^* ^ ^ '©lis* V 'j^. •^bv^ «• ^^'\ -IK- /■^•- °' ' a I .0^ ..'jj:* 5urL6 J^^. 'j?ik -S; i-iv^/^^i? i-^r<^ilK^^S>-M-M,:i-,.. LATE AMERICAN HISTORY: OOSTAINIKfl AGOOCHT 01 TSE COUEaA CONftCT, AND SUCCESS OF JOHN C. FBiMONi:.;' ."'P" ^- BV WHICH, THEOUGH MANY^fE^DSHlPS :iUSD SG^ERINGS, HE BECAME '^T^M EXPIiOEEK-JtNByTIiE. . ; HERO OP OiLLiFOENIA. rn^P^j BY^ EMMA WILL ARD, AUTHOR or "HI3T0ET OF THB T^STT^ "sTATBS, OB KKPClOaC OF AKBUOA," "PHIVERBAL BWTOBT,^' "TEMPLE OF TWE," OHHONOOBAPHIES OF ANOIKinP AKD laJOLISH HI8TOBT, " HETOKIO OTHDB,'" BTO., ETC. A. S. BARNES ^!"'li[aV— origin. Under pretence of special revelation, he, some- ''phltcs^and what after the fashion of Mahomet, produced the stereo- pretends to inspiration, ^ypg pjates of the " Book of Mormon," by which he persuaded numbers, that he was the inspired founder of a new religion, which was to give to his followers the same pre-eminence over all other people, as the Jews had over the Gentiles. His peculiar code is as yet ill under- stood, but there is little room to doubt, that it gives his followers liberty to commit every crime. Like the systems of socialism which prevail in France, and have THE MORMONS. 19 been attempted in this country, Mormonism degrades 1838. and demoralizes women. Yet such numbers of both sexes were found to join and aid this delusion — throwing their property into common stock — that on their arrival at the Far West in jyi^mnns at Par West Missouri, the Mormons numbered 5,000, of whom 700 were ai'med men. Charged with various crimes, among others an attempt to assassinate Gov. Boggs, they were expelled the state by a military force commanded by Gen. Atkinson. They then purchased a large tract of land in Illinois, on the eastern bank of the Mississippi. There, on a beautiful slope, they built " Nauvoo," where, Nauvoo. amidst their dwellings, arose a pompous temple, deco- rated and furnished according to directions found in the "Book of Mormon." — Robberies and assassinations became frequent in their vicinity ; and although secrecy and mystery accompanied them, the neighboring people were convinced that the Mormons were the perpetrators. Yet so had they spread, — using bribery and intimidation, ^ that, in the county courts, no cause could' be obtained asrainst a Mormon. Popular fury was aroused, nor ° r J' J 1844. could the state authorities restrain its current. The /"'>''''•, Jo. Smith chief of the Mormons, with his brother, had been arrested tTJl kiiLd "^^ by Gov. Ford, of Illinois, and lodged in jail at Carthage. A hundred men in disguise broke into their prison and murdered them. — In 1845, so formidable a combination existed against them, that the Mormons sold their pos- sessions in Illinois. Ttheir city, which had contained not less than 10,000 inhabitants, was deserted, and they 20 THB MORMONS. 1845-6. were wending their way to a region beyond the Rocky i^aveNaToa Mountains. Yet their numbers were still such, that they furnished, in the spring of 1846, 500 volunteers, — who were conducted by Col. Allen and Lieut. Smith to Santa 1846-8. F^' ^^^ afterwards joined Gen. Kearney. The Mormons rhrsait" are now settled in the great valley of Upper California, near the Salt Lake ; and it is to be hoped that the evils which they have suffered, will lead them to abandon their errors. Theirs is the Anglo-Saxon blood. They claim that their religion has its foundation in Christian- ity ; and they may hereafter be led to examine, and conform to its precepts. Lake. CHAPTER II. Texas — Mexico — Causes of Annexation and the Mexican War. We have already seen that the French adventurer 1685. La Salle discovered Texas. On account of his discovery, La saiie dis- covered Tes- the French claimed the country to the Rio Grande, as *^- forming a part of Louisiana. The Spaniards of Mexico remonstrated, and sent thither an armed force, but the French had already dispersed. The first effectual settle- ment in Texas was that of San Antonio de Bexar, made by the Spaniards in 1692. A few missionary stations 1692. Bexar were subsequently established. founded But the Mexican authorities seemed not so desirous to occupy this country, as to keep it a desolate waste, that thus an impassable barrier might be maintained between them and their Anglo-American neighbors. This desire to avoid contact by means of an intervening desert, was so strongly felt by the Mexicans, even in 1847, as to break off negotiations for peace, when Gen. Scott was at the gates of their capital with a victorious army. The aversion thus manifested, the Mexicans at first derived from their mother country. At the time when Mexico was colonized, Spain stood at the head of ^^'^ ^*"*"'^" 22 MEXICAN HOSTILITY. Roman Catholic countries, — regarding all heretics in exterminating abhorrence, and cutting them off by the i7:h century, inquisition and the sword. As the Reformation pro- ceeded, England, the land of our forefathers, took the lead of Protestant nations. But while we, mingling with the world, changed, — Mexico, shut up, retained her na- tive aversions ; and these, coupled with the national pride and jealousy of the Spanish character, may be marked as the first and predisposing cause of the late Mexican war. Tyranny of Mcxico as a colony belonged not so much to the in ivfexico. Spanish nation, as to the Spanish kings ; and they go- verned and managed it by their viceroys, regardless of the well-being of the people, — but merely as an estate to bring them money ; yet, not by any methods by which the mother country might be rivalled. Hence, while the mines were industriously wrought, no com- merce was permitted to the Mexicans ; nor might they rear the silkworm, or plant the olive or the vine. But Spain allows ^{[q^ Spain saw that the Enc;lish colonies, less oppressed some lorei;;n ' <-> ' i i trade ^mMex- ^j^^^ j^^^ Qwn, had revoltcd, and were likely to establish their independence, she moderated lier rigor, so as to allow some trade with foreign nations, but under severe duties and restrictions. Thus, kept from the means of improvement, Mexico remained unchanged. After Ferdi- 1810. nand VII had, in 1810, fallen with tlie Spanish nation Mexico re- /• ivi i i ii • voitj. under the power of Napoleon, the Mexicans revolted. 1818 ^^^ ^^^ people were not united ; — and after the bloody war ^"^viii*'"* of eight years, called the first revolution, the royalists pre- SANTA ANNA — STEPHEN F. AUSTIN. 23 vailed. The second revolution was begun in 1821, by 1821-4. the Mexican general Iturbide. Under him the Mexi- ,J'"'^'^',''«- (He IS shot at cans threw ofFthe Spanish yoke. But he made himself ^^"^'""-^ a monarch. The people wished for a republic ; and they deposed Iturbide, banished, and on his return con- demned and executed him. Another leader arose, — Santa Anna, — who has 1831. proved himself one of the most remarkable men of the Federal con- stitution of present day. In 1824, o. federal constitution was formed ^^"''°- under his auspices, by which Mexico, like our republic, was divided into states, with each a legislature, and over the whole a general government. In 1803, the United States, in purchasing Louisiana of France, obtained with it the disputed claim to Texas ; but in 1819, they ceded it by treaty to Spain as a part isig. of Mexico, Florida being then granted by that power to '^"spaln!'^ the United States. Two years thereafter, Stephen F. 1821. Anglo-Amer- Austin led a colony from the United States to Texas, ''=''" '^"''^^ ' tounded. and made a settlement between the rivers Brazos and Colorado. The Spanish authorities in Mexico, desirous of defence against the destructive incursions of the fierce and hostile Comanches, had, contrary to their or- dinary policy, made laws favoring American immigra- tion, yet only under the condition that the immigrants merged their religion and their language into those of Mexico. MosES Austin, a native of Durham, Connecticut, applied for, and received, in 1819, a grant of land with permission from the Mexican authorities to plant a 24 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN. 1821. colony. He dying, Stephen F. Austin^ his son, accord- ing to his parting request, carried out his plans, and thus became the leader of American colonization in Texas. Austin's enterprise being joined by others, who like himself sought to better their fortunes, his colony soon flourished to such an extent, that it attracted the attention of the Mexican clergy. They found that the Mexican ohlrmed ^^""^^ which required the settlers to make oath that they were Catholics, and to establish Spanish schools, had been regarded by them, but as an unmeaning formality ; and they felt the utmost alarm that a colony of foreign heretics was planted among them, — and of course a de- • sire that they should either submit to their national laws or be rooted out. Here were sown the seeds of future war ; for these heretics were the brothers of American citizens, and, though expatriated, they were children- 182T. ^°^^ °^ ^^® republic. — Farther jealousies arose from futile attempts at independence, which were made by a few of the settlers in the neighborhood of Nacogdoches, and from propositions made on the part of the United States government to purchase Texas. In whatever was done the Mexicans fancied some plot against them, in which the American nation at large was concerned. They even surmised that the settlers in Texas were sent but as a cover to a concealed purpose of the American authorities to take their territoi-y, and destroy their na- tionality. Texas, under the constitution of 1824, was united in one state with the neighboring province of Coahuila. Tlie "Fredo nian war. TEXAN REVOLUTION. 25 The Spanish Mexicans of this province outvoted and (1833, pursued an oppressive policy against the Texans. Ste- ,[bouT]Tooo phen F. Austin was sent by them to the city of Mexico in Tex^"at the beginning to petition against these grievances, and for the privilege "f *''« Revo- of forming Texas into a separate state. The Mexican congress treated him. with neglect. He wrote a letter to the Texans advising them at all events to proceed in forming a separate state government. The party in Texas opposed to Austin, sent back his letter to the Mexican authorities, — who made him prisoner as he was returning, sent him back to Mexico, and threw him "^i'soner^cTt" . , , Saltillo.) into a dungeon. Meanwhile Santa Anna, ambitious and crafty, though with seeming simplicity, subverted the constitution of 1824, and in the name of liberty, made himself the military tyrant of the Mexicans. They would better bear this, if he employed their force against the Anglo- Americans j and he sent General Cos into Texas, to place the civil rulers there in subjection to the military. Meantime Austin returned, and was placed at the head of a central committee of safety. Appeals were made Texan rIvo- lution begin*. through the press to the Texan people, and arrange- ments set on foot to raise men and money. Adventurers from the American states came to their aid. The object of the Texans at this time in preparing for war, was, to join a Mexican party now in arms against the military usurpation of Santa Anna, and thus to maintain the con- stitution of 1824. The Lexington of the Texan revolution, was Gon- 2 26 TEXAN REVOLUTION. ^^^S. zalez. Mexican forces had been sent to that place to Battieof demand a field-piece. The Texans attacked and drove Mexican" them froHi the ground with loss. Santa Anna now force 1000, Texan 500. causcd the fortresses of Goliad, and the Alamo, or cita- del of Bexar, to be strongly fortified ; the latter being Mexican loss the headquartcrs of General Gos. The Texans on the 100, Texan 1 killed. 18th of October, took Goliad with valuable munitions. On the 28th, they obtained a victory near Bexar. Texan delegates, November 22d, met in convention at San Felipe, and established a provisional government. On the 11th of December, their forces, under General Burleson took, after a bloody siege and a violent struggle, the strong fortress of the Alamo, and the city of Bexar ; General Cos and his army were made prisoners, and not a Mexican in arms remained. But Santa Anna, ever active and alert, was gathering his forces ; and in Feb- ruary, 18.36, was approaching with 8,000 men. Unhappily, divisions now prevailed in the Texan counsels, while the small and insufiicient garrison of the 1 fit f* iMard. 6. Alamo was attacked by this powerful army, headed by tiie~ Alamo, a man who added to the smoothness of the tiger his fierceness and cruelty. Travis, who commanded, had only 150 men. They fought all one bloody night, until he fell and all his garrison but seven ; — and they were (David Croc- ket was killed glain, whilo crying for quarter ! Meantime a Texan convention had assembled at Killed 150. March 2. "^ Washington, on the Brazos, which, on the 2d of March, dec: pendence. (jgigg^jgg^ ^q yn^tc with their Mexican brethren in sup- TEXAN INDEPENDENCE. 27 port of the constitution of 1824, but in vain. Now 1836. appealing to the world for the necessities of their condi- tion, they declared themselves an Independent Repub- lic, and committed their cause to the Supreme Arbiter of nations. Colonel Fanning commanded at Goliad. He had besought the Texan authorities to reinforce him ; and he had been directed by them to abandon his post, and save his garrison by retreat.* The Mexicans, by their superior force, overpowered him. He surrendered on condition that he and his men should be treated as pris- oners of war. Santa Anna ordered their execution ; March 27. Mas.'