San Gabriel and the Mesa—Los Angeles
Regained—Retreat of the Californians— Articles of Capitulation — Fremont's
Battalion — Battle of Natividad—A Brave Indian Feat—The Battalion on the March—A
Shocking Execution—Voracious Soldiers—Capture of San Luis Obispo—Pico Taken
Prisoner—Rescued by Fair Ladies—The Battalion in San Luis Obispo—A Picture of
Desolation—Gold against Sugar—Fremont's Strategy—Crossing the Mountain—A
Terrible Storm—The Californians in the Campaign—Ira Van Gordon—Benjamin Franklin
Mayfield —George Stone—Elisha W. Howe.

THE war between the United States and Mexico, which gave the opportunity of
acquiring California, was forecast by the presidential campaign of 1844, in
which the annexation of Texas was the principal question at issue. The election
of James K. Polk was an expression in favor of the annexation, and this was
consummated in the session of Congress following, in 1845, claiming the country
to the Rio Grande. This claim was opposed by Mexico, and both countries prepared
for war. A powerful fleet was sent to the Pacific, and the naval squadron on the
coast of China was ordered to California.

  In April, 1846, the American army of occupation in Texas crossed the Nuesces
River, which was regarded by Mexico as the boundary of Texas, and marched to the
Rio Grande, where it was met on the 8th of May by the Mexican army under General
Arista, and the battle of Palo Alto was fought. With this the war was opened.

INSTRUCTIONS TO COMMODORE SLOAT.

  At that time Com. John D. Sloat was in the harbor of Mazatlan, awaiting to
hear of the commencement of hostilities, having instructions to seize California
when assured that a state of war existed. Also in the harbor of San Blas was a
British fleet under command of Admiral Sir George Seymour, waiting for the same
purpose and under instructions with the same object.

  Both nations were desirous of possessing so valuable a territory. In 1845 John
Slidell had been sent as American Minister to Mexico, with a proposition to
purchase California and to settle the question of Texan boundary, but through
the machinations of the British all negotiations failed. The British claimed the
right of interference on the ground of Mexican indebtedness to their people, but
in all probability their object was to force a war that they might, with their
powerful navy, get possession of California.

THE FIRST BATTLES.

  Previous to the battle of Palo Alto, Lieutenant Porter of the navy had
incautiously attacked Tampico, on the Gulf of Mexico, but without effect. This,
however, was an act of war, and Sloat has been censured because he did not sail
upon hearing the news, but he waited until he heard that General Taylor had
driven the Mexicans across the Rio Grande, and even then he seemed in doubt if
war had actually commenced in such earnest as to justify him in carrying out his
instructions. However, he sailed in the frigate Savannah, and arrived at
Monterey on the 2d of July. The sloops-of-war Cyane and Levant had preceded him,
having been sent there at the request of the Consul, Mr. Larkin. Sloat saluted
the Mexican flag in proper form, but hesitated about taking possession. The fate
of California hung in the balance. The country was already in a state of
revolution. The Bear Flag of the California Republic was waving in triumph in
the north, and Fremont was in command of a battalion of volunteers under arms.
The officers of the fleet and the American citizens on shore were very
impatient, and four days passed without action. On the evening of the sixth a
boat arrived from the sloop-of-war Portsmouth, in the bay of San Francisco, for
instructions, giving a report of the raising of the Bear Flag, the capture of
Sonoma, and the proclamation of independence. 

THE FLAG RAISED AT MONTEREY.

  Preparations were then made for landing and taking possession of the country
on the following morning, and the boat of the Portsmouth was ordered to return,
with orders to Commander Montgomery to take possession of Yerba Buena.

  Accordingly, a force of 250 marines and sailors, under command of Captain
Mervine, of the Savannah, landed, and on the 7th of July, 1846, at 10 o'clock A.
M., the American flag was raised over the presidio of Monterey, amid the cheers
of the men and salvos of artillery, and California was declared to be a portion
of the United States.

  At the same time Commodore Sloat issued the following:—

PROCLAMATION TO THE INHABITANTS OF CALIFORNIA.

  The Central Government of Mexico having commenced hostilities against the
United States of America by invading its territory and attacking the troops of
the United States, stationed on the north side of the Rio Grande, and with a
force of 7,000 men, under command of General Arista, which army was totally
destroyed, and all their artillery, baggage, etc., captured on the 8th and 9th
of May last, by a force of 2,300 men, under command of General Taylor; and the
city of Matamoras taken and occupied by the forces of the United States; and the
two nations being actually at war by this transaction, I shall hoist the
standard of the United States at Monterey immediately, and shall carry it
throughout California.

  I declare to the inhabitants of California that, although I come in arms with
a powerful force, I do not come among them as an enemy to California; on the
contrary I come as their best friend, as henceforth California will be a portion
of the United States, and its peaceable inhabitants will enjoy the same
rights—principles they now enjoy—together with the privilege of choosing their
own magistrates and other officers for the administration of justice among
themselves, and the same protection will be extended to them as to any other
State in the Union. They will also enjoy a permanent Government, under which
life, property, and the constitutional right and lawful security to worship the
Creator in the way most congenial to each other's sense of duty, will be
secured, which, unfortunately, the Central Government of Mexico cannot afford
them, destroyed as her resources are by internal factions and corrupt officers,
who create constant revolutions to promote their own interest and oppress the
people. Under the flag of the United States, California will be free from all
such troubles and expenses; consequently the country will rapidly advance and
improve, both in agriculture and commerce, as, of course, the revenue laws will
be the same in California as in all parts of the United States, affording them
all manufactures and produce of the United States free of any duty, and on all
foreign goods at one-quarter of the duty they now pay. A great increase in the
value of real estate and the products of California may also be anticipated.
With the great interest and kind feeling I know the Government and people of the
United States possess toward the citizens of California, the country cannot but
improve more rapidly than any other on the continent of America.

  Such of the inhabitants of California, whether native or foreigners, as may
not be disposed to accept the high privileges of citizenship, and to live
peaceably under the Government of the United States, will be allowed time to
dispose of their property and to remove out of the country, if they choose,
without any restriction; or remain in it, observing strict neutrality.

  With full confidence in the honor and integrity ol the inhabitants of the
country, I invite the Judges, Alcaldes, and other civil officers to execute
their functions as heretofore, that the public tranquillity may not be
disturbed; at least, until the Government of the Territory can be more
definitely arranged.

  All persons holding titles to real estate or in quiet possession of land under
color of right, shall have those titles guaranteed to them.

  All churches and the property they contain, in possession of the clergy of
California, shall continue in the same rights and possessions they now enjoy.

  All provisions and supplies of every kind furnished by the inhabitants for the
use of the United States ships and soldiers will be paid for at fair rates, and
no private property will be taken for public use without just compensation at
the moment.                            JOHN D. SLOAT,
Commander-in-Chief of the United States Force in the Pacific Ocean.

  This proclamation was issued in the Spanish language and distributed
throughout the country.

DISCRETION OF GENERAL CASTRO.

  General Castro, with the troops in his command that he had gathered to crush
Fremont, was at San Jose when the news of the taking of Monterey and the
proclamation of Sloat reached him. His men were drawn up on parade on the
principal square, all well mounted, and he then opened the dispatches, exclaimed
in a loud voice "Monterey is taken!" and read the proclamation. At the
conclusion he said to his men, "What can I do with a handful of men against the
United States? I am going to Mexico! All you who wish to follow me, right about
face! All who wish to remain, can go to their homes." Only a very small part of
the force concluded to link their fate with his, and Castro and his few
followers left town the same day southward, bound for Mexico by land. He made
haste to leave, as he feared his route of retreat up the Salinas Valley would
soon be cut off.