«cre at and four hundred unarmed and unresistinjj men, unsus- Ooiiad. ^ ' Killeil 400. picious of harm, were drawn out. One of the fated sol- diers exclamed, " They are going to shoot us ; let us turn, and not be shot in the back." In another instant the fire was given, and the prisoners fell dead. Fanning was shot the next day ; — and his body denied a burial. These men were American-born. Fanning had been an officer in the army of the United States. American sym- pathy and hate kindled as the shocking massacre was told. Annexation followed in time, and the Mexican war. On the 21st of April, the main Texan army, under General Houston, met the Mexicans, who were double * Of this fact, the writer was recently informed by General, now Senator Houston. Fanning had marched cut of the fortress, met, and contended with the Mexicans, was taken and carried back, so that the massacre was at Goliad. 28 TEXAJ; INDEPENDENCE. 1336. their number, near the San Jacinto. Furiously the BaiUe'of Texans rushed to battle witli the cry, " Remember the Mex'^'^o^ce"' Akmo." They fought at less than half-rifle distance, 1600, Tex.-83. and in less than half an hour, wholly routed the Mexi- Mex. 1 ss, ^^Tei'."\^i7 <^^"^' killing and wounding a number greater than the ' ' "' whole Texan force. Among the prisoners taken after the battle, was Santa Anna himself. He, the perfect master of dissimulation, now makes the Texans believe that he is so satisfied of their valor and goodness, that he will use his power and influence in their favor. As su- preme ruler of Mexico, he by a treaty, acknowledged their independence, and allowed their western boundary to be the Rio Grande. This treaty was subsequently disavowed by Mexico, it being made while Santa Anna March 3." was a prisoner. Although the United States, England, United States i i i i • i j c recognize and Other powers acknowledged the independence oi Texan inde- iln-hmMn Tcxas, yct Mexico, through all her changes of rulers ever claimed the country, and occasionally sent troops to renew the war by predatory excursions. The Tex- ans in 1841, sent under McLeod a party of 300, who were partly Americans, to take possession of Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, that city lying on the eastern side of the Rio Grande. Tiiese were made prisoners by the Mexicans, and treated with great cruelty. Santa Anna meantime procured himself to be sent by the Texans to the U. States, where he so far gained President Jackson's favor, as to be sent by him to Mexico. Then turning his back upon those he had been deceiving, he paid his court to the Mexicans, by dis- 1H42. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1844. 29 avowing all his treaties and promises, and entering upon 1842. a course of liostility to Anglo-Americans. Gen. Woll, sent by him to invade Texas, took Bexar. A Texan army having driven him back, were eager to carry the war into Mexico. After various disappoint- ments, and the return of most of their volunteers, a party of 300 crossed the Rio Grande, and proceeding to Mier, Sept. ji. ^ ° Tlie attack on they attacked it ; and although opposed by five times ^^'"• their force, they fought their way into the heart of the place. They killed and wounded double their whole number, when, although they had lost only .35 men, they capitulated.* Although these prisoners were treated badly, yet their romantic history shows that the Mexican character and feelings had somewhat improved since the massacres of the Alamo and Goliad. Texas early made application to be received into the American Union. Gen. Jackson objected, — and after- wards Mr. Van Buren, — on the ground of existing peaceful relations with Mexico, and the unsettled boundary of Texas. Mr. Tyler brought forward the proposition. It was lost in congress. But the mass of the American people were in favor of Annexation, as ^STart^fen"" was made manifest when it became the test question at Tex,is would othcrwisi; the presidential election in 1844.t The Whiff candidates '•'"'?''' '?"'^'*' ' o under tlie pro- for president and vice-president were Henry Clay and Engirnd.) * They were, says Gen. Green, in his Journal of the Expedition, betrayed into the surrender by Fisher, their leader, who had lost his mind by a gunshot wound. Green says this party of 300 killed and wounded 800 of the Mexicans at Mier. 30 ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. ^^*'*' Theodore Frelinghuysen, who were opposed to immediate president! annexation ; and the Democratic were Jam^s K. Polk J. K. I'olk.'of , _, nr T-w 11 I 1 1 , . . ,. Tenn., vice- and (jreorgB M. Uallas, who were pledged it its favor. president, G. Ivi. Dallas, of The latter were elected; and on the 4th March, 1844, they were duly inaugurated. After the election, and March 4* before the inauguration, Texas was annexed; — Mr. Inaugurated. Calhoun, the secretary of state, and Messrs. Van Zandt and Henderson, on the part of Texas, having previously negotiated the treaty at Washington. Mr. Calhoun was especially moved by fears that England was about to gain control of Texas for the purpose of excluding slavery. joinf Refoiu- ^" ^^^ ^^'•'^ °^ February, congress passed the joint "°Ve"xe"'"" resolution to annex Texas, — her authorities and people consenting, and the following conditions observed : 1st. All questions of boundary to be settled by the United States; 2d. Texas to give up her harbors, magazines, (March 1. &c., but to retain her funds and her debts, and, until It receives the t-vnat^uref *^^''' discharge, her unappropriated lands ; 3d. Additional new states, not exceeding four, may be formed, loith slavery, if .south of lat. 3C^, but if north, without. — The Mexican minister at Washington, Senor Almonte, who had before announced that Mexico would declare war if Texas were annexed, now gave notice, that since America had consummated " the most unjust act recorded in history," negotiations were at an end. The Americans had, on their part, cause of complaint against Mexico. She had been an unjust and injurious neighbor. Such had been the unredressed wrongs of ANNEXATION OF TEXAS. 81 person and property to which American citizens had 1839. been subjected in Mexico, that had she not been a weaker nation and a sister republic, war would have resulted during Jackson's administration. Mr. Van Buren re- commended measures leading to war ; — when the Mexicans resorted to negotiation. In 1839 a treaty was Mexican made, by which they agreed to pay large indemnities to treaty. American sufferers. This treaty was modified in 1843, n*®*^^ but its stipulations the Mexican government had mostly failed to observe. The assent of Texas, by which she became a part of the American Union, was expressed in the ordinance of July 5, 1845. Two days thereafter, a request was 184:5. • Annexation dispatched to President Polk to send an armed force to completed. protect Texas against the threatened invasion of Mexico. The administration judiciously chose, as commander of the forces to be sent. Col. Zachary Taylor. On the (Commander ' at Okee Cho- 80th of July he was ordered by the war department to made a Brig- /~i adier.) proceed to the western frontier, as near the Rio Grande as prudence would dictate. Thereupon he marched, and took post at Corpus Christi, west of the Nueces. He soon received a further order informing him that his forces wei-e to be increased to 4,000, and that he was, in case of emergency, to call immediately on the governors of the adjoining states for volunteers, they being instructed to furnish him. A Mexican force in the meantime had collected on the western bank of the Rio Grande. Although regular pacific negotiations were closed, yet the American executve made overtures for peace 82 MR. SLIDELl's mission to MEXICO. ^^^^^ through Mr. Black, the American consul at Mexico. Gen. Herrera, one of the wisest patriots of Mexico, was now at the head of affairs. He was disposed to peace, and through his secretary, Seiior Peiia y Pena, he gave private assurances that he would receive a special com- missioner to treat respecting Texas ; but the American government, he said, must first Avithdraw a fleet with which they menaced Vera Cruz. This was done. The ancient aversion of the Mexicans had been, bj the annexation, wrought into jealousy and fierce revenge; and he who most vilified the Americans, and the loudest blustered for war, was most the popular favorite. Such was Paredes, by whose party Hm-rera was denounced as a traitor for suspected infercoul'le with the foes of the nation. He was still struggling for his place, when Mr. „ ^ Slidell, sent by Mr. Polk, arrived in Mexico, and de- Dec. 20i ' -^ ' ' rejected, mandcd to be received. Plerrera rejected his mission on the ground that the American government had sent him as an envoy to settle the whole differences between the two nations, and not as a commissioner to consider merely the Texan question. He had brouirht the Amer- Dec. 2n. J 1 o inMexicoT ^^^" account-book, when it had been proposed by the Mexicans to settle such differences only as appearec^ upon their own. Herrera, even with this rejection, wai not found violent enough to please the Mexicans, and they (.(an. '2. displaced him and elevated Paredes. Mr. Slidell re- president.) mauicd at Jalapa until March, when lie made, as directed, overtures of peace to Paredes, wliicli were, of course, rejected. The nature of his then unopened in- OREGON. 33 structions, since made public, show how little aware *^*6. was the government of the bitter hostility of the Mexican omimh'Mr. Siidell re- ceives Ills passports.) mind. Mr. Slidell was to offer money for a peaceable cenesiiis boundary on the Rio Grande, and the cession of Cali- fornia. On the 16th of January, 1845, the United States Senate ratified a treaty ^vith China, which had been , „ ^ . there negotiated between Mr. Cushing, the American 'c"ines^e Envoy Extraordinary, and the Commissioner of the Chinese Emperor. Oregon. — While such was the aspect of Mexican affairs, a difficulty arose between the United States and England respecting the northern boundary of Oregon ; both nations claiming the extensive portion of that coun- try north of the Columbia river to the Russian settle- ments. The full statement of the claims on either side, is long and intricate ; but there is no contradiction made to the facts, that the Columbia river and its vicinity, belong to the Americans by right of the discovery 17^93. made in 17G2, by Captain Grey of Boston, and by the saiiin'g inTh'e . Columbia, exploration of Lewis and Clark, in the employ of the gives to the river llie American government, made in the years 1804-5. John "*'^hi°')'"* Jacob Astor of New-York, founded Astoria, at the mouth of the Columbia, in 1811. The first house on its waters was, however, established on Lewis river, by the Missouri Fur Company, in 1808. The Rocky moun- tarns which divide Oregon from the valley of the Mis- sissippi, although generally continuous and sometimes rising to to the height of 16,000 feet, have yet remark- s' 84 OREGON. 1^*2. able openings ; the most singular of which is the South Pass, in lat. 42° 30', which Colonel Fremont, who ex- plored it in 1842, describes as being in ascent no steeper than the Capitol Hill at Washington. In consequence of complaints made by American settlers. Congress passed an act, April 16, 1846, that a joint occupation with England of the disputed territory, (t In the formerly agreed to,f must after a year cease. conventions "'^ i8-'>7 ')"'' This difficulty with England became so serious as to threaten war. It was, however, compromised by a treaty negotiated at Washington between Mr. Packen- June 18* ham, the British Minister, and Mr. Buchanan, the Treaty of w^hington. American Secretary, — which makes the northern bound- ary of Oregon, the line of lat. 49 deg. ; but gives to the British the whole of Vancouver's Island, and a right to the joint navigation of the Columbia river. CHAPTER III. Mexican War — Army of Occupation. Gen. Taylor received an order, January 13th, 1846. 1846, to take post at the moutli of the Rio Grande. Perhaps the Executive, in giving this order, agreed in (t See Mr. opinion with Mr. Slide)],! that " the desire of the govern- .^li'ieii's letter ° from Mexico ment (for peace) will he taken for timidity. The most "'.''Jceh'^,""' Dec "7 1845 ) extravagant pretences will be made, until the Mexican ' ' people shall be convinced by hostile demonstrations, that there must be settlement, either by negotiation or the sword." The effect of the order was, however, to preci- pitate the collision of arms, and to give to the Mexicans the advantage of the cry of invasion. Many patriotic ^*''^'='°f " -' ./I sending Gen. Americans believed that the Executive, intent on a war rIo Grande.^ of conquest, directed this movement for the express pur- pose of bringing it on ; his overtures for peace not being made in good faith ; and that in so doing, he violated the constitution, by which congress is the wai'-making , ~ 111 . 1 • 1 (t Members of power. J Congress had, however, given to the president, congress con- sume much the difficult task of defending Texas, without advising ^,^''"«='° f^- " ~ bates on these him of what Texas was, — having received it into the i"^'^'""'-^ Union with a di.sputed boundary to be afterwards settled. 36 WAR IN PROSPECT. 