  Rev. Walter Colton, writing at the time, thought "General Castro an officer of
high pretensions, but deficient in strength and steadiness of purpose, and that
capacity which can work out important results with slender and inapposite means.
His followers had gathered to him with as little discipline, sobriety, and
order, as would characterize a bear-hunt. Their prime impulse lay in the
excitement which the camp presented. It was the same thing to them whether their
weapon was a rifle or a guitar—whether they were going to a skirmish or a
fandango. With six or eight hundred of these waltzing warriors General Castro
was now on his march into the Southern Department, with the evident purpose of
taking up his position near the pueblo of Los Angeles."

  The plucky Colton thinks Castro would have shown himself more worthy had he
organized a partisan warfare, and thus "work out important results with slender
and inapposite means;" and, moreover, he greatly exaggerated the force of the
California General.

  As Castro had said in his speech to his troops, "What can I do with a handful
of men against the United States?" expressed sound judgment, and it would have
been an unnecessary waste of life and the engendering of bitter hatred in the
future to have commenced any predatory or guerrilla war. He certainly had no
prospect of success in the North, and if any existed it was in the South whither
he had gone.

  The American flag was raised at Yerba Buena by Com. John B. Montgomery on the
8th of July; on the 10th the Bear Flag was lowered at Sonoma and replaced by the
stars and stripes, and on the 13th the national standard was raised at San Jose
by Capt. Thomas Fallon, in command of some American volunteers.

CAPTURE OF MILITARY STORES.

  Fremont was then camped near Sutter's Fort, and on the 12th started for the
mission of San Juan, going by the San Joaquin Valley, taking the route by which
he had retreated in the previous March, approaching it by surprise and capturing
it without a struggle, on the 17th of July. San Juan was the depot of military
stores for the department of California, and had been so since Micheltorena had
taken the precaution to thus secure them from some over-zealous naval officer of
the United States, like Commodore Jones. Cannon and powder, and balls and arms
of any kind were dangerous things to have near a harbor, and they were therefore
taken thirty miles in the interior and hidden from sight.

  Cannon whose carriages had decayed were allowed to remain on the grass-covered
ramparts of the castello, silent evidences of sleepy repose and utter
helplessness. Castro, in his insurrection against Micheltorena, had supplied
himself from these stores, but they had been so replenished, or remained, that
Fremont exhumed nine cannon, twenty kegs of powder, 200 old muskets, and 60,000
pounds of cannon shot. Soon after the capture of the place by Fremont, Captain
Fauntleroy, of the navy, arrived with a command of mounted marines, sent on the
same errand by Commodore Sloat.

SLOAT IN A QUANDARY.

  The next day Fremont and Gillespie were ordered on board the Savannah, when
the Commodore made inquires as to the authority under which they were acting.
Fremont, with his usual recklessness, replied, "Without orders." This was
incomprehensible to Sloat, and he was more worried than ever. Gillespie had
passed through his squadron near six months before upon a secret errand from
Washington, and had imparted nothing to him, but upon reaching Fremont the
latter had turned back into California and began hostilities against the Mexican
power. The presumption was that Gillespie had brought orders from the Government
which Fremont was carrying out, and upon the instructions he had received, and
the positive course taken by Fremont, Sloat had thought proper to take
possession of the country. But a most embarrassing uncertainty enshrouded all.

JUDICIOUS ACTION OF THE COMMODORE.

  The custom of writers has been, almost without exception, to censure and
ridicule Commodore Sloat for his hesitancy in taking Monterey, and for his
subsequent course, which has been called "timerous." But his instructions were
to take possession in case of a declaration of war, and at his distance from the
seat of operations, the route over which the news must come, and its
unreliability, left him in doubt.

  He had before him the example of Commodore Jones, whose precipitate action in
1842 had caused him great humiliation, and he had been placed in command because
of his known good judgment and sound discretion. No greater responsibility was
ever put upon a single person's shoulders. California must be taken possession
of and held at all hazards, but not until war came. Had he blundered? Had such a
war come as nations would recognize? He knew that a British squadron was
watching the course of events for the same purpose, and Admiral Seymour had
bluntly told him that if the American flag had not been waving over Monterey
when he arrived that he would have taken possession in the name of England. This
should have eased Sloat's mind, but he had committed the act while others only
talked, and upon him the responsibility rested. If he acted slowly, or in doubt
of his authority, he certainly acted right; very fortunately right, even as if
inspired with the clearest judgment and the most dashing courage of the ablest
statesman or most successful soldier.

  He sailed from Mazatlan under great press of canvas, beating the great English
line-of-battle-ship Collingwood, and deliberately, positively, and irrevocably
took possession of California and issued a proclamation prompted by the kindest
feeling of humanity, justice and right, and fortified by the confidence of
invincible strength. All his acts were in time and judiciously executed. Cool
deliberation and positive proceedings marked his course instead of the nervous
ostentation and exciting dash demanded by the more impatient and indiscreet. He
was not aware that a letter was following him from the Secretary of the Navy
with a severe censure for not having acted with greater haste, the Secretary
seemingly being misinformed as to his movements. The letter, however, did not
reach Sloat until his grand success had broken the sting of the reproach, in
fact did not reach him until he had left California. This unjust letter has been
the base upon which writers have founded their criticisms of Sloat's conduct.

  The condition of affairs is shown by the diary of Colton, who was Chaplain on
board the Congress, under command of Commodore Stockton into whose hands
Commodore Sloat had on the 15th of July resigned his authority.

COMMODORE SLOAT'S DEPARTURE.

  Colton writes: "Wednesday, July 29, 1846. The sloop-of-war Levant, under
Commodore Page, sailed today, with Commodore Sloat on board, for the United
States. We gave the Commodore a parting salute. He has rendered the squadron
under his command efficient, and preserved harmony among the officers. The
expediency of his measures in California will be canvassed elsewhere. He acted
on the light and intelligence within his reach. If war has been declared the
laurel awaits him."

  There was still doubt about the declaration of war, and the "expediency" of
taking possession of California appears to have been too delicate a subject to
dismiss in the navy, even when it was commanded by so dashing an officer as
Stockton.

  Colton partly apologizes for the course pursued when he says "How the
intelligence of our proceedings here will strike our friends and the country at
large, is mere matters of conjecture. We are acting, however, not only in view
of the alleged collision between the American and Mexican forces on the Rio
Grande, but in reference to the anarchy and confusion into which this country
has been thrown by a revolution which did not originate with us."

  At that time there was doubt about the war having commenced, as Colton speaks
of the "alleged collision." But the die had been cast, and the country must be
held.

ARRIVAL OF COMMODORE STOCKTON.

  Stockton had arrived on the 15th, and Sloat had given him the command. He
decided to push measures energetically and take possession of the towns of the
southern coast. July 27th the Cyane, under Commander Dupont, sailed for San
Diego with Fremont's battalion of 160 volunteers on board. August 1st the
Congress and Commodore Stockton sailed for San Pedro, intending to land some 300
men and take Los Angeles.

THE NEWS OF WAR DECLARED.

  August 11th the British brig-of-war Spy arrived from San Blas with dispatches
for Admiral Seymour, but the Admiral had sailed for the Sandwich Islands,
whither the Spy followed. Her officers were silent in regard to news from Mexico
and the Atlantic, evidently having news of importance which the Americans were
very anxious to hear. The next day came great relief in the arrival of the U. S.
sloop-of-war Warren, under Commander Hull, thirty days from Mazatlan, with the
eventful news that war had been declared between Mexico and the United States.
The mysterious silence and great haste of the officers of the Spy were then
explained.

  The news of the declaration created a profound sensation throughout the
country as well as through the squadron. To the Californians who had hoped to
remain under Mexico, it was a final answer. To the Americans who had taken part
in the revolution, it was an assurance of protection. There was no longer any
doubt as to the future of California, and the laurels were won by Sloat.

A BRIGHT PROSPECT.

  Under the "Bear Flag" a few skirmishes had been fought, but the fair country
dropped like ripe fruit into the possession of the United States, and for the
moment all appeared satisfied. The towns of Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San
Diego, were occupied and garrisoned by small forces; Castro with a few followers
had fled to Sonora; the officers and men of his command had surrendered and been
paroled, and the entire country appeared at peace, quietly adopting the new
order of things. Stockton and Fremont returned to Monterey, and Stockton began
making preparations to move his fleet to the Mexican Coast and march into
Mexico, hoping, as he wrote to Captain Mervine, to shake hands in Mexico with
General Taylor.

THE SECOND CONQUEST.

  The bright prospects for California were soon blasted, and the ambitious plans
of Commodore Stockton were frustrated. The idea of holding a conquered people by
men of two or three small garrisons,—there being ten men at Santa Barbara and
fifty at Los Angeles,—and removing the army to engage in conflict with these
people's friends was puerile, to say the least. True, the leaders had given
their parole, but it was unnatural that any people should obey such parole under
such circumstances. To attempt to hold a conquered people by a garrison of ten
men while the army to which they had surrendered went on an expedition to
slaughter their friends, was adding insult to injury. This was an inexcusable
blunder on the part of Stockton. The naval and volunteer forces returned to the
north. Gillespie attempted reforms in the conduct of the Spanish people of Los
Angeles incompatible with their customs; this produced discontent, and his
weakness was so apparent that the Californians rebelled and were aroused to make
an attempt to recover their country.

  The insurrection was headed at Los Angeles by General Jose Maria Flores, who
had surrendered to Stockton and had been released on parole. But his chagrin at
defeat was very great, and the opportunity he considered was given to retrieve
his disgrace at the expense of his word of honor.

JOHN BROWN'S RIDE.

  On the 23d of September he appeared before the fort at Los Angeles with a
large force and demanded of its commander, Captain Gillespie, its surrender.
This was refused and the siege began. It was deemed of great importance to
inform Commodore Stockton of the insurrection and ask aid. To accomplish this
seemed an impossibility, as nearly 500 miles of country, occupied by a presumed
hostile people, lay between Los Angeles and Monterey, where the Commodore was
supposed to be.

  One of the garrison, with the ever-occurring immortal name of John
Brown—afterwards known by his Spanish sobriquet of Juan Flaco—volunteered as a
messenger to make the perilous journey. He succeeded in working his way through
the enemy's lines, but, as he was passing their outer lines, was discovered and
chase given. The flight was swift and the pursuit vigorous. Brown had a horse
killed under him, but fled on foot and in concealment, running nine leagues
until he reached the house of an American, where he was furnished with a horse
and continued his course. Of this ride Colton says:—

  Wednesday, September 30th. An express arrived last night from the pueblo
below, bringing the startling intelligence that the populace had risen upon the
small American force left there under command of Captain Gillespie— that the
insurgents had entire possesion of the town— that the Americans were closely
besieged in their quarters, and it was doubtful if they would be able to hold
out much longer. The express stated that he left the town under a volley of
musketry, which he narrowly escaped, but which took such deadly effect on his
horse that he dropped under him about two leagues out.
  He had a permit from the American Alcalde to press horses wherever found. He
rode the whole distance— 460 miles—in fifty-two hours, during which time he had
not slept. His intelligence was for Commodore Stockton, and in the nature of the
case was not committed to paper, except a few words over the signature of the
Alcalde, rolled in a cigar, which was fastened in his hair. But the Commodore
had sailed for San Francisco, and it was necessary he should go on 140 miles
further. He was quite exhausted; I ordered him a bowl of strong coffee, which
revived him, and a hearty supper which he eagerly devoured. He was allowed to
sleep three hours; in the meantime I procured fresh horses, and penned a permit
for him to press others when these should begin to flag. Before the day
glimmered he was up and away.

  Such endurance and such a ride over the rough trails of those days, and under
such circumstances, appear almost too much for belief, but the writing of Rev.
Mr. Colton was contemporaneous, and there are no grounds to dispute its
correctness. Mr. Colton was very parsimonious in giving the names of those he
met in the common ranks of life and who made much of the history of early
California, and it is from other sources than his volume we must learn the names
of the unofficial classes whose deeds are worth recording. John Brown—Juan
Flaco—died at Stockton in 1863.

THE UNITED STATES TROOPS EXPELLED.

  Captain Gillespie made terms of surrender of Los Angeles to the overwhelming
forces of Flores, conditioned upon abandoning the pueblo and marching with his
soldiers under arms to San Pedro and embarking for Monterey.

    Gillespie is reported by the Californians to have played the part of a
tyrant conqueror with his insignificant force at Los Angeles, and thus so
enraged the people that they rose against him. The first attack was made by
Capt. Cerval Varelas, a native of Los Angeles, and a gallant man. That after
this attack General Flores joined, issued his proclamation and the insurrection
became general; and that it was through the indiscreet acts of Gillespie that
the revolt was incited. As soon as the news spread the other garrisons were
attacked.

  The garrison at San Diego, commanded by Captain Merritt, of the Bear Flag
insurrection, escaped on board a whaler that was in the harbor. Lieutenant
Talbot, who was left in charge of Santa Barbara, with ten men, would not
surrender though surrounded by 200 horsemen. They made their way out by night
and took to the mountains, where they were hunted for some time by the
Californians, who burned over the country to rout them out of their
hiding-place. But a friendly canon in the pine forest concealed them, until they
were found by Cholo, an Indian Chief, who conducted them to the San Joaquin
Valley, from which place they made their way to Monterey, where they arrived
half-starved, after having traveled 500 miles.

FLORES' PROCLAMATION.

  Almost the whole native population were now in arms. Flores issued a
proclamation, in which over 300 persons joined, as follows:—

                             MEXICAN ARMY,       )
    Section of Operations Angeles, Oct. 1, 1846. )

  FELLOW-CITIZENS: It is a month and a half that, by lamentable fatality, fruit
of the cowardice and inability of the first authorities of the department, we
behold ourselves subjugated and oppressed by an insignificant force of
adventurers of the United States of America, and placing us in a worse condition
than that of slaves.

  They are dictating to us despotic and arbitrary laws, and loading us with
contributions and onerary burdens, which have for an object the ruin of our
industry and agriculture, and to force us to abandon our property, to be
possessed and divided among themselves.

  And shall we be capable to allow ourselves to be subjugated, and to accept by
our silence the weighty chains of slavery? Shall we permit to be lost the soil
inherited from our fathers, which cost them so much blood and so many
sacrifices? Shall we make our families the victims of the most barbarous
slavery? Shall we wait to see our wives violated, our innocent children punished
by American whips, our property sacked, our temples profaned, and, lastly, to
drag through an existence full of insult and shame? No! a thousand times no!
Countrymen, death first!

  Who of you does not feel his heart beat with violence? Who does not feel his
blood boil, to contemplate our situation; and who will be the Mexican who will
not feel indignant and will not rise to take up arms to destroy our oppressors?
We believe there is not one so vile and cowardly. With such a motive the
majority of the inhabitants of the districts, justly indignant against our
tyrants, raise the cry of war, with arms in their hands, and with one accord
swear to sustain the following articles :—

  1st. We, the inhabitants of the department of California, as members of the
great Mexican nation, declare that it is and has been our wish to belong to her
alone, free and independent.

  2d. Consequently, the authorities intended and named by the invading forces of
the United States are held null and void.

  3d. All the North Americans being enemies of Mexico, we swear not to lay down
our arms till they are expelled from the Mexican Territory.

  4th. All Mexican citizens from the age of fifteen to sixty, who do not take up
arms to forward the present plan, are declared traitors and under the pain of
death.

  5th. Every Mexican or foreigner who may directly or indirectly aid the enemies
of Mexico will be punished in the same manner.