1846. But as Mexico at once scornfully refused to negotiate, claiming the whole, — the question then occurred, ought the Executive to take the Mexican account of limits, or that of Texas, now an American state. Besides, if Mexico was resolved not to negotiate, but to take the chances of war, she could not expect other, than that her opponent would make whatever fair advantage she could, from the coming contest. Gen. Taylor moved from Corpus Christi on the 8th of March ; and after toiling ten days through an arid waste, he reached the Arroya Colorado. Here he was met by a party of mounted Mexican marauders called (March 12. rancheros. They warned him that he had reached the Senor Lanzas "siidei/'th^t'' li'"nits of Texas, and tliat to advance further would be bdii'^l's regarded by the Mexicans as invasion. On the 2.5th, given, — noth- ing remained the armv reached Point Isabel, a small Mexican seaport, but war.; •' ' sometimes called, from the bay on which it stands, Brazos St. lago. The Mexican authorities in leaving this place had set it on firo ; but Taylor with exertion saved most of the buildings. The place was important to him, as, from the nature of the coast, this must be the depot for his stores. Leaving them here, with 450 men under Major Munroe, he advanced, and took post at the mouth of the Rio Grande, opposite to Matamoras. Here March 28. ' "^ Gen. Taylor batterics wcrc soou erectcd by the Mexicans, pointing at encamp-; op- '' ' i o ^'m.'.i!^' his camp. This he intrenched, and immediately com- menced a fort, whose guns threatened the heart of the city. Yet Gen. Taylor was strictly courteous to all. He had come, in peace, he said, to protect Texas, not to ACTUAL WAR. 3'^ invade Mexico ; but if attacked, he should know how to ^^"^C* defend himself. This attack he had hourly reason to expect. Pare- (April 10. des had put in requisition the best troops of Mexico, Coi cross ' ' ' rode out nom headed by her ablest generals, and they were gathering aionrand towards the Rio Grande. On both sides of the river, Mexican ran cheros.) all was warlike" action ; here, mounting or relieving guards, and there, planting artillery. Gen. Arista now arrived, and took the command at Matamoras. The Mexican government made a formal declaration of war on the 23d of May. Gen. Arista informed Gen. Taylor by a polite note, dated the 24th, that he regarded hos- tilities as having already commenced : and on that day ^p"',.-:*- ° - ' .' Hostilities the flow of blood really began. Capt. Thornton with 63 'xZXn'^s^ capture. Am. dragoons was sent by Gen. Taylor a few miles up the loss, k. and w. 16. river to reconnoitre. They fell into an ambuscade, and finding themselves surrounded by a far superior force, they attempted to retreat, cutting their way. But they were obliged to surrender, with the loss of 16 killed and wounded. The American congress and people were astonished and agitated, when Gen. Taylor's dispatch was received. Astonish- Their army was surrounded, and in danger, from the anxiety, soldiers who had committed the massacres of Goliad and the Alamo ! A kind of monomania pervaded the nation. The President announced to congress that the Mexicans May II. had " invaded our territory, and shed the blood of our President's, citizens upon our own soil." Congress responded, that " war existed by the act of Mexico," and in two days e.xtra mes- sage. 38 DKCLARED WAR. ^Q'*^' passed a law authorizing 50,000 volunteers to be raised Acto'fcon- ^or twelve months; and appropriating towards the gress to raise . . , .... fin mi men and Carrying on of the war, ten millions ot dollars, ihus money. were the means at once provided. Did the administration calculate on this, and therefore forbear to agitate in con- gress the subject of the war, which, with an army of less than 10,000, it had daily reason to expect ? — or was it one of those providential occurrences, of which this war has been so fruitful, and by which we learn, that Mexico was to be chastised, and that the Almighty made this nation his instrument ? Declared war being upon the hands of the E.xecutive, the plan for its prosecution and results appears to have Plan of the Executive, been, — to take for indemnity and as a permanent acqui- sition, that part of the Mexican territory lying between the old United States and the Pacific ; and so to carry the war into the more vital and richer parts of the enemy's country, that he would be willing to receive peace, and some needful funds, though at the sacrifice of this territory and the i*elinquishment of Texas to the Rio Grande. The American executive, aided by the head of the war department, and by General Scott, now sketched May 15 & 10. out, in two davs' time, a plan of a campaign, exceeding, (bee Mans- •' ' i o ' o' 'icIfnNvalt'' if^ ^he vastness of the spaces, over which it swept by sea and land, any thing of the kind known in history. This passed at once into the orders given by Mr. Marcy, secre- tary of war, and Mr. Bancroft, secretary of the navy. Under these orders vessels were to pass round Cape Horn to the coast of California, lo aid those already OPERATIONS ON THE RIO GRANDE. 39 there in conquering that country. An "Army of the 1846. West," v/as to be assembled at Fort Leavenworth on the l^campa"g°'^ Missouri, and under command of Gen. Kearney, to take New Mexico, and then proceed westward to the Pacific, to co-operate with the fleet. An '• Army of the Centre," to be collected by Gen. Wool, from different and distant "* parts of the Union, was to rendezvous at San Antonio de Bexar, and thence to invade Coahuila and Chihuahua. These armies were not merely to be ordered forth. They were mostly to be created from the raw material. The existing regular force of the United States, officers and men, did not much exceed nine thousand. Gen. Taylor, whose force was called the " Army of Occupation," on finding that about 8,000 Mexican troops were already collected to oppose him, not only sent dis- patches to the war department for aid, but, as in this case directed, to the sfovernors of the nearest states. The Mexican and * c* American generals on both sides published proclamations ; — Arista ™*°"^^ °®'- callincr on the Mexicans to defend their invaded homes and altars, and on the American soldiers to desert, and accept ample rewards ; Taylor exhorting the Mexicans to embrace the opportunity of freeing themselves from tyrants who had subverted their constitution, and left them a prey to the mingled evils of despotism and anarchy ; and who were now seeking to make them believe the Americans to be their foes, — thousands of whom had shed their blood in the defence of Mexico against Spain. Gen. Taylor now received intelligence by Capt. 40 VICTORIES ON THE RIO GRANDE. 1846. Walker that a large Mexican force in his rear, was in- terposed between him and his stores at Point Isabel. Walker had there been stationed by Major Munroe to April 03. keep open the communication ; and he had fought fifteen ™ie.'' minutes with his one company of Texan rangers, (armed with revolving pistols,) with 1500 Mexican cavalry, — killed thirty and escaped ; and subsequently he had found his way with six men through the Mexican army to bring this information. May 1. Taylor did not hesitate. Leaving his camp at Mata- Taylor sets , r> i * ♦ Bt for Point vv,oras with a carrison in command 01 that trusty veteran Isabel. ° Major Brown, he marched with the main army, and reached Point Isabel unmolested. The Mexicans affected to believe that he had abandoned his works and fled. They attacked the camp with their batteries soon after he left it ; and Major Brown opened his guns upon the 'May 3 to 9 city. The firing was anxiously heard by Taylor, and a ^Trln" messenger for aid reached him from Major Brown. The 7th.Tayior garrisou at Point Isabel being reinforced by 500 men, leaves Point & /i /• Isabel. ^vhich had been supplied by Commodore Conner from the navy. Gen. Taylor announced to the war department, " I shall march this day with the main body of the army, to open a communication with Major Brown, and throw forward supplies of ordnance and provision. If the enemy opposes my march, in whatever force, I shall fight him." The same evening he marched. The next day at noon he came in full sight of the Mexican army, drawn up in order of battle, and extending a mile across his way. Taylor halted his men, — bade them refresh VICTORIES ON THE EIO GRANDE. 41 themselves at the pools — then formed his line. Col. 1846. av K Twiggs commanded the right, and Col. Belknap the left, p^^^ \^^„ On either wing were batteries with companies of light- ^^^'tj^oda"'^ .•II ' * , ■, , , ,, Am. 2,300, artdlery. At two o'clock the Mexicans opened their — '^ niex. loss, tire. The light-artillery, commanded by Ringgold and )^^ l^-^^^^[ Duncan, did great execution. Ringgold, much lamented, ^"^^ fell mortally wounded. The Mexicans, although with choice of the ground, and more than double numbers, were forced, after five hours, to yield to the Americans the victory of Palo Alto. At two o'clock the next day the army resumed its marcli. Having advanced about three miles, the Mexi- cans were discovered, skilfully posted, with artillery, at Resaca de la Palma. A shallow ravine crossing the ,^ „ o ^ May 9. road,— its margins closely wooded by matted shrubs of a ^XTma^ '" • I 1 Mex. force, prickly evergreen, called chaparral, afforded them shel- ab..ut h.ooo. "^ Am. 2,222. ter. At four o'clock the Americans came up. The mJTToss field was fiercely contested. On account of the irregu- Am. kl°& w. , . „ mortallv, 44. larity of the ground, the history of this battle is full of thrilling incident. It was here that Capt. May, with his dragoons, rode up to a Mexican battery, cut down the men, and took Gen. La Vega as he was applying a match to one of the guns. Young Randolph Ridgely and many others here won fame for themselves and their country. The Mexicans were wholly routed. Their camp — its stores, equipage, and Gen. Arista's private papers, fell into the hands of the Americans. Two hundred Mexicans lay dead upon the field. The flying 42 THE WAR SPIRIT. 1846. were pursued; and numbers were drowned in attempt- ing to cross the Rio Grande. On arriving at tlie camp, Taylor and his victorious army carried joy to the wearied combatants. But the valued commander of the fort had been killed. Gen. Taylor named the place where he fought and fell, Fort Brown. Great were the rejoicings and illuminations in the United States for these victories. Taylor was forthwith made a major-general, and several of his officers pro- moted. Gen. Arista now proposed an armistice, which Gen. Taylor rejected, — not choosing longer to keep his bad position. He intended on the arrival of heavy mortars to attack Matamoras. But the military deserted it ; and Ma IB ^^^ ^^^'^^ authorities, receiving assurances that private Jies Ma°amo- rights would be respected, suflered the Americans to ras. take quiet possession. These successes having been obtained, the president of the United States made another attempt to treat for peace. His overtures were not promptly met by Sofior Lanzas, the secretary of Paredes, but referred to a Mex- ican congress to be held in December. While the news of the imminent danger of the army of the Rio Grande thrilled through the heart of the American nation, Gen. Gaines, the commander of the southern division, full of patriotic feeling, called out a large number of volunteers, additional to those asked for by Gen. Taylor. Every where the young men of the THE WAR SPIRIT. 43 nation were ready, nay. in haste, to go forth to defend 1Q ' *6. their brethren, fight the Mexicans, and push for the " Halls of the Montezumas."