  6th. The property of the North Americans in the department, who may have
directly or indirectly taken any part with, or aided the enemies, shall be
confiscated and used for the expenses of the war; and their persons shall be
taken to the interior of the Republic.

  7th. All those who oppose the present plan shall be punished with arms.

  8th. All the inhabitants of Santa Barbara, and the district of the North, will
be invited immediately to adhere to the present plan.
                                    JOSE MA. FLORES.
  Camp in Angeles, September 24, 1846.

  Some of the beauty and force of this paper may have been lost in the
translation, but the style would do honor to any Fourth of July orator that ever
lived.

EXPEDITION TO THE SOUTH.

  The report of the insurrection in the south was received by Commodore Stockton
from the brave and faithful John Brown on the 30th of September, and the frigate
Savannah sailed for San Pedro with 300 marines for the rescue of the beleagured
garrison, At San Pedro she found the merchant ship Vandalia with Gillespie and
his command on board.

REPULSE OF CAPTAIN MERVINE.

  The marines under Captain Mervine, and the volunteers under Gillespie, landed
on the 7th of October, and started on their march for Los Angeles. They were met
by a party of Californians under General Flores and Don Jose Antonio Carrillo,
all well mounted, and having a four-pounder field-piece, which they handled
effectively killing five Americans and wounding several more. The Americans
being on foot, and armed only with muskets could not get in range to make their
fire effective, the well-mounted Californians fleeing before the charges of the
Americans, and choosing their own positions for firing their cannon. Captain
Mervine had made the fatal mistake of attempting the march without artillery,
and this inexcusable blunder prevented the overthrow of the rebellion in its
incipiency, caused his unfortunate defeat, and the subsequent severe campaign of
Stockton via San Diego to Los Angeles.

  On the 8th, Captain Mervine re-embarked and sailed for Monterey. Flores had
taken some prisoners, whom he proposed to shoot, but Carrillo so firmly
remonstrated that he desisted. Soon thereafter it was learned that Flores had
planned to arrest all the Americans residing in Los Angeles and vicinity, and
send them as trophies, or hostages, to Mexico. But this plot was frustrated by
the action of William Workman, an Englishman, and others who had heard of it. A
party of Califomians, having achieved their object in resenting the insolence of
Gillespie, were desirous of surrendering to Commodore Stockton, thus closing the
war and averting inevitable disaster. Stockton was expected at San Pedro, and it
was arranged that Mr. B. D. Wilson should explain to him how matters stood and
the strength of the party that would co-operate with him, while Carrillo and
others would display a large body of horses as a corroboration of the statement
of Wilson. Stockton and his fleet came, and a boat landed, but the unmounted
horses appearing, the boat was signalled to return, and the ships sailed away to
San Diego. Thus another opportunity was lost to overthrow a weak rebellion and
pacify the country without bloodshed. This fact was related by the late Capt. B.
D. Wilson.

THE CAMPAIGN FROM SAN DIEGO.

  Commodore Stockton sailed from San Francisco, October 25th, with the Congress
and Cyane, and arrived in San Diego early in November. He found that post had
been recaptured by Captain Merritt, who a short time before had been compelled
to evacuate it, but while on the whale-ship he had learned that the Mexican
force had been partly withdrawn in concentrating their forces at Los Angeles,
and he therefore landed again and took the garrison by surprise. Stockton
landed, established a fortified camp, and set his men making saddles, bridles,
harnesses, etc., preparatory to marching to Los Angeles, then the capital and
headquarters of the Californians.

COMING OF GENERAL KEARNY.

  In September, when Fremont was in quiet possession of San Diego and the peace
of the country seemed assured, he dispatched his famous scout and guide, Kit
Carson, and a small party, with the report of his work, overland, via the
Colorado Desert, the Gila, the Rio Grande, and the Santa Fe Trail to the States,
and to Washington. When on the Rio Grande this party met an army under Gen.
Stephen W. Kearny, en route to California. The news Carson bore was that
California was conquered without the firing of a gun, and that all was peace and
quietness there. General Kearny therefore directed his command to remain in New
Mexico, and render such aid as was required in holding the country, while he,
with about 100 dragoons and two mountain howitzers, under command of Captain
Moore, as an escort, Captain Johnston, his aid, Captain Turner, and Lieutenant
Emory, and with Carson as a guide, hastened on to California. The route was much
more difficult than he had anticipated, and he arrived in California at the
crossing of the Colorado in November, with his men exhausted and his animals
famished. He now learned of the insurrection and the great need of his army that
he had left in New Mexico. Word was sent to Stockton of his coming, and he
dispatched Captain Gillespie and Lieut. Edward F. Beale, with fifteen men, to
render aid and escort them into San Diego. This party met the forlorn dragoons
at the edge of the desert, and accompanied them westward.

BATTLE OF SAN PASQUAL.

  At San Pasqual, a small rancheria, they were attacked on the 6th of December,
by a party of 160 Californians, under Gen. Don Andreas Pico, and a desperate
battle ensued. Captains Johnston and Moore and Lieutenant Hammond, and sixteen
others were killed. The animals drawing one of the howitzers became
unmanageable, stampeded, and it was lost. Kearny took position on a rocky point,
and held his ground, but being without water or provisions, his situation was
most desperate. At night, Carson, Beale, and a Delaware Indian crept through the
enemy's lines unperceived, and made their way to San Diego. Lieutenant Gray,
with a detachment of sailors, marines, and volunteers, went to the rescue, when
the Californians retired, and the unfortunate dragoons reached a place of safety
and recuperation.

  The battle of San Pasqual was one of the most gallantly contested on record.
The Californians were well mounted, with carbines and pistols, but their chief
arm was the lance, with which they were very skillful. Their charges were
effective and fearless, and their valiant conduct on that field has reflected
upon them an honor of which all Californians have since been proud. The dragoons
of General Kearny were in an exhausted condition when attacked, and only by the
most desperate bravery were they able to save themselves from slaughter.
Although weak in condition and numbers, a thought of surrender could not be
entertained. Heavy losses were inflicted on the Californians, but the deaths of
such officers as fell of the dragoons was mourned by the whole army, and deemed
irreparable.

ORDERS TO KEARNY.

  General Kearny had been sent from the States to "conquer California and to
establish a civil Government." He had left his army and was now under
obligations to Commodore Stockton for his rescue, and the Commodore was
Commander-in-Chief of the country. From the superior rank of the General, his
orders, and the circumstances, a very delicate question of authority arose.
Stockton had prepared an expedition to Los Angeles, and Kearny accompanied it in
command of the troops, but as aid to Stockton as the Commander-in-Chief.

BATTLE OF SAN GABRIEL AND THE MESA.

  On the 8th of January, 1847, the American forces, amounting to about 600 men,
met the Californians, about 500 mounted men, with four pieces of artillery,
entrenched on the north bank of the San Gabriel River. The Americans forded the
river in face of the enemy and drove them from their position and encamped on
the field. The next day the battle of the "Mesa" was fought and the Americans
again victorious, marching into and taking possession of Los Angeles on the
morning of the 10th, while the adjacent hills were glistening with the lances of
the Californians.

LOS ANGELES REGAINED.

  General Flores had previously sent messengers to Commodore Stockton and
General Kearny proposing terms of surrender, but was answered that the surrender
must be unconditional, and that Flores and Andreas Pico, having broken their
parole, should suffer death. A very bitter and revengeful feeling was at that
time entertained by the Americans. They had once received the surrender of these
men and released them on their parole, which had been accepted as sacred. In
this fancied security they had trusted and been betrayed. Great cost and labor
had resulted, and inconceivably more was felt the loss of many lives of dear
companions and valued friends. General Kearny had lost the favorite Captains of
his loved First Dragoons and suffered the mortification of an attack that
threatened his annihilation, all the result of a perfidy which he would not
forgive.

RETREAT OF THE CALIFORNIANS.

  The Californians retreated north and were met on the nth by Fremont. Don Jose
de Jesus Pico, who had been taken prisoner by Fremont at San Luis Obispo, and
who still accompanied him, was sent forward to communicate with his
fellow-countrymen, and kinsman, Don Andreas. A meeting was held at the mission
of San Fernando, and it was ascertained that a surrender would be made. The next
day the Americans advanced into the pass of Cahuenga, twelve miles from Los
Angeles, and there the terms of capitulation were agreed upon, Fremont granting
singularly generous terms, knowing the Californians had been defeated by
Commodore Stockton, but not knowing how he had refused to make terms with
Flores. The following is a copy of the treaty made:—

ARTICLES OF CAPITULATION

Made and entered into at the pass of Cahuenga, this 13th day of January, 1847,
between Maj. Pearson B. Reading, Lieut. Louis McLane, Jr., Commanding Artillery,
and Capt. Wm. H. Russell, Ordinance Officer, Commissioners appointed by J. C.
Fremont, Colonel United States Army and Military Commander of California; and
Jose Antonio Carrillo, Commandante Squadron, and Augustin Olvera, Deputado,
Commissioners appointed by Don Andreas Pico, Commander-in-Chief of the
California forces under the Mexican flag.

  ARTICLE I. The Commissioners on the part of the Californians agree that their
entire force shall, on presentation of themselves to Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont,
deliver up their artillery and public arms, and that they shall return peaceably
to their homes, conforming to the laws and regulations of the United States, and
not again take up arms during the war between the United States and Mexico, but
will assist and aid in placing the country in a state of peace and tranquillity.

  ART. 2. The Commissioners on the part of Lieutenant-Colonel Fremont agree and
bind themselves, on the fulfillment of the first article by the Californians,
that they shall be guaranteed protection of life and property, whether on parole
or otherwise.

  ART. 3. That until a treaty of peace be made and signed between the United
States of North America and the Republic of Mexico, no Californian, or other
Mexican citizen, shall be bound to take the oath of allegiance.

  ART. 4. That any Californian, or citizen of Mexico, desiring, is permitted by
the capitulation to leave the country without let or hindrance.

  ART. 5. That, in virtue of the aforesaid articles, equal rights and privileges
are vouchsafed to every citizen of California as are enjoyed by the citizens of
the United States of North America.

  ART. 6. All officers, citizens, foreigners, or others, shall receive the
protection guaranteed by the second article.

  ART. 7. This capitulation is intended to be no bar in effecting such
arrangements as may in future be in justice required by both parties.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLE.

        CIUDAD DE Los ANGELES, Jan. 16, 1847.
  That the paroles of all officers, citizens, and others, of the United States,
and of naturalized citizens of Mexico, are by this foregoing capitulation
cancelled, and every condition of said paroles, from and after this date, are of
no further force and effect, and all prisoners of both parties are hereby released.

                   P. B. READING, Major California Battalion.
                   LOUIS MCLANE, Commanding Artillery.
                   WM. H. RUSSELL, Ordinance Officer.
                   JOSE ANTONIO CARRILLO, Commandante of Squadron.
                   AUGUSTIN OLVERA, Deputado.
Approved.                      J. C. FREMONT,
Lieutenant-Colonel United States Army, and Military Commandant of California.

                              ANDREAS PICO, 
Commandant of Squadron and Chief of the National Forces of California.

  These terms were very bitter to Stockton and Kearny, particularly the latter,
and it is said that Stockton would have rejected them had the name of Flores
been appended. But that valorous warrior sought safety in Mexico, whither he
fled with a few followers. But the wisdom of universal forgiveness was shown in
the peace that followed and the warm friendship the native Californians ever
after manifested toward Fremont. More rigorous terms would have involved a sense
of humiliation that would have created and perpetuated a rancorous spirit in the
people without any advantage to the Americans. The Californians had not been
very warmly attached to Mexico, and now, by the liberal terms of their
surrender, they readily fraternized with the conquerors and accepted the new
order of Government.

FREMONT'S BATTALION.

  When the Flores' insurrection rendered it manifest that a strong effort must
be made to reoccupy Los Angeles, it was. proposed that Fremont should be landed
at Santa Barbara with the battalion with which he had held San Diego, near 200
strong, then  mount it and march southward, meeting Stockton, who proposed to
land at San Pedro. Fremont was not able to mount his men, and Stockton, as has
been told, sought the roundabout way of San Diego. These proceedings are now
known to have been exceedingly unwise and unfortunate.

  Fremont returned to the north with a portion of his men, instructed to recruit
such a force as he could, and march down the coast to Los Angeles. From about
Sutter's Fort, San Francisco, Sonoma, Santa Cruz, San Jose, and Monterey he
organized nine companies, aggregating a force of 428 men. Among these were his
mountaineers who had accompanied him across the plains, a band of Walla Walla
Indians, some California Indians, and immigrants lately arrived, the latter
constituting the greatest number and strength. No gaudy uniform, waving plumes,
or martial music—save a battered bugle—enlivened the body, but it was sombre in
its buckskin, woolen of all shades, slouched hats or skin caps, only the Indians
in their nakedness, paints, and ornaments giving a slight relief of the
picturesque. All were mounted, and a body of 600 horses and mules, besides
pack-mules and beeves, were driven along.

  The officers of the battalion were as follows:—

  Lieut. Col. John C. Fremont, Commanding; A. H. Gillespie, Major; P. B.
Reading, Paymaster; Henry King, Commissary; Jacob R. Snyder, Quartermaster; Wm.
H. Russell,, Ordinance Officer; T. Talbot, Lieutenant and Adjutant; J. J. Myers,
Sergeant-Major, and Lieutenant after January, 1847.

  COMPANY A.—Richard Owens, Captain; Wm. N. Loker, 1st Lieutenant, appointed
Captain February 10, 1847; B. M. Hudspeth, 2d Lieutenant, appointed Captain
February, 1847; Wm. Findlay, 2d Lieutenant, appointed Captain February, 1847.

COMPANY B.—Henry Ford, Captain; Andrew Copeland, 1st Lieutenant.

COMPANY C.—Granville P. Swift, Captain; Wm. Baldredge, 1st Lieutenant; Wm.
Hartgrove, 2d Lieutenant.

  COMPANY D.—John Sears, Captain; Wm. Bradshaw, 1st Lieutenant.

  COMPANY E.—John Grigsby, Captain; Archibald Jesse, 1st Lieutenant.

  COMPANY F.—L. W. Hastings, Captain; Wombough, 1st Lieutenant; J. M. Hudspeth,
2d Lieutenant.

  COMPANY G.—Thompson, Captain; Davis, 1st Lieutenant; Rock, 2d Lieutenant.

  COMPANY H.—R. T. Jacobs, Captain; Edwin Bryant (afterwards Alcalde of San
Francisco, and author of "What I Saw in California," and from which the
particulars of this campaign are chiefly obtained), 1st Lieutenant; George M.
Lippincott, 2d Lieutenant.

  ARTILLERY COMPANY.—Louis McLane, of the navy, Captain (afterwards Major); John
K. Wilson, 1st Lieutenant, appointed Captain in January, 1847; Wm. Blackburn,*
2d Lieutenant (afterward Alcalde of Santa Cruz).


* Brother of D. D. and J. H. Blackburn, of Paso Robles.

BATTLE OF NATIVIDAD.