* Gen. Taylor was soon embarrassed by the numbers who came. They were ill provided with munitions ; and he not being ready to move, they were but consuming his stores. The war department decided that those of the volunteers, not regularly enlisted, must be dismissed. This caused heart-burnings and delay ; and although great energy pervaded the quartermaster's department, under Gen. Jesup, yet so much was to be provided in this sudden extension of the army, that it was three months before Gen. Taylor could move upon the interior. Meantime, the towns on the lower Rio Grande, were taken and occupied by the Americans. Camargo, made the depot of provisions and stores, was garrisoned with 2,000 men under Gen. Patterson. The army now being 6,000 strong, its first division, under Gen. Worth, began its march on the 20th of August. Gen. Taylor with the rear column soon fol- lowed. On the 5th of September, the several divisions The^rrmy at Marin. were concentrated at Marin. Moving: on, thev en- ^'h- ^*- ^^'^i- ° •' nut Springs. camped, on the 9th, at Walnut Springs, three miles from Monterey. Here, on the south and west towered the high peaks of the Sierra Madre, — while before them stood the walls of Monterey bristling with cannon, and * Mr. Prescott's very popular " History of the Conquest of Mex- ico," no doubt increased the war spirit so rife at this time. 44 SIEGE OF MOKTEREY. ^Q '*^' surrounded by fortresses ; — and around them an un- known region — an invaded country, with thousands of embittered foes. Most of their troops were untried volunteers. But they had officers, educated either directly or indirectly at West Point, who, in all the complicated acquirements belonging to military science, had no superiors. Especially had they a commander, cool and deliberate, — judicious to plan, and energetic to act. He looked upon the mountains, and perceived towards the southwest, that they were cleft by the small stream of the San Juan, along which, was the road from Saltillo to Monterey. He thought if a new way could be made by which the Saltillo road should be reached, the enemy's line of supplies would be cut, and probably less formidable defences intervene. The skill of the Ameri- can engineers, under Capt. Mansfield, found out such a way ; and Gen. Worth being selected for the important Sept. 20. service, led a column of 650 men on the 20th and 21st, Wortli's ' ''caml''ar ^^^ ^ difficult detour round to the Saltillo road. But they did not gain this advantage without loss. Oh the morn- 21st, Battle ing of the 21st they successfully fought a battle, in which near Moiito- "^ "- '!oss loo!' ^°^" I'l'^ys ^"d his Texan rangers were distinguished. The Saltillo road being gained, the first obstacles to Forts FcJera- tion and Sol- be overcomc m approaching the cilv, were two batteries dado carried. _ on a hill. Up to these, in face of their fire, the soldiers marched. Thoy were taken, and their guns turned on the third and principal battery, — a fortified, 'unfinished stone building, called the Bishop's Palace, situated on the steep hill Independence. Night camo on, and the weary 45 THE TAKING OF MONTERKY. and hungry soldiers had to endure a pelting storm. At three, a party headed by Col. Childs, and conducted 3^0^'jock by engineers Saunders and Meade, mounted the hill. Bishop's hai- ace stormed. A vigorous sortie from the fort was repelled. The Americans entered it with the flying Mexicans, and it was theirs. After having taken this battery, and turned it against the city, the war-worn troops, now three days from the camp, their numbers thinned by death, stood close upon the rear of Monterey. Meantime, Taylor had sought to direct the attention of the enemy from this, his real point of attack, by making a feigned one in front. But so fiercely was this movement conducted by Gen. Butler, Capt. "Backus, and others, that the city was entered, though with great sacrifice of life ; for every street was barricadoed, and guns pointed from every wall. The second day, a part of the defences were abandoned by the garrison, the Americans getting within the houses, and breaking through the walls. Gen. Quitman, who headed this Itia'ck^n , , , ^ , - Monterey in party, advanced to the Plaza. On the mornmg of the f'ont. 23d, the defences of the opposite side were assaulted and carried by the division of Gen. Worth. Gen. Taylor now passed over to Worth's quarters, where he received the Mexican commander, Gen. Ampudia. He came t " Santa with a flag to propose capitulation and an armistice, on Anna's Pass," dated the ground that peace might shortly be expected, — fcora'con*^ne; Paredes being displaced, and Gen. Santa Anna now in '^Arab, in^ which he power. Gen Taylor knewf that in consequence of ^^''^' [° p^s' President Polk's hooe of that wily Mexican's favorable 'P'^^^^^i^^'-^ 46 THE TAKING OF MONTEREY. ^^'^^J' disposition, he had given an order to the fleet, which Com. Conner obeying, Santa Anna had passed unmolested on his I'eturn from Cuba. Taylor had not men sufficient to guard the Mexican soldiers if he kept them as prisoners ; and his own unsupplied army needed all the provisions to be found in Monterey. Without the parade of compassion, he had its reality, and he wished to spare Sept. 93. especially " non-combatants." With the advice of his The aiinis- rr- i i /» Uce. officers, he therefore agreed to an armistice of eight weeks, on condition of the approval of the American Its rejection government. This, on correspondence, was withheld; by Sir. Polk. and the war was renewed ; — not, however, until nearly six weeks had elapsed ; and not sooner would Taylor have oeen prepared to act, had he been at liberty. CHAPTER IV. Army of the centre. — Gen. Wool's march. — Battle of Buena Vista. To Gen. Wool, who had been twenty-five years an 1846. inspector-general in the army, the administration wisely confided the principal share in mustering and preparing for the service, the volunteers, — on whom, for want of regular troops, the military honor and interest of the republic, must in this emergency depend. His orders, dated May 29th, he received at Washing- May 29. ■' ° Gen. Wool's ton. From thence he immediately moved through the °"^^" states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi ; — meeting the enlisted volunteers at desig- nated places of rendezvous, and inspecting and admitting them, if suitable men, into the army. These distances were accomplished, and twelve and a half regiments, (two of cavalry,) making about 12,000 men, were 3"ooo"mfies inspected, mustered into service, and sent towards their and ]2,ooo men mus- destined places, by the 16th of July. About 9,000 of ^^""■^■ these recruits, went to the Rio Grande to reinforce the army of Gen, Taylor. Those to form the " Army of the Centre " were by difl!erent routes to rendezvous at Bexar ; — some going the far circuit of Little Rock, in 48 GEN. wool's march. / 1816. Arkansas, and some by sea and through La Vaea. Gen. Wool, after making necessary arrangements in New Orleans for the comfort and efficiency of his troops, Angusti. moved to La Vaea on the 1st of August. From thence. Gen. W. at ^Mr^'orda" ^^'^^ Sending his wagon-trains, he accompanied volun- ^"^■^ teers to Bexar, whose march for 40 miles lay through a country submerged four inches by recent rains. At Bexar began that drill and strict discipline of the volun- teers which made Gen. Wool's corps, whether resting or moving, a camp of instruction ; and which, together with Gen w 's ^is great care that every article necessary to health and (unpopular efficiency should always be prepared and ready, gave to Willi his men at tiie time.) \\_ the praisc of being " a model army. Gen. Wool's destination was Chihuahua, the heart of one of the richest provinces of Mexico. He began Sept. 20. his march from Bexar on the 20th of September, his Gen. Wool 'for Presto'!' ^rce amounting to 500 regulars and 2,440 volunteers. At Presidio the troops crossed the Rio Grande on a flying bridge prepared for the purpose. From this fertile spot iStantf- they marched westward 26 miles, to Nava, over a a(/ol.c.'"fr^un- dead level, — without finding a drop of water or a human burnt brick — such are near- habitation. The troops, in crossing the Sierras of San ly all Mexi- ' can edifices.) j^^^ ^^^ Santa Rosa, encountered steep rocky ascents and deep mountain gorges ; and often, before their 300 heavy laden wagons could pass, roads must be repaired or made. In the valley between, they found the unbrid An express rapid express, entreating Wool to hasten to his aid with worth!— Gen. Wool his whole force. In two hours Gen. Wool was in mo- '<=•■' ^i^^ I'arras. tion with his whole column, and his long train of wagons ; JovemeLl and such was the condition of his soldiers, that only four- teen were unable, on account of ill health, to move. And now the gratitude of the protected people was singularly manifested. The ladies of Parras came forward, and vied with each other in offers to take the charge of these fourteen sick soldiers ! The best mansions of the place received them, the first women were their nurses, and in due time they were all restored.* * The Americans manifested afterwards their gratitude to these kind Mexicans. They applying to Gen. Wool for aid on an incur- sion of savages, he sent to Donaphan, then in the region and under his command, a request, which the troops of that gallant chieftain fulfilled by doing battle with the Camanches at El Poso, where Capt. Reid and Lieut. Gordon, with about 30 men, killed and wounded 52 SCOTT SUPERSEDES TAYLOR. 1846. Ill four days the army marched 120 miles; — when resting at Agua Nueva, it was twenty-one miles in ad- vance of Saltillo, — interposed between Gen. Worth and Santa Anna. It had now completed a march of 900 miles through an enemy's country, without a gun fired, or a man lost. Gen. Taylor, while at Victoria, learned that the city of Mexico was to be approached by Vera Cruz ; and that Gen. Scott, appointed to conduct this invasion, Scott super- i i • ■ ^i iviT • sedes Taylor, would, as his scnior, supcrscdc him m the Mexican com- , mand. Nor was this all. It was from Taylor's army, that Scott's force was to be drawn. Gen. Scott, there- fore, ordered from Gen. Taylor most of his efficient troops, — leaving him, till more could be sent by govern- (Gen Scott's mcnt, " to Stand on the defensive." Taylor, whatever letter to i i j i j Geii. Taylor, n^jaht havc bccn his feelings, promptly obeyed the order ; dated Nov. & o i i ^'^-^ and dispatched to Vera Cruz the greater part of his (Dec. regular troops, and volunteers, — with Generals Worth, I,t. Ritchie, n r j p U She's ''to Patterson, Quitman, Twiggs, and others, who had fought "^rLssa^l? so bravely by his side. This order reached the forces by the Span- • r. j • J U" iards, and pf Qen. Wool also : and to his great griet deprived him Santa Anna '"'n'ien^ied' ' of most of hls efficient staff-officers and regular infantry, movemenu.) ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ soldiers " brought up," and with whom he had thought to win glory, the soldier's meed. But this deprivation proved to the two generals the source of their highest fame. For with the remains of their 40 Indians,— liberated 19 boys and girls, and restored them to their parents at Parras. PERILOUS POSITION. 53 force, they met and bore back the shock of the most 184'r. formidable army which Mexico had ever sent to tl\e field. Gen. Taylor on the way from Victoria to Monterey learned that Santa Anna, by decided demonstrations, was threatening him. Leaving a small garrison at Monterey, he advanced south with about 300 men \p the camp of Wool at Agua Nueva. Their whole force, officers and men, was 4,690, and Santa Anna w^as santa Anna approaches. approachmg with more than four times that number, — Great ine- quality of besides 3,000 regular cavalry under Gen. Mirion, and *"'■'^^• 1,000 under Gen. Urrea, sent in advance, to turn the American position, destroy their stores, and cut off their retreat. This perilous situation became known to their distant country — to the friends and families of these Spartan officers and soldiers. We knew that they would have fought — but could they have conquered ? Were they victors, — or had they died for their country's honor ? — And were the garrisons of the Rio Grande to be slaughtered, and Scott to be intercepted by a victo- rious foe 1 Gen. Wool had remarked that the road from San Luis Potosi, seven miles south of Saltillo, and thirteen north of Agua Nueva, passed through a mountain gorge called Angustura, south of the small village of Buena Vista. On the west, a net- work of deep, impassable ra- vines came close to the road, while on the east, the mountain sent off a succession of spurs, some of which came at this point close to the road. " Here," he said, 54 Washington's birth-day. i^'iT'' " is the place which I would select, if obliged to fight a Eetl"irfieid. ^^^S^ ^o^ce with a small one?' Gen. Taylor approved. ai>iiiove; it. The army remained encamped at Agua Nueva until the afternoon of the 21st of February. Santa Anna was approaching. Gen. Mifion had already captured Majors (t Cassius M. Borland and Gaines with a reconnoitering party. f The Clay is of the o r ./ I '^Tart'")' camp at Agua Nueva was broken up, and Santa Anna, believing that his foes were flying in dismay, eagerly Santa Anna, deceived, is pursucd, till ho was drawn to their chosen position. drawn to a bad position. Qgn. Wool was left by Taylor the active commander at Buena Vista ; while he, anxious for his stores menaced by Mifion, went to Saltillo. On the morning of the 22d, Gen. Wool drew up the army for battle. The gorge was the key of the position. BuknaVis- Here was placed Capt. Washington's battery. This was THE BIRTHDAY OF THE GREAT WASHINGTON, and the battlc- cry was to be, " The memory of Washington !" On a height opposite the deep ravines, and contiguous to the gorge, were placed the volunteers of Illinois and Ken- tucky, under Colonels Hardin, Bissell, and M'Kee. Bragg's battery was beyond the ravines on the right; while on' the left, O'Brien's battery, with most of the remaining regiments, were on plateau-elevations between the mountain and the road. From their positions the troops looked out through the gorge to the south, and Mexican ar- beheld, issuing from clouds of dust, the long array of the my appears. Mexican host, — glittering with burnished arms, and gor- geous with many-colored draperies. As tiiey come nearer, their delicious music charms for a moment even BUENA VISTA. -55 the stern ear of war ! But the shouts of the Americans 18^'^' rise louder, — as Gen. Taylor, whom they regard as in- vincible, appears upon the field. At eleven o'clock, Santa Anna sent to Taylor a use- less summons of surrender. About noon the Mexicans ^p. m!^"^ 1 1 1 • 1 1 Battle begins. pushed forward a party to the heights on the east, or (See capt. Carlef oil's American left. At three o'clock befi;an the battle. '*'*"'?,." B"- o ena Vista.") Volunteer riflemen, under Col. Marshall, met the ad- k.^^w.'more . . than 3G0. vanced Mexicans. They made no nnpression upon the Am. w. 4, American lines, while they suffered loss. Nicht came. The Americans remained under arms. Santa Anna's arrangements were those of an able com- mander. A strong column, headed by Gen. Mora y Villamil, he directed to attack the gorge defended by Washington's battery. This charge was in the morning made, met, and repulsed. Generals Pacheco and Lom- bardini, with their thousands, were early in the night climbing the heights on the east. Two hours after mid- night tliey drove in the American pickets. Major Mans- field discovers their approach, and the watchful Col. Churchill is near to give information to Gen. Lane, then in command of the American left. Gen. Taylor was 2 o'clock A M not upon the field, for his nicrht had again been spent in Mexicans at- providincr for the safety of his stores at Saltillo : — and ^'^\ (^'"^ f ' I o J J miHtaneonsly Gen. Wool had just left the plateau, and gone to the ton's'^posf at the gor^e, gorge to see if all was right there. Gen. Lane ordered where they '" are repulsed.) forward the battery of O'Brien, with a supporting regi- ment of Indiana volunteers under Col. Bowles. The Mexicans advanced, — their arms and standards glittering 56 BUENA VISTA. _ 18*^' gorgeously to the sun. They gain the heights and plant their heavy batteries. Impetuously they now attack the Americans, and with a tenfold force. The volunteers return the fire, and check the enemy, when Col. Bowles orders a retreat. It became a rout which could not be stopped, though Capt. Lincoln, the aid of Wool,' lost his precious life in attempting the rally. O'Brien stood, with Bryan his associate, and checked their pro- gress, until men and horses were killed ; and when he retreated, one gun could not be removed. The Mexicans were gaining ground. Their right was turning the American left. Gen. Taylor arrives. Col. Jefferson Davis, with his Mississippians, comes for- ward, calling to the retreating, to form in the shelter of his column. Col. Bowles, unable to rally his men, seizes the rifle of a private, and enters the ranks. For- ward press the few against the many ; nor pause for Col. Davis danger or death, until, close to the foe, their rifles give and the Mis- o ' ' ' o w?th''i\'ru"4''s the unerring fatal fire. A yell and a rush, and the battery, re- n • i i 1 i cover the volunteers have crossed a ravme, and stand close to the groHiul oil the '''"• Mexicans, forcing them to retreat. Thousands of the foe are ready to fill the places of the slain. But the bat- teries of Bragg and Sherman have now arrived. They pour a fire .too rapid and deadly to be resisted, and the ground is regained. Meantime, bodies of the Mexican cavalry had passed between the combatants and the mountains, and gone The camp at- towards the rear, where they menaced the camp at tacked and defended. Bucua Vista. Gen. Taylor ordered Col. May, with his BUENA VISTA. 57 dragoons and other cavalry, to follow and attack them. 1847. Col. Yell of the Arkansas volunteers here fell bravely fighting. Major Dix, a paymaster, seized the standard of the flying Indianians — called on them to follow, — and never suffer the flag of their state to leave the battle- field but in triumph. Many turned and fought. The th,t„der°'to"rm Mexicans, thus resolutely met, veered about, and beiner period of the ■' ' ' » ' battle.) joined by a fresh brigade, they now attempted to gain the road, from whence they might attack from the rear. The Mississippians were drawn up. The Mexican cavalry came gallantly on. The Mississippians stood and fired not. Surprised, the horsemen check their career — and, for one suicidal moment, they halt. The next — each unerring rifle had brought down its man. Sherman's battery had arrived, and the foe were unable to rally. Other American troops with artillery pressed closer and closer : and some thousands of Mexicans are n- u ^ -' UisnonoraDle in danger of being cut off from the main body. Santa Santa^Anna in using a flag Anna dispatches a flag of truce to Taylor, desiring to '» deceive, know what he wants. Gen. Wool, attempting to go with a reply, perceives the treachery of Santa Anna, and declares the truce at an end. The American firing having been suspended by order, the endangered Mexicans escaped ; while, not only did two of the Mexican batteries continue their fire, but Santa Anna used the time to change the position of another, in preparation for his final desperate struggle. This was made against the centre, where Gen. Taylor 58 BUEXA VISTA. 1841. commanded in person ; — and by Santa Anna himself, with his entire reserve. O'Brien with his battery again stood foremost, and Colonels Hardin, Bissell, Clay, arid M'Kee were in the hottest of the battle. But the odds against them is over- of tije wiioie whelming. Again O'Brien, now with Lieut. Thomas, armies, umler the two com- stands and checks the foe, till men and horses are slain, manders. and now, as he retreats, he leaves two of his guns. Mexican lancers drive the infantry into a ravine. M'Kee, Hardin, Clay, and many others fall. Bragg and Sherman, straining every nerve, advance with their batteries, and in the face of death, maintain their ground, and save the battle. Washington's battery too, — often attacked through the day, — now by turning on the Mexican lancers, and protecting the American infantry, saved a field, in which, with such disparity of force, there were many chances to lose where there was one to win. Santa Anna was obliged to draw back his much diminished forces. The second night came on. Officers and men were on the alert, and horses in harness. The field was strewed witli the lifeless victims of war. The R^ll'!'*'v!=°'^ American surgeons and their assistants administered to the wounded, whether friend or foe. Mexican women were there, to soothe the dying, or wail the dead. The Americans were prepared to renew the contest. Outposts had made astonishing marches, and had reached the camp. Gen. Marshall, with his mounted Kentuck- TA. VICTORY. . 59 ians, and Capt, Prentiss with his artillery, had travelled 184:1. from the Pass of Rinconada, — 35 miles of bad road, — in one day. With the earliest dawn of the morning Gen. Wool, abroad to reconnoitre, discovered that tlie enemy were p^^, 03,4 f. ,, rT • • I I 1 p Santa Anna ui full retreat. Hastenmg with the news to the teni 01 retreats. Am. loss, Taylor, they embraced and wept, — while the shouts of "^ j^''^' "' 5'°' victory rang over the battle-field. m£ing 4000. Presuming that he should conquer, Santa Anna had detached regular forces under Mifion and Urrea, to cut off the retreat of the Americans ; while hordes of rancheros were sent to the mountain passes to kill every Santa Anna's preparations Straggler. General Urrea, with 1,000 cavalry, went 'VV °.*^ "'^ '^~ ' ' •' ' whole Amer- into ^e vicinity of Monterey, where at Ramas a wagon- "''^" ^™^' train was captured, and forty-five wagoners barbarously murdered. Both these generals from the 22d to the 26th menaced the weakened outposts of Taylor's army ; and both were attacked and defeated. Gen. Mifion, on the 23d, interposed a body of 1,800 cavalry between Buena Vista and Saltillo, threatening the rear of the army. He was gallantly driven away, with the loss of 60 of his AsuaFrio. Mex. loss, men, by Capt. Webster, aided by Lieut Shover. Gen. k. & w. 60. •^ ' ' ,7 Am. 6. Urrea was defeated by Colonels Morgan and Irvin on the 26th, at Agua Frio, near Monterey. On the 7th of March 7. Ceralvo. March, Major Giddings with 260 men, having a train of -^«''- forof'. ' ■' ° ' & 1,600. wagons in convoy, was attacked near Ceralvo by 1,600 ^"'' "'^°" Mexicans: — the party of Urrea combined with that of k, &w. 45. ' ^ ■' Am. 17. Gen. Romera. The Americans bravely defended them- selves, and compelled the enemy to retreat. 60 RETUBN OF GEN. TAYLOR. 1847* The victory of Buena Vista, without which the guerilla warfare would have borne a different aspect, left the Americans after these affairs in quiet possession of the northern provinces of Mexico proper. Active operations being here at an end, Gen. Taylor, after a few months, returned to receive high honors from his country ; — and Gen, Wool, " without fear and without reproach," was left at Monterey to govern and protect the conquered region. CHAPTER V. Army of the West— Conquest of New Mexico and California. A FLEET consisting of one frigate and nine smaller i846. vessels, was already on the coast of California, when the ' war commenced. Commodore Sloat, the commander, was advised by the navy department, that war with Mexico might occur ; f that he must be careful to ob- (t See Mr. Bancroft's or- serve the relations of peace, unless they were violated |^^^\° y°™- by the opposing party ; but if this should take place, he ^' ^^^' was, without further notice, to employ his fleet for hostile purposes. Being led to suppose that war existed, Com. Sloat took Monterey on the 7th of July, 1846 ; and juiy7. J 1 » • n -1 Monterey in raised the American flag without opposition. On the California, taken by 9th, Francisco, north of Monterey, was taken by a part ^°'"- ^'°*^- of the squadron, acting under the orders of Com. Mont- gomery. On the 15th, arrived a second frigrate under i5th. Arrival ^ of Com. Com. Stockton. On the 17th, Com. Sloat dispatched a ^utTrey' parly to the mission of St. John, to recover cannon and other munitions which the enemy had there deposited. At this place the American flag had already been planted by Col. Fremont, — who, with sixty-three men, had been sent out in 1845 by the government with the ostensible 62 COL. Fremont's expedition. 1842-3. object of making peaceful explorations. He had, as an ~^^ officer of the corps of topographical engineers, been mont sexi lo- ' ''''°""- employed in the years 1842-3, in exploring the great rivers, valleys, prairies, lakes, and mountain-passes on the grand route to Oregon ; and he had manifested, by his keen observation, his hardy endurance, untiring ac- tivity, courage and conduct among the Indian tribes— the incipient germ of the great military commander. He • was opportunely on the ground at the breaking out of the war. The Mexicans menaced him, although he had obtained leave of Gen. Castro, the military commandant, (t Fremont ^ winter near the San Joaquin.f raised the c"trod!d'o[ Subsequently all Americans were threatened. Fre- went"! foJa mont Went and aroused the settlers in the valley of the time, to the ~ i i t <. south part of gacramcnto. They added to his force, and he swept out the Mexican authorities from the northern interior. The July 5 American Californians, July 6th, declared their independ- (The flag of 'a*;' was ■' u>e euce, and placed Fremont at the head of their government. l:::Knol a few days after, news came that war existed between caireV-X ^he United States and Mexico ; when the Californian colors Bear-Men.") were joyfully pulled down, and the American hoisted. (Com. stock- Com. Stockton constituted the 160 men under Fremont, Ion, in full ., , a T^• I ,.« command, (c ^ j^ yy battalion." This force saded to San Uiego, wheie, Com. Sloat J "u't-l'lir united to the marines, their leaders marched upon, and oc- '""'■^ cupied Los Angeles. Here Com. Stockton proclaimed him- (Com. s. self governor, and established civil government. Leaving ::Vvl^ a small garrison, the commanders went north. In Sep- °wi'cn"(YJn.'' tember, a Mexican force, under Gen. Flores and Don Pico, Kearny ar- ' c< 1 rived itt Cai.) j^j .^ ^ revolt— retook Angeles, and other places. Stock- VOLUNTEERS OF THE WEST. 63 ton sailed with his marines to San Diego. Fremont in- 1846. creased his battalion to 428 ; and marched from Monterey- south, to co-operate with Stockton in quelling the revolt. Immediately after the opening of the war, orders West-ist° reg. under were issued by the Executive for organizing an " Army ^"ysg**^"' of the West," to be commanded by Gen. Kearny ;— for u'^l^ the object of taking, and placing under American laws, "07°°' 16 pieces of New Mexico and California. This army was to be com- °'''"'*"<=^-> posed of mounted volunteers from the state of Missouri, with one battalion of infantry, one of light-artillery, and one of dragoons. They began, June 5th, to appear at the rendezvous, which was Fort Leavenworth. The choice of field-offi- cers for the first Missouri regiment was regarded by the volunteers as peculiarly important; because, in the event of the death of Gen. Kearny, on the colonel of this regiment would devolve the command of the army. The men elected by the volunteers had entered their ranks as privates. Doniphan was chosen colonel ; Ruff, Donrhan lieutenant-colonel; and Gilpin, major.* All were for *''""^"" twenty days instructed by such of their officers as had been West Point students ; and thus, the military science * There was some difficulty about officering the volunteers the government preferring to select the high officers. Subsequently the Executive of the United States appointed Col. Sterling Price to the command of a regiment of volunteers, which were to follow and reinforce Kearny. The volunteer regiment, however, held an elec- tion, in which they very wisely elected Col. Sterling Price, to the place previously assigned him by government. 64 Kearny's makch. 1846. infused into this celebrated school, by Col. Sylvanus ^ "'Libert^ """^ Thayer and his associates and successors, now became volun^ieeroffi- as rapidly transfused into the quick minds of the volun- cers with flags. teers of the West, as were the military arts into the See "Doni- •' ''ditU)'n "Y/ well-formed, active frames of this remarkable body of Hughes.) . ^ recruits.