  The battalion was organized during the month of November and was ready to
commence its southward march on the 28th of November, 1846. On the 15th of
November a party of Californians captured Mr. Larkin, former Consul, while en
route from Monterey to San Juan, and attempted to force him to write a note to
different persons of the battalion at San Juan to call upon him, the object
being to thus capture the party in detail. Larkin repelled the proposition with
scorn, although threatened with death. He was kept their prisoner, forced to
accompany them in their retreat to Los Angeles, where he was at last restored to
liberty by the defeat of the Californians. While a prisoner, the Californians,
numbering 130, attacked and surrounded at Natividad a party of seven or eight
Americans, and ordered Mr. Larkin to go and call them out, promising them
liberty and safety if they would give up their arms and ammunition. This he
refused to do, and while consulting on the matter they were attacked by fifty
Americans and Walla Wallas, under Captain Burroughs, who were escorting a band
of 400 horses to Fremont's camp at Monterey. The Californians fired upon the
Americans, killing Captain Burroughs, Captain Foster, and Mr. Eames, all
late-coming immigrants from St. Louis, Missouri. Three others were wounded. The
Californians lost three killed and seven wounded. **


** Letter of T. O. Larkin.

A BRAVE INDIAN FEAT.

  The Californian, of November 21, 1846, published at Monterey, by Walter Colton
and Robert Semple, reported the following:—

  Burroughs and Foster were killed at the first onset. The Americans fired and
then charged with their empty rifles, and ran them off. However, they still kept
rallying, and firing now and then a musket at the Americans, until about eleven
o'clock at night, when one of the Walla Walla Indians offered his services to
come into Monterey and give Colonel Fremont notice of what was passing. Soon
after he started he was pursued by a party of the enemy. The foremost in pursuit
drove a lance at the Indian, who, trying to parry it, received the lance through
his hand; he immediately, with the other hand, seized his tomahawk and struck a
blow at his opponent, which split his head from the crown to the mouth. By this
time the others had come up, and with the utmost dexterity and bravery, the
Indian vanquished two more, and the rest ran away. He rode on towards this town
as far as his horse was able to carry him, and then left his horse and saddle
and came in on foot. He arrived here about eight o'clock on Tuesday morning,
December 17th.

THE BATTALION ON THE MARCH.

  Fremont marched with his force from Monterey in pursuit of the Californians,
but they had fled to the south. This party was composed of some inhabitants of
the pueblos and a few rancheros who had been forced by the former to join them.
Fremont arrived at San Juan two days after the engagement at Natividad. He then
determined to march south as soon as some reinforcements reached him from the
north, which he was expecting. On the 28th of November he left San Juan, and
arrived at the mission of San Miguel on the 10th of December. The stock of
cattle which had been collected from the ranchos on the road being exhausted,
the battalion feasted on mutton, as sheep were more abundant than cattle in that
neighborhood. The horses were becoming weak from exhaustion, as the grass was
insufficient for their proper sustenance, and in order to relieve them, the
entire battalion, officers and men, marched on foot, turning their horses loose
with saddles and bridles upon them, to be driven along by the horse guard.

A SHOCKING EXECUTION.

  On the 15th of December an Indian was captured at a rancho by the advance
guard. On the day following he was condemned to be shot as a spy. He was tied to
a tree, where he stood twenty minutes, until the Indians from a neighboring
rancheria could be driven up to witness the execution. A file of soldiers was
then ordered to fire upon him. It would seem difficult to justify an act of this
nature under the circumstances of the case. A spy is presumed to have
intelligence sufficient, at least, to understand the character of the obligation
he assumes, which could not be alleged in this instance, as the victim was
simply an ignorant California rancho Indian. It was said, in justification of
the act, that a letter was found upon his person from his patron (master)
directed to some prominent Californian, presumably in regard to the war.

VORACIOUS SOLDIERS.

  On December 14th the battalion commenced its march on foot, the rain pouring
down in torrents. There was a halt made at noon and cattle slaughtered and
cooked for dinner. Beef was now their only food. The sheep had all been killed,
and no more could be found. Fourteen to fifteen beeves were slaughtered every
afternoon for the consumption of the battalion. It was stated that the average
consumption per man of fresh beef was ten pounds per day.

CAPTURE OF SAN LUIS OBISPO.

  The march was resumed late in the afternoon of the 14th, and the foot of the
Cuesta reached in the night; it was raining heavily. A family in the Canada, Don
J. Mariano Bonilla's, were taken prisoners by the advance party, to prevent an
alarm being given to the enemy that was supposed to be in San Luis. The place
was approached in great confusion on account of the darkness, the men straying
along in loose order. A small force, if properly disposed and handled
skillfully, could have repulsed the battalion with severe loss. But there was no
military force at the town. A halt was made on the immediate outskirts of the
place, to collect together the scattered files of men stretching along the road
for half a mile. The artillery under Lieutenant McLane and the pack-animals with
an escort, were yet in the rear, struggling slowly along through mud and water
and darkness.

  A solitary light was seen to flicker for a moment in the direction of the town
and then disappear. It seemed to indicate the exact position of the place. The
enemy, it was supposed, had extinguished their lights purposely, in order to
conceal their position from the Americans, and were anxiously awaiting their
approach, anticipating an easy victory, under cover of the impenetrable darkness
of the night. The American force formed in column, the men awaiting the signal
to charge. The bugle sounded. And 300 horsemen galloped furiously down the main
street, the Walla Walla Indians shouting their fierce war-whoop. The town was
taken. The inhabitants, who were all in their beds fast asleep, were greatly
alarmed upon being suddenly awakened by the terrible uproar. They made no
resistance, and the entire population were taken prisoners, except two who
managed to escape and fled in great terror, through the darkness of the night.
No acts of violence were reported, however. The soldiers were quartered in some
of the adobe buildings of the mission. These not affording sufficient
accommodations for the troops, a large number were quartered in the church. A
guard was placed, however, day and night, to prevent the altar and the
decorations of the church from sacrilegious hands.

PICO TAKEN PRISONER.

  Don Jose de Jesus Pico, a prominent ranchero who had held important positions
of trust under the Mexican Government, and who had also figured conspicuously in
several California revolutions, was brought in a prisoner. He was found at the
house of a friend in the neighborhood. It was supposed by the American commander
that he had been using his great influence to incite a general uprising against
the American cause.

  On the following day earthworks were thrown up on the hill near the present
lines of Morro and Mill Streets. The artillery was placed so as to command the
approaches to the town, as a large force of the enemy was supposed to be
somewhere in the neighborhood. A court martial was convened on the 16th, for the
trial of Pico on a charge of the forfeiture of his parole, which, it was
alleged, had been taken on a previous occasion. It appeared at the trial that
the letter which had been found on the person of the Indian who had been
executed on the 13th, was written by Pico to one of his countrymen. The contents
of the letter were not made public. But it was stated that they denounced in
severe terms the manner in which the war was then being conducted on the part of
the Americans, or to that effect. That it was not in accordance with the rules
of civilized warfare to plunder the property of neutrals or non-combatants, as
the Americans were doing, in driving off stock from the ranchos, and leaving the
owners, by the deprivation of their horses, without the means of taking care of
the cattle that were left to them, and thus reducing themselves and their
families to want if not absolute distress That this was the course pursued by
Fremont is undeniable. That it was a flagrant violation of the rules of
civilized warfare is also true. Hence it is apparent that, as the American
commander habitually disregarded in this manner the plainest principles of right
and justice prescribed by the usages of civilized nations in the conduct of
their wars with each other, he was himself estopped from exacting a strict
compliance with them, by those whom he was then injuring. The result, however,
of the court martial was that Pico was

CONDEMNED TO BE SHOT

On the following day. The sentence of the court was unjust in every respect, for
independent of the circumstances above related, Pico, when taken, was not in
arms nor was he engaged in raising a force to oppose the Americans.

RESCUED BY FAIR LADIES.

  On the morning of the 17th a procession was seen passing slowly along the
corridor of the mission buildings, composed of matronly looking ladies leading
by the hand several little children. The leader was a lady of fine appearance,
with uncovered head. The countenances of the others were concealed by their
rebosas, their heads bowed, and many of them sobbing audibly. They proceeded to
the quarters of Colonel Fremont, and falling upon their knees before him, and
amid tears and sobs, entreated for the pardon of Pico. Fremont received them
kindly, and listened with patience to their earnest solicitations. For a long
time he remained obdurate; but at last relented—a few minutes only before the
time fixed for the sentence of the court martial to be carried into effect. Pico
was pardoned. The leader of the procession of matrons was Dona Ramona Wilson,
the mother of Governor Romualdo Pacheco.