* General Kearny, having sent forward his baggage, June 25-29. ^^^ taken in convoy the annual train of merchants' its march, wagons, now numbering 414, (going to trade at Santa June 30 p^ ^nd Chihuahua,) set out with his army on the last Reaches the ' -^ Kansas. ^^ June. They moved southwesterly across the river July 12. Reaches the Platte, — the branches of the Kansas, — along the Arkan- Arkansas. sas to Bent's Fort ', — ^thence south and southwesterly to Santa Fe. A great portion of the region moved over was prairie ; — one wide, wild, unmeasured level, or gently undulating field ; — sometimes green, as far as the eye could reach, with tall, rank grass, — and sometimes gay with unnum- bered flowers, — perhaps blushing, far round, with the varieties of the prairie rose, — or tinged orange with the wild lily ; and sometimes showing the pale green and From June to delicate white and red of the moccason flower, the <« belle Prairifscencs. of the prairie." Along the Arkansas the troops found * Willard P. Hall was chosen from their ranks, as a member to congress, and received at Santa ¥6 news of his election. But he proceeded as a private to California, from whence he returned with Kearny by the South Pass, — then went to Washington, and took his seat in congress. Another from the ranks of these volunteers was chosen into the state legislature of Missouri. Kearny's march. , 65 great herds of buffalo ; and cheerily joined the hunt, and 18*6. enjoyed the feast. But they had many hardships. The ground was often so soft and spongy, that the wagons sunk ; and the strength of the men must be added to that of the horses to drag them forth. Again chasms must be filled, and torrents bridged ; and sometimes the volun- teers must lie down at night in places infested with serpents, horned-frogs, lizards, and musquitoes. Often they made long marches without water, and sometimes with scarcely any food.f Twice occurred among their ^^s-^aTion"'^ were cut horses that singular outbreak, called " estampeda." The ?°'X" '° °"^ ^ halt, and at- first was a few miles below Bent's Fort. Here the ani- one^hw.T mals were turned loose; and while feeding in the prairie, a few of them took fright at an Indian. The panic was communicated. The keepers tried to stop the flight, but " a thousand horses were dashing over the plain, Es"ampeJa near Bent's enraged and driven to madness by the iron pickets and '''"^• the lariats which goaded and lashed them at every step." About sixty-five of the best were irrecoverably lost.f Hughes' ' Doniphan.) As Gen. Kearny approached the capital of New Mexico, he heard rumors of a formidable military force which the governor, Don Manual Armijo, had collected to oppose his progress ; and he put his army in battle array to meet them at the caiion or pass of Galisteo, fifteen miles from Santa Fe. But the governor's own heart, or that of his troops, had failed. Kearny peace- fully entered the city, containing 6,000 inhabitants, and, August 18. occupying the governor's palace, he planted above it, ^^°- infamy ° r ' A 7 enters Santa August the 18th, the standard eagle of Renublican ^^" 66 Kearny's march. 1846. America. Thus had the army in fifty days accomplished this desert march of nearly 900 miles. Neither Santa Fe nor the surrounding country, offered any cogent objections to receiving the government, which Gen. Kearny next proceeded to establish ; — according to his understanding of directions, which he had received He establishes from the War department. On the day after his entrance, civil govern- ment. ■ j^g proclaimed himself governor of New Mexico. "You are now," said he, " American citizens; — you no longer owe allegiance to the Mexican government." The principal men then took the oath required ; swearing in the name of the Trinity to bear true allegiance to the laws and government of the United States. Whoever was false to this allegiance, the people were told, would be regarded and punished as a traitor. These measures gave rise to much discussion in the American capitol when they became known ; the Question beins, whether the administration had or had not Debates in ^ ° congress, transccnded its constitutional powers, in thus annexing, without any action of congress, a territory to the American Union. Gen. Kearny having now taken possession of New Mexico, and organized a government, — of which lie made Charles Bent the chief executive, — it next Sept. 25. became his duty to proceed to California. He appointed slnLTi^^ Col. Doniphan to succeed him in the province ; with orders, however, that on the arrival of volunteers under Col. Price, Doniphan should leave him in command, SAN PASCAL. 67 proceed with his regiment and some additional forces to 1846. Chihuahua, and there report to Gen. Wool. Proceeding down the Rio Grande, Kearny was met (tThkwas by an expressf from Col. Fremont, — by which he learned *^''°- ^'^"'"'y obliged him that^ California was already conquered. Selecting 100 'mertfMr'!' men as his escort, he ordered the return of his main ^Id^rTrt^ force to Santa Fe. Crossing the Rio Grande in latitude 33°, he reached the river Gila, at the copper mines, on the 20th of October ; and following its course, he arrived at its mouth on the 22d of November, in lat. 32°. From this point he kept along, or near the Colorado, forty miles; thence westerly sixty miles, through an arid desert. On the 2d of December, Gen. Kearny reached Wamas' village, the frontier settlement of California. Pursuing his way, he was met on the 5th, near San Diego, by Capt. Gillespie, sent to him with 36 men, by Com. Stockton,t now acting governor of California. A (t At Gen. K.'s request, corps of the enemy were near. The next morning the cTal'mL^^n'- general, expecting an encounter, mounted his little party ^^''^ on the jaded beasts they had ridden from Santa Fe, 1050 J^^",- ^-^ ' Battle of miles, and at day-dawn went forth to San Pascal,— ^^'^ ^^'"''• where he engaged 160 mounted Californians. The Americans were victorious ;— but those more northern troops sold victory at a dearer rate, than the southern ^IJllTdrivT Mexicans. Kearny was twice wounded. Captains sth.-Areen- ^ cumbered by Johnson and Moore and Lieut. Hammond were killed ; !!lbeiregef In —indeed more than half the officers were either killed sonTnd B^aie 1 1 . , „ go to Slock- or wounded, with 19 of the men.f When the surgeon 'o"- ' Si lOth— '200 ma- appeared, the commander directed, "first dress the Xve them'" Mex . lo5s, 70 or 80. 68 SAN GABRIEL. '^^^- wounds of the soldiers ;" and then fell,— fainting with exhaustion. Happily his wounds were not dangerous. He reached San Diego on the 12th of December. On the 29th of that month, by Com. Stockton's re- quest. Gen. Kearny took the command of 500 marines with the land forces ; and marched to the vicinity of Ciudad los Angeles, to quell a rising of the inhabitants, backed by a Mexican army of 600, under Generals Flores and Pico. These forces were met and defeated ^"aftierof^' ^^ ^^" Gabriel, on the 8th of January ; and on the 9th, andtheM^i! Were again fought and routed at the Mesa. They then Am. loss, about '20. marched 12 miles past Angeles to Cowenga, where thev Mex . loss. 1 o o J J capitulated to Col. Fremont, who, with his battalion had now arrived at that place. Com. Stockton, January 16, commissioned Col. Fremont as Governor.* He dis- charged the functions, until the 1st of March ; when Gen. Kearny, according to his orders, assumed the office and style of Governor of California. f Col. Cooke with the Mormon battalion, had, from * It was not until these pages were stereotyped, that docu- ments existed, by which a correct account could be given of the unhappy disagreement between Kearny, Stockton, and Fremont. The reader will now find a circumstantial account, in the accom- panying History of Cahfornia. t At Fort Leavenworth Gen. Kearny arrested Col. Fremont, who was tried and condemned to lose his commission. The Pre- sident, however, pronounced his pardon ; but Fremont (June, 1848) resigned ; maintaining that he had done no wrong, and desired no clemency. Kearny's return. 69 Santa Fe, proceeded down the Del Norte ; then sending 1846. back his sick to the Arkansas, where were 900 Mormon r. . ,o families on their way to California, he here took a route, '^'bauin°° which deviated to the south from that of Kearny, and led ^^'fs-^" him through a better road and a more interesting region. By direction of the war department. Gen. Kearny placed Col. Mason in the office of chief magistrate of California ; and, on the 16th day of June, 1847, he took *T®*7r* his way homeward across the Rocky Mountains, by the ^cZilZ"" South Pass; being accompanied by Colonels Fremont and Cooke,— Hon. Willard P. Hall, (who had been elected to congress,) with other officers and privates, to the number of forty. On the 22d of August, the party Au?. 29. , T? r At. Fort Lea- Were at tort Leavenworth ; when Gen. Kearny imme- ^enwonh. diately repaired to Washington,— having twice crossed the continent in little more than a year. CHAPTER VI . Doniphan's Expedition to Chihuahua — Revolt in New Mexico. 1846. Three days after Gen. Kearny's departure from Sept. 23. Santa Fe, Col. Price arrived with his recruits. Col. Col. Price ar- rives at Santa Doniphan was awaiting this event to commence his Oct. 11. march upon Chihuahua. But on the 11th of October he Doniphan or- . i ^ /-< rr i i t dered against reccived an order from Gen. Kearny, dated " near La the Navajo Indians. Joya," to march with his regiment against the Navajo Indians, — their chiefs not having come to Santa Fe to hold a peace-council with those of other Indian nations, as they had been invited, and as they had promised to do ; — but instead of this, they had made war on " the inhabitants of New Mexico, now forming a part and under the protection of the United States." Winter was approaching, and the abodes of the powerful Navaioes, the " mountain-lords " of unknown (TheNavajos ^ •' Ee'v^eliMex^i- ^cgions, extended far to the west. The more thoroughly K^t^and'tak- to scour their country. Col. Doniphan divided his en captive many women regiment into three parties, — one under Major Gilpin, to and children.) =• r ' J r ' take a northern route ; one under Col. Jackson, a southern, while Doniphan him.self was to take a central range. All were to meet at Ojo Oso, or the Bear THE NAVAJOES. " 71 Springs, — bringing in the chiefs, there to hold a council. ^Q'^^*' At the same time a detachment under Capt. Walton, went down the Del Norte to Valverde, to convey the train of merchant wagons for the Chihuahua trade. . . c" (Maior Gilpin Here they were menaced by a Mexican force ; but X'^ut 7^50 miles among fortunately 200 men, under Capt. Burgum, whom Gen. the Indians ) Kearny had sent back, now came up, and joining the escort, they were too strong to be attacked. The three parties then set forward ; and, after incredible hard- ships, thrilling adventures among strange savages, — in crossing the heights and chasms of unexplored moun- Nov. 2. tains, where one false step would precipitate man and (Coi n. lefi i^ i t^ the Del Norte horse into unfathomed abysses — after losing several E^urnel'to lives of theij" men by frost, poorly clad as they were, among snows and nv)untain-storms, — they finally ac- complished their object. Capt. Reid, of Jackson's division, with thirty young men, had volunteered to accompany Sandoval, a Navajo chief, five days through mountain-heights, — to a grand gathering of the men and women of the tribe. They were completely in the power of the Indians ; but they won their hearts by gayety and confidence. Most of the five hundred whom they met at the feast, had never seen a white man. Reid and his companions joined the dance, sung their country's songs — and what pleased the Navajoes most, interchanged with them their costume. The head chief, Nakbona, though sick and aged, came to the camp of the strangers, — lodged with them, and favored their mission. Thus were the savages persuaded 72 BATTLE OF BBACITO. 1846. to agree to what would please those whom they liked ; (Pr^'^nt'at although, as spoken by Sarcilla Largo, a Navajo chief, ^189 Amer"i°' it struck them as very singular, that the Americans, cans, 51)0 Na- -.r • i i i vajoes.; coming to fight the New Mexicans, who had never injured them, should make a point of preventing the Navajoes from doing the same thing, though the New Mexicans had long been their enemies. Nevertheless, if their new friends really did possess New Mexico, they would, they said, cease their depredations. Ac- Nov. 22. cordinfflv at Bear Sprintrs, on the 22d of November, a Treaty made. ° ■' r o ' treaty was made in form; and the three parties, Americans, New Mexicans, and Navajoes. were, by its conditions, to live in perpetual peace. Col. Doniphan made the camp at Valverde the place of rendezvous for the troops who were to accompany him. Some regulars of the light-artillery, with ten pieces of cannon, were by his direction to be sent from Dec. 14-19. Santa Fe. In the middle of December he moved army move his armv in thrcc divisions south, with his baggage- from Val- ■' ''*"^^- wasons, and merchant-trains in convoy. He now crossed a dreary desert of ninety miles, called the Dec. 22. "Journey of the Dead," where there was little of water, At Dofianna, •' ^°Ei''paso°"' food, or fuel. At Doiianna the army found refreshment. Proceeding in the direction of El Paso — at Bracito, on the Del Norte, they encountered a Mexican force, com- manded by Gen. Ponce de Leon. He dispatched an officer with a black flag, demanding of the American commander to appear before him. On refusal, he said in haughty defiance, " We neither ask quarter nor give EL PASO DEL NORTE. 73 it." The Mexicans advanced, firing three rounds. 