THE BATTALION IN SAN LUIS OBISPO.

  Upon the arrival of the foraging parties with steers and bands of fresh horses
from the neighboring ranchos, the mud batteries were abandoned, all the
prisoners discharged and the order to saddle up given. The battalion presented a
unique appearance. First came the men of the exploring party, who had crossed
the plains with Fremont. They were clad in buckskin suits ornamented with
fringes of the same material. They wore moccasins, and many had caps made of the
skins of the panther and catamount, beneath which their long hair fell streaming
over their shoulders. • They were men of approved courage and were capable of
sustaining any fatigue or privation. Broad leathern girdles surrounded their
waists, from which were suspended a bowie and hunter's knife, with a brace of
pistols. These, with the rifle and holster pistols, were the arms carried by
officers and privates. Next followed the volunteers from American settlers. with
broad-brimmed, low-crowned hats, shirts of blue flannel, and buckskin or cloth
pantaloons, some wearing moccasins and others brogans, and carrying the same
arms as the exploring party, and many of them wearing their hair in a similar
manner. Then came the Walla Wallas, a band of Oregon Indians. They had a
peculiarly sallow look, as the rain had washed off their warpaint. They were
dressed in buckskin garments, and their hair, matted and unkempt, had draggling
feathers stuck in it here and there. They carried rifles, and at their girdles a
large knife and tomahawk. Following these was a small band of California Indians
from the Cosumnes River under their Chief, Antonio. They were a scurvy looking
set of savages, half-clothed and exceedingly dirty. They were armed with bows
and arrows. The artillery, consisting of two pieces, was under the command of
Lieutenant McLane of the navy. The order to march was given at ten o'clock on
the morning of the 17th December, 1846. The bugle sounded the note, and the
battalion took up its line of march to the south.

A PICTURE OF DESOLATION.

  One of the participants in that famous campaign relates the following vivid
reminiscence of the march from San Luis Obispo and the passage of the Santa Ynez
Mountains:—

  For three days after that surprising night attack on San Luis Mission, we
remained in camp and "let it rain." The favored companies of the battalion were
quartered in the mission buildings, and the others improvised such shelter as
they could, until they were fairly washed out of tents and from behind adobe
walls, and apparently in danger of being floated from off the solid land out to
sea, and then the order was given to open the church doors, and the drowning
rats rushed in and spread their dripping blankets on the stone floor. The deluge
prevailed three days, or until the 18th, when the battalion was set in motion
again, and we waded four leagues to the sea-shore, probably with some faint
thought in the Colonel's mind that we should yet be compelled to commit
ourselves to rafts. While at the mission he performed the second act of military
prowess during the campaign, or, perhaps I should say, the third, counting from
the execution of the poor Digger Indian. Our only military prisoner of rank
taken during the war, Don Tortorio* Jose de Jesus Pico, was tried by a court
martial, and sentenced to be shot. His offense was breaking his parole, Pico
having been concerned in the first insurrection against the new authorities, and
when resistance seemed hopeless, given his parole of honor not to take up arms
against the United States again. He was a relative of Don Andreas Pico, one of
the leaders of the insurgents against whom we were now marching, and it was said
that his visit to San Luis had some connection with Don Andreas Pico's
operations in the south. But Tortorio was born under a luckier star than his
poor Digger dispatch-bearer, for the next morning his countrywomen living at the
mission sought an audience with Fremont, and pleaded with such success that his
life was spared, and he was permitted to accompany the expedition.

  *Tortorio, a nickname.


GOLD AGAINST SUGAR.

  It was at the mission of San Luis Obispo, also, that I effected one of the
important exchanges of my life, judging from the satisfaction it afforded me at
the time, and the willingness with which I submitted to the extortion. I paid my
last gold coin, a quarter-eagle, for an ounce of Mexican panoche, a little
black, dirty lump of native sugar. But no nectar was ever half so sweet, nor was
there ever a sweetness so long drawn out; my memory has fed upon it ever since.

FREMONT'S STRATEGY.

  After a week of wearisome watches and hungry bivouacs, we reached the base of
the Santa Barbara Mountains, and encamped on the grounds of the Santa Ynez
Mission. It was said to be Fremont's intention to baffle the enemy, who were
supposed to still hold possession of Santa Barbara, by a flank movement,
crossing the mountains above the town while they watched for them by the main
road, and so, sweeping down along the sea-shore, surprise them. This, to be
sure, was about what we had been doing ever since the battalion marched
southward, and if we had not surprised the enemy at any point we had been
ourselves astonished, and I ought to add, disgusted more than once.

  The theory of Fremont's campaign was so absurd that it dropped below criticism
at our camp-fires. Every man, down to the Digger horse-thief Indians, knew that
we were beating the air in our roundabout marches; that while we were wearing
out our animals and exhausting the strength of our hardiest men, by seeking out
the roughest and most impracticable starvation routes southward, in the vain
hope of stealing a march on the foe, his well-mounted spies knew all about our
movements, and where we encamped every night. However, the surprise maggot in
our leader's brain was about to hatch out again, and we lighted our camp-fires
at Santa Ynez, and killed the last of our lean beeves. Sitting around the side
of ribs staked against the glowing embers, we moodily watched the play of the
flames shining through the thin roast, and envied the greedy tongues of fire
that licked up the few drops of fat that fell from it. It was the night before
Christmas eve, and there came forth from out of the fire garlanded oxen and
prize beeves, larding the lean earth as they came along, like those well-favored
kine, perhaps, which Pharaoh saw come out of the Nile in his dream, only these
latter were types of fat things to come, while our bovine procession was made up
of well-preserved shadows of former Christmases. From these dreams of the past
we turned to our present reality of skinny roasts, eaten without salt, of
butterless bread and breadless butter.

CROSSING THE MOUNTAIN.

  The morning of Christmas eve broke cheerily for all our troubles, and gave
promise of a clear day. Enlivened by the prospects of a Christmas dinner of
frijoles, and possibly a fat ox from the plains around Santa Barbara, the camp
awoke in good spirits at the first blast of Miller's bugle. The order had been
issued the night before that we were to cross the mountains that day, and it
soon transpired that we were to attempt the passage by a narrow path which had
been used in former times when the missions were in their glory, but had of late
years been abandoned. It was only a bridle path up steep ascents, and though it
presented no serious hardships to foot soldiers, and was even traveled with
tolerable ease by our skeleton mules and horses, it was a road full of
difficulties to our company of improvised artillerymen. The field-pieces were
dragged up by ropes, and our progress was so delayed by the frequent halts,
where the acclivities seemed insurmountable, that the day was well-nigh gone
before we reached the summit of the mountain. A cold wind swept the heights, the
sun went down in a bank of ominous clouds, but there was no help for it. We must
pass the night on this rocky crest. The fierce blasts almost blew away our
little fires of light manzanita brush, and our larder was as bare as the crags
around us. But we had our songs and stories for the night before Christmas, and
when the bugle sounded stretched our aching bones and empty bellies under the
lee of rocks, wherever a thin layer of earth or a softer stratum of granite than
the rest offered a couch, spreading our tattered and muddy blankets between us
and the weather.

A TERRIBLE STORM.

  At midnight the heavens were overspread with clouds, and the wind, which had
freshened to a gale, bore to our ears the hoarse, prolonged roar of ocean. Our
sailor men lay awake and listened, and predicted the roughest and nastiest kind
of weather. At morn the tempest broke. One glimpse of the great, white, wild sea
was vouchsafed to those who were first up, and then the clouds closed over it
and we were enveloped in mist and driving rain, and nearly caught up into the
air by the fury of the pitiless wind.

  Out from the clefts of the rocks and from behind sheltering crags crept the
haggard soldiers at the command, "Fall in! Forward!" But there was no forward,
for the exulting gale fairly pinned us to the rocks when we essayed to move. Our
route lay down the mountain by a path almost as difficult as the ascent had been
the day before. For a few moments the men stood irresolute and cowering, and
then the column began to melt away and disappear in the driving scud like
phantoms. Order and discipline were at an end, and every individual must fight a
battle for self. Only two organizations remained intact—the artillery company
and the men detailed for the horse guard. The latter strove in vain to compel
the horses and mules to face the blinding storm. They wandered hither and
thither along the slippery steeps, conscious of their danger, shivering with
cold and terror, but unable to go forward. A few were led down the path and a
few more followed and were forced to go down the descent. The plucky gunners
stuck to their field-pieces as long as there was a chance in their favor. But
now new difficulties and dangers beset us. The hurricane raging above our heads
began to form torrents and cascades along our track. The narrow mule-path we
were following became the bed of a foaming mountain river, which loosened stones
and bowlders and unrooted young trees in its course. Men and animals were swept
before it. For human life there was a foothold, by clinging to the face of
projecting rocks and crawling up the steep gully sides; but horses and mules
were actually crushed over precipices, and either killed outright or crippled
beyond cure. In their half-famished state the strength of our soldiers soon gave
out. Shoeless and coatless, and hugging their arms under their thin, ragged
blankets, many of them sank down, benumbed and exhausted, wherever they could
find shelter.

  As to the youth who writes these veracious pages, his condition was not such
as would have made glad the heart of his mother or graced a Christmas party in a
parlor. Early in the day he had parted with the remnant of his hat, wishing it a
Merry Christmas as it sped away on the wings of the rejoicing winds in the
direction of Yerba Buena. Attired in blue flannel shirt, sailor trowsers, and
moccasins, he was in proper trim to test the Irish proverb of "a light heart and
a thin pair of breeches." The whole of the future of that long-haired youth
seemed to condense itself, on that day, into two distinct propositions which it
seemed his bounden duty to fulfill at all hazards. The first was to get down
out*of that mountain, and the second to keep fast hold of his gun—very simple
and obvious requirements, one would say. But it certainly does make a
difference, in looking upon our simple duties, whether we view them from the
front of a grate, full of glowing embers, or from the midst of a roaring tornado
on the top of Santa Ynez Mountain, with blinding sheets of rain enveloping your
freezing body, pouring cataracts on your path, and ruffian gales disputing
possession of your last garment. I have never be,en able to recall exactly the
process by which I slid like an icicle down those merciless heights. I remember
once making a clear leap some twelve or fifteen feet, and again endeavoring to
extricate my legs from between rocks and mud, drawing my feet out of my moccasins.

  The foot-hills were reached at last, and on the first strip of level ground
the sorry fragments of the now famous battalion huddled together and made their
miserable camp. By indefatigable labor and perseverance a few fires were
lighted. Some of the veteran frontiersmen had led their company pack-mules down
the mountain starting very early in the morning. A few other animals had been
washed down the rocks and were grouped more dead than alive, in a place of
partial shelter. The rain still fell and the wind raved, nor did the storm abate
until morning.

  All night long men straggled into camp. Those who had found tolerable shelter,
where they could light fires to keep themselves from freezing, remained on the
mountain-side; a few had found caves and holes, into which they crept and passed
the night. The horse guard battled all the morning with a threefold enemy— the
perils of the weather and road, the obstinacy of the mules, and the perversity
of horse instinct. They were compelled, in order to save their own lives, to
abandon them at last, and numbers of the poor beasts perished on ihe mountains.
The gallant artillerists made a desperate struggle to bring off their pieces
with them, but in the final sauve qui pent they left them high and wet, stuck
fast in the perilous pathway.

  The writer found himself at night at the foot of the hill of difficulty,
bareheaded, sore-footed, with one leg of his trowsers slashed up to the thigh,
calcinero fashion, but grimly holding on to that gun. We lay down in the sheets
of water which overspread the earth everywhere, and supperless and fireless
shivered the long night away. I have ever looked kindly on the wet-sheet
treatment of hydropathists since that Christmas when we were enveloped by day
and swathed by night in drenching sheets.

  Tom Benton, in describing the scene on the Santa Ynez Mountain, afterwards in
the United States Senate, said, "It was as if the ocean which lay at the foot of
that mountain had been lifted up and poured bodily over them." And it certainly
was a bold invasion of the solid land by an element which is declared to have
its appointed metes and bounds that it should never pass the earth at any time.
So came and passed Christmas, 1846, to the California volunteers under Fremont.

THE CALIFORNIANS IN THE CAMPAIGN.

  After the battle at Natividad the Californians made their way to the South,
taking Larkin with them, but it was believed by the Americans that they had
dispersed. A gentleman of San Luis Obispo, native of the country, then quite
young, relates the following as an example of the strategy of his countrymen in
that campaign:—

  The California officer in command claimed to be one of the most skillful in
military strategy and desperate in bravery of all living Generals. He had a
large party of Californians, able to crush at any time, as he boasted, the
poorly equipped and half-starved battalion of American volunteers, but, with the
Fabian policy which has given fame and success to other great commanders,
decided to spare his men an open encounter, and seek some opportunity of decided
advantage, when, without loss, he could crush the invaders at a blow. He
harangued his troops in grandiloquent style, and assured them that if the enemy
dared to attempt to cross the Salinas he would hurl the last body into the
stream. But as the Americans approached he saw that he could not get at them as
well as he had anticipated; but that on the Nacimiento he would crush them
utterly. As the dreaded foreigners reached that stream the valiant Californian
was reminded of the pass in the Santa Lucia Mountains through which the
Americans must go, and that it would be a much better place to deal the deadly
blow, and all withdrew to that strategic point. But in due time the invading
horde straggled along among the hills, when the brave General thought it would
be prudent to retire to San Luis Obispo, where greater numbers would join him,
and then, the miserable gringos would be exhausted by their efforts in crossing
the mountains and would fall an easy prey.

  The Americans crossed the mountains and approached the mission, and it was
concluded to allow them possession that they might be lulled into apparent
security, and then the Californians would take them unawares and slaughter them
like so many sheep in a corral. The good opportunity did not offer, and the
repelling force retired to another strong defensive point, and upon the approach
of the foe, another stronghold he knew of further south was better still.

  At Santa Ynez Mission the American volunteers found a large quantity of
aguardiente, and many so indulged in the fiery liquid as to become intoxicated,
and the battalion was completely demoralized for the time being. This fact was
represented to the California General with the recommendation that then was the
time to attack. "What!" he said, "attack the Americans when they are maddened by
liquor? No! no! You do not know them as I do. When drinking they will fight like
demons. Oh! no; we will go to the Gaviota Pass, and when they come marching
through, we will throw the rocks down upon their heads and crush them all." The
Gaviota Pass was selected as the great and long desired opportunity, but Fremont
effected a flank movement, and the battalion tumbled over the mountain by the
San Marcos and entered Santa Barbara without opposition.

  For his knowledge of the San Marcos Pass and the fact of the Gaviota Pass
being guarded as strongly as it was, Fremont was indebted to Capt. Isaac J.
Sparks and Mr. Foxen, who strongly advised the course taken, and it is the
opinion of some that they thus saved the battalion.

  As previously stated, the battalion reached Los Angeles too late to partake in
the battles, but meeting the beaten Californians made the famous treaty which
pacified the country.


Additional Comments:
HISTORY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY
CALIFORNIA

WITH

Illustrations and Biographical Sketches
OF ITS
PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS.


OAKLAND, CAL.
THOMPSON & WEST

1883.


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