1846. The Missourians, falling on their faces, were supposed Bruie'of to be dead, but suddenly rising, they delivered a fire so Mex. force fatal that the foe fled in confusion, leaving about 200 , ^"- '°" ° k. about 50, killed and wounded. The Americans had but seven Am'.io?ee J J J 1 -11 J engaged 500, wounded, and none killed. w. 7. k. 0. In the delightful valley of El Paso del Norte, the troops were fully recruited ; and they were joined here 1 847 by the artillery companies from Santa Fe, under Clarke (ei I'aso noted for deli- and Weightman. Their march from El Paso was forth c'o^s wines.) into unknown hostile regions. And now they had learned that Gen. Wool was not at Chihuahua. No army was there for their defence. Missouri became anxious for the fate of her sons. But fearlessly they pressed on. They encountered as they went from the Del Norte a desert sixty-five miles in extent, in which their sufferings became so intense from thirst, that the whole army were Feb. 8. in danger of perishing. Many animals, and some men Army leave* ° ^ ° -^ El Paso. gave out, and lay down to die. Many officers and sol- diers threw all aside, and were running with their last Great 'dutresi from thirst. strength to reach a lake ten miles distant. But that Providence which so often saved our armies during this war, relieved their sufferings by a shower so copious, that the torrent-streams came dashing from the rocks, to refresh and save them. Having at length reached the lake, (Laguna de los Patos,) they remained to recruit, one day only, and on the 18th resumed their march. Col. Doniphan, as he approached Chihuahua, learned that an army of 4,000 men had been raised to oppose 4 74 THE PASS OF SACRAMENTO. ^^'^'^» him by Don Angel Trias, governor of the province ; and Ba^'tieof he met this formidable force strongly posted, and fortified SacRamen- . , , , 1 -n /• CI • 1 TO. with heavy ordnance, at the Pass of Sacramento, eighteen Mex. force 4,120. miles from the capital. No more daring deeds were Am. lorce i ~ — - done during the war, than those which now distinguished Me:f. loss, k.30u,w. 300. this little army of about a thousand brave men. Capt. Am. loss, k. 1, w. 18. jj^gijj'g charge, when at the head of the cavalry he out- rode all his fellows in the storming of the enemy's battery, is a specimen of the manner in which the Americans here defeated quadruple numbers of their enemies, — fighting on ground of their own selection, — under the eye of Trias their governor, of Gen. Heredia their military commander, and of Gen. Conde, former minister of war, — a scientific man, who, says Col. Doni- phan, "planned their whole field of defence." Having completely routed the army, the city and pro- vince of Chihuahua were at the mercy of the conqueror. Captains Reid and Weightman, both distinguished in the battle, were sent the following day to take military possession of the capital. Col. Doniphan having col- lected the trophies of his victory, entered the succeeding D^^rphan^en- day, March 2d, with the main army ; and planted the ters Chiliua- . . . ~ , hna. colors of his country, over a city containing lorty thou- sand inhabitants, and having in its vicinity some of the richest mines in Mexico. In this salubrious climate, his soldiers enjoyed six weeks of the opening spring ; then May 22. marched by Parras to Saltillo, where at length they met >tsaiu.u»;. ^^^ -Wool. But Buena Vista was past, and their term of service expired on the last of May. By Comargo and REVOLT IN NEW MEXICO. 75 the Rio Grande, they arrived at New Orleans, on the 184T. 15th of June ; having marched 5,000 miles since they left the Mississippi. In the meantime the New Mexicans had secretly conspired to throw off the American yoke. Simultane- ously, on the 19th of January, massacres occurred at Massacre of Gov Bent Fernando de Taos, where were cruelly murdered Gov. andisothers Charles Bent, SherilT Lee, and four others, — at Arroya Honda, where seven Americans were killed, — at Rio Colorado two, — and at Mora four. Col. Price, the military commander of Santa Fe, received the startling intelligence on the 20th ; when he learned that a force, hourly increasing, approached him. He sent expresses to call in his outposts, and on the 23d marched with 350 men, — met the foe on the 24th, near the small town of victories of Col. Price. Canada, attacked and defeated him. On the 29th, Col. Jan. 24. Camada. Price, now reinforced by Capt. Burguin from Albuquer- que, again encountered the enemy, — and defeated him at the mountain-gorge called the Pass of Embudo. The J^"- 28- ° '^ •^ Embudo. Americans next had a march over the Taos mountain, llH^^ j°^^^ through snows two feet in depth, with a degree of cold so intense, that many had their limbs frozen. They passed unmolested through Fernando de Taos ; but at Puebla, they met the enemy, stormed his fortifications, Feb. 5. Puebla db and drove him from his position. The valuable lives of '^^°3- Capt. Burguin and other officers, were here lost. Capt. Hendley was killed on the 22d of January, in an attack on Mora. That village was destroyed on the 3d of m" "' February, by a detachment under Capt. Morin. The 76 RETURN OF GEN. PRICE. 184T. loss of the Mexicans in all these engagements is supposed to have been about three hundred killed ; the number of wounded unknown. The Americans lost in killed and wounded about sixty. Fifteen Mexicans were exe- cuted as conspirators. But although the Americans had conquered, they now lived in fear of secret conspiracy. The Indians also, especially the Camanches, showed themselves hos- tile. Along the far line of communication — from the settlements on the Missouri to Santa Fe, California, and Oregon, robberies and murders were committed by savages, on travelling parties. The government there- fore increased the number of troops to be stationed in these regions. One extra battalion has been sent to (Col. Gilpin is in command New Mcxico. One is employed on the Santa Fe — and on the Santa '^ ■' coU'oiveii one on the Oregon road. Colpnel, now General Price, on the Ore- gon.) leavmg in command Col. Walker, reached Missouri, Return^f ^^P** ^^^'^ ' having lost in battle and otherwise, more than four hundred of his men. CHAPTEU VII. Scott's Invasion— Vera Cruz— Cerro Gordo. Since Mexico refused to treat for peace, the Ameri- 1846. can Executive determined to strike at her capital through ' Vera Cruz. Gen. Scott, the first officer in the American army, was properly selected to conduct this perilous enterprise. He was notified by Secretary Marcy of his appointment, on the 18th of November; and he was Kov js directecito draw his force chiefly from Taylor; that ^'let'e^'t?'" general having received notice, that troops would, for ^""'^ this invasion, be withdrawn from his army by the war department. On the 25th of November, Gen. Scott gave, with reluctance, the order already noticed, by which the Generals Taylor and Wool were deprived of the greater portion of their armies. With a smaller force than that with which Gen. Scott was furnished, it would have been madness to undertake such an in- vasion ; f nor would the nature of the service brook the rloloTr ^f „ • • 1 ,. (t See Mans- aeiay ot raising and disciplining new troops. The f^a^'^vv^J"; deadly summer climate of Vera Cruz required immediate "" action. Santa Anna was lying with 22,000 men at San 78 SIEGE OF VERA CRUZ. ^^^'^' Luis Potosi. It would have seemed probable that he would have turned towards Vera Cruz, and uniting with forces in that vicinity, oppose, as he might have done, with an army of 30,000, the landing of Gen. Scott ; — Feb. 22 & 23. '■^t'l^'" than to march against Gen. Taylor. But (as Battle of _^ Buena Vista, fecott learned after landing) Santa Anna chose the latter, and was defeated at Buena Vista. To make the preparations necessary for a foreign siege. Gen. Jesup, the quartermaster-general, proceeded to New Orleans, to arrange with Gen. Scott the details of this important service ; the magnitude of whose operations, appears from the fact that 163 vessels were employed as transports. The general rendezvous of the several corps, which were to compose the invading army, was the island of Lobos, 125 miles from Vera Cruz. Necessary delays, however, occurred ; and it was not March 7. .i i — i ^ nr ^ Sett em- until the 7th of March, that Gen. Scott embarked with barks hi: ar- ""y- his troops on board the transporting squadron, which was commanded by Com. Conner. Reaching Vera Cruz on 9th, lands at the 9th, he, with admirable order, debarked his whole Sacriticios. army on the west side of the island of Sacrificios. Hav- ing vainly summoned the garrison to surrender. Gen. Scott, with the aid of his able engineers, of whom Col. Totten was chief, planted his batteries ; and commenced, the cannon- ou the night of the 18th, a tremendous bombardment of the city. The fleet lent its aid, although exposed to the fire of the castle. On the morning of the 26th, Gen. Landera, then in command of Vera Cruz, made over- tures for capitulation. Generals Worth, Pillow, and Col. ade. Scott's march. 79 Totten, arranged with him the articles; — and on the 184rT. night of the 27th, Vera Cruz, with the strong castle of ^^^\^l' ~^^- San Juan d'UUoa, — the principal commercial port, and ^^"^° ^"' the strongest fortress in Mes-ico, were surrendered, with 5,000 prisoners, (dismissed on parole,) and 500 pieces of artillery. Two meritorious American officers. Captains Alburtis and Vinton, with ten privates, were killed. Capt. Swift, one of the brightest ornaments of the service, -^ who had organized a company of sappers and miners, — too eager in duty for his impaired health, fainted at the head of his corps, from over-exertion ; and died in the hospital. The discipline of Gen. Scott's army was strict, and no invasion of private rights was permitted. Com. Perry, who succeeded Conner in command of the Gulf squadron, extended his operations after the fall „ ^ ^ (Capt. Hun- of Vera Cruz. Alvarado on the south, was captured, iTr? but''dil^i^ dm ' 1 1 rni 1 • spect to his iuspan on the north. Ihe American government superior, took Alvarado.) about this time adopted the policy of drawing a revenue from the conquered ; — lest by too much lenity, in paying for all needed supplies, the war should become a pecu- niary advantage to certain classes of the Mexicans, and thus peace be deferred. Having now the best harbors of Mexico in possession, American revenue officers were appointed, and impost duties collected. On the 8th of April, Gen. Scott, leaving a garrison in Vera Cruz, sent forward the advance of his army un- April a Army leaves der Gen. Twigg.s, on the road to Jalapa. At the base VeraCruz. of the grand eastern chain of the Cordilleras, the other divisions of the army came up, and the commander 80 CERRO GORDO. ^8 47. established a camp at Plan del Rio. Then lay before him an arduous and difficult ascent through a mountain- gorge. Across this way, and on the heights which com- manded it, bristled the artillery of the invaded foe, 12,000 strong, commanded by Santa Anna. He had made great efforts to keep up his army ; and here de- clared that he would die fighting rather than "the American hosts should proudly tread the imperial capital of Azteca." Scott found by reconnoissance, that the Mexican position was so strongly fortified, and so com- manded by the batteries of the lofty height of Cerro Gordo, that approach in front was impracticable. But, aided by the skill of the engineers, Lee and Beauregard, he turned to the left, causing to be made a new road, by which, ascending along difficult slopes and over deep chasms, his army might reach the rear of the enemy's camp. After three days of secret labor, the road was / made. On the 17th of April, the commander published in a general order the detailed plan of a battle for the next day, — showing how the victory was to be obtained, — how the flvino; were to be pursued, — and how the April 18. ' '^ '^ cJlTd^JoR- greatest advantage was to be reaped. All was done as Mex. force hc Commanded. ie,rK)0. . Am. H,5oo. About noon the steep ascent was gamed. ihe k.&w". about heights of Cerro Gordo were stormed by Twiggs' bri- pris' :),non. gade, — and the enemy's camp, by a party led by Col. Am. k. & w. ° *^- Harney, Gen. Shields, — (severely wounded,) and by Col. Riley. At two o'clock, P. M., the enemy were put to flinht, — more than a thousand had fallen, either killed VICTORY OF CERRO GORDO. g-l or wounded. Santa Anna and a part of his army had IS^T. fled, and the eager pursuit had commenced. Scott in his orders, given before the battle, had directed that the pursuers should each take two days' subsistence, and that wagons with stores should immediately follow, so that they need not return. On the 19th, the pursuing squadrons entered and took possession of Jalapa. On the 20th, they found the strong post of La Hoya aban- doned. On the 22d, having now attained the summit of April 22. Worth takes the eastern Cordilleras, General Worth displayed the ""^ 1°'''". ^""^ ' •' castle ot Pe- American banner from the unresisting castle of Perote, ''""'■ the strongest fortress in Mexico, next to San Juan d'Ulloa. Thus by vigorously following up this remarkable victory, the enemy were unable to recover in time to make a stand in this, their strongest inland post ; and thus, other battles were saved. Three thousand prisoners were taken at Cerro Gordo, among whom were four generals. Gen. Scott dismissed them all upon parole, having neither food to sustain, nor men to guard them. Santa Anna's equipage and papers were secured. Both here and at Perote were captured , . (54 pieces of many large pieces of bronze artillery. From Perote cannon and •' mortar taken onwards, through that great table valley between the " ^^'°'^-^ grand chains of the Cordilleras, called the Terras Frias, or the " cold country," the American army had now no cause to apprehend serious resistance. On the morning of the 25th of May, the advance under Worth entered Puebia, the second city of Mexico, containing 80,000 inhabitants. Eagerly did the Mexican men and women 82 GEN. WORTH ENTERS PUEBLA. 184T. look out from their balconies, and from the roofs of their liouses, to see these mighty conquerors. War-worn, and habited in the sober gray of the American army, the Mexicans, accustomed to a gaudy uniform, looked upon them with disappointment ; and could find no reason but one for their success. " Their leaders," said they, "are gray-headed men." CHAPTER VIII. State of the Army — Its March — Contreras — Churubusco. The American army having now overrun the northern 1 811. portion of the country, and made a successful inroad which threatened the capital, the Executive sent Nicholas P. Trist, as an agent to make the experiment, whether Mexico would now treat for peace. But the olive-branch was again rejected. The interruption of the army's activity caused by these unavailing efforts for peace, was opportune. Its numbers were lessened by sickness ; for the climate though pleasant proved so unhealthly, that hundreds were in hospitals, and many died. The time for which large numbers of the volunteers were enlisted, expired ; and many had deserted. Congress had, however, passed a law, February 11th,. 1847, authorizing ten new regiments : and these being raised, reinforcements were sent by the way of Vera Cruz; and although not in ^^''°e''ltJ.ne'' sufficient numbers to admit of leaving such garrisons tLTIt PiieWa, and 1700 de- behind as would keep open his line of supplies, Gen. Scott ^^''^'' '" ""'« '■ ' 11' more than a determined to move forward. ^®*''^ 84 VALLEY OF MEXICO. ^^•*^'^' On the 7th of August he marched from Puebla with 10,728 men, leaving more than 3,000 in hospitals, — and as a garrison under Col. Childs. Keeping tlie several columns into which he had divided the army, within supporting distance, and himself accompanying the van, Gen. Scott moved forth with his little army ; — like a second Cortez, to encounter the unknown numbers, which would be brought against him, at the coming death- struggle of an infuriated nation. The march of the Americans was now through a beautiful and cultivated region, whose abundant waters flowed pure and cool. Soon they began to ascend the gradual slope of the great Cordilleras of Anahuac, central between the east and western oceans. On the third day, their toilsome march wound up through steep acclivities. At length they reached the summit ; and three miles beyond Rio Frio, burst upon their gaze, all the glories of the grand valley of Mexico. Spreading far round and beneath, were its mingled lakes, plains, cities, and cloud-capped mountains. The giant peak of Popocatapetl was far to their left ; before them lay lake Tezcuco ; and beyond it, the domes and towers of the city of the Montezumas, — which many a brave American, who that day rejoiced to behold, never reached. The mountain-passes were here unguarded ; and the August 11. army marched on, until, on the 11th, the advance com- Ayotia. manded by Gen. Twiggs, rested at Ayotla, north of lake Chalco, and fifteen miles from the capital. The remain- ing corps were soon concentrated at small distances; ENERGY AND COUKAGE. 85 some on the lake's eastern border. The first step was 1841". to learn and consider well the position of the city, and every thing respecting its defences. Its ground plot had formerly been an island. What was once the lake on which it stood, was now an oozy marsh. Long straight causeways, easily raked by artillery, led through this marsh to the several gates, from the great roads by which the city was approached; and much the longest was that connected with the road from Vera Cruz. But before reaching the causeways was an exterior system of strong defences. A bold reconnoissance was made. By the Vera Cruz road, on which the army were, the city could not be approached, without first encountering the strongest of the exterior fortifications, that of El Peilon. " No doubt," says Gen. Scott, " it might have been carried, but at a great and disproportionate loss, and I was anxious to spare the lives of this gallant army for a general battle, which I knew v/e had to win before capturing the city, or obtaining the great object of the campaign — a just and honorable peace." The commander then moved his troops 27 miles ; they making a new road, directed by the engineers, over such sharp volcanic rocks and deep chasms, as the foe had not dreamed could be passed ; when, — having turned the lakes Chalco and Jochamilcho, they en- '^"irmy^^" CI A marches from camped at bt. Augustine, on the Acapulco road, eight Ayotia to st. 1 ' o Augustine. miles south of Mexico. From the camp, looking towards the city, the first defences on this road were the fortress 86 ENERGY AND COURAGE. 194T. of Antonia; and — a mile and a half farther north — the strongly fortified hill of Churubusco. These could be approached in front only by a dangerous causeway. Aus. iP-19, By makinff a detour to the west, where lay yet other The Army / & ' J j to'^Conueri'! dangers, they might be reached from the left. Two movements, ordered by the commander, were simulta- neously made. Worth with Harney's cavalry went to menace Antonia in front ; while to the left, Gen. Pil- low's division, consisting of the brigades of Pierce and Cadwallader, conducted by the engineers, Lee, Beaure- gard, and others, made a road through craggy rocks of ancient lava, — whose crevices shot up the thorn-armed maguey, and whose deep chasms were filled with water. To cover and support the working party, was sent Gen. Twiggs' division, made up of the brigades of Riley und Persifer Smith. In the afternoon of the second day, after accomplish- ing nearly three miles of this difficult road, the troops found themselves within cannon-range of the enemy's Battle begins, fortified camp at Contreras, commanded by Gen. Valen- cia, with 6,000 men, surmounted by 22 heavy guns, and communicating by a good road with Mexico, and also with the main camp of Santa Anna, which was lying two miles nearer. Upon this road they saw the Mexicans hurrying on to the scene of action. Fighting now begins, in which the divisions of generals Twiggs and Pillow, especially Riley's brigade, are engaged. They advance, though suffering from the enemy's fire ; — aided by the small batteries of Magruder and Callen- CONTRERAS. 87 der, which are with difficulty brought into action. About 184T. sunset, the commander, now on the field with fresh troops, gives to Col. Morgan of the regular infantry, an order, which, aided by Gen. Shields of the volunteers, he executes: taking the village of Contreras, or Ansalda,f (tThis vii- iage is soma- which lay on the road from the fortified camp, to that of i^'^^'ount^^of Santa Anna. The enemy's line of reinforcements was contrerJ,' and some- noW cut. t'nie* Ansal- da. See Night, — cold, dark, and rainy — closed in. Comfort- port°"Au^ust 19 less was the condition of the troops, remaining without food or sleep, upon the ground. The officers at Ansalda, in their perilous position, — separated as they were from /■f Of seven their commander by the almost impassablef lava-field, officers sent by Scott after whose crags, on account of the rain-flood, were inter- sundown to " carry orders, spersed by torrents, — now found resources in their own "cLTed^n" genius, courage, and union. Gen. Persifer Smith saida.) proposed to set out at midnight, surprise and storm the camp at Contreras. From that moment, dark forebodings passed from the army, and each officer and man, as by spontaneous movement, fell into his proper place. Gen. Morning of the ^Oth Shields extending his 600 men into a long line, and keeping up fires, was interposed between the storming party and the camp of Santa Anna, with his 12,000 reserve. One messenger alone — Lee, the engineer, — found his dark and watery way over the lava-rocks, and carried to the gratified commander the tidings of the gallant attitude of his troops, — and also, a request of Gen. Smith, for co-operation. Gen. Scott complied, by sending with the messenger the force under Twiggs, to 88 CONTRERAS. 1847. Contreras at five in the morning, to aid the storming ^MeI^b"ce^' P^^^Y approaching the enemy's rear, by making a gaged, 12,000 diversion in their front. A little past midnight. Gen. more in si^ht, Am force en- Smith sets forward, conducted by ensfineer Smith, Col. gaged, 4,500. ' J b ' ivie7~b5s, Riley leading the van. The rain continues to fall in k. 700, pris- t i • • i <-< p i • i oners 813, 88 torrents, and their progress is slow, bo proiound is the officers, 4 gen- erais darkness, that the men must touch each other as they Am. k. & w. ^ ■^ Capt. Han- niovc, Icst they divide, and some be lost. At sunrise, son — good as i • i brave— was they storm the intrenchments, and precipitate themselves here killed. upon the surprised Mexicans. Dismay and carnage prevail for seventeen minutes ; when the camp is carried. Eighty-eight officers and 3,000 men are made prisoners. Thirty-three pieces of artillery are captured ; among which are found two of those so honorably lost by O'Brien at Buena Vista ; — and they are taken by Capt. Drum with a part of the regiment to which they had in that battle belonged. They are received with shouts of joy by the victors of Contreras ; in which the commander, now present, and proud of his " gallant army," heartily participates. Gen. Scott next directed a grand movement upon Churubusco, to which the victory already achieved, opened the way. Moving northeasterly by the road through St. Angel, he keeps the centre of the extended field, while Gen. Worth on his extreme right, is driving the now terrified garrison from Antonia. Gen. Shields, who at Contreras, had kept for hours the whole army of Santa Anna in check, was in command of the extreme left ; still charged with the dangerous duty of keeping August 20. Churubus- co. CHURUBUSCO. 89 off the grand Mexican army from the immediate object 184T. of attack. In the centre, Gen. Twiggs presses forward to Churubusco, and entering it from the west, attacks one of its two strong defences, the fortified church of San Pablo. In the mean time. Worth, joined by Pillow and Cadwallader, comes in from Antonia, and furiously carrying the stronger fortress, called Pont du THe or Bridge's Head, he turns its guns upon the citadel-church, which now surrenders. Shields, Pierce, and others, are meantime fighting a bloody battle with Santa Anna, with fearful odds against them. Scott sent successive (t Keamy regiments to their aid. Churubusco was now taken, the aml^indmh brave old Gen. Rincon, its commander, having surren- t^eir lives.) dered. Santa Anna abandoned the field. Worth and Shields pursued. Col. Harney with his dragoons dashed by them, and one of his officers, Capt. Kearney, not hearing the call to return, followed the flying Mexicans to the very gate of the capital.f CHAPTER IX. Armistice — Moliiios del Rey — Chapultepec — Mexico. 184T. The commander, following up his victory, might now have entered Mexico. But he was not sent to con- quer the country, but to " conquer a peace," and he believed that the reduction of the capital would delay, rather than accelerate this result. He did not wish to ceeYings o? drivc the government away from the city dishonored. Scott. " The army," says Scott in his dispatches, " are willing to leave to this republic something on which to rest her pride, — and they cheerfully sacrifice to patriotism the eclat that would have followed an entrance, sword in hand, into a great capital." August 21. Tacubaya now became the head-quarters of the American army. The general-in-chief occupied the archbishop's palace, with its beautiful gardens. Here 24111. Armistice hc negotiated with Mexican commissioners an armistice, concluded. as a step preparatory to a final peace. On Mr. Trist, the agent of the American executive, it devolved, to settle with the Mexican authorities the terms. They wanted, among other conditions, that regions should be left as desolate wastes between the two republics j and, MOLINOS DEL KEY. 91 humbled as they were, they could not yet brook the re- 1841. llnquishment of the territory demanded. Negotiations were broken off, and the spirit of the Mexican govern- ment rose once more to meet a final struggle. They violated the armistice by strengthening their defences. Taking down the bells of their churches, they made a Violated by foundry at the "King's Mills," where they converted '^e Mexicans, them into cannon. They called on the provinces to come to their aid in mass ; and by fire, or poison, — by any wea- pon, in any manner, to injure and destroy the invader. From Tacubaya, Mexico was in full view — north- east, and distant three miles. North — bearing a little east — distant a mile — rose, in beautiful prospect, the fortified hill of Chapultepec ; its porphyritic rocks ab- ruptly descending on its southern and eastern sides, — while to the west, the hill fell gradually, with a gentle, wooded slope, till it met the fortified building of stone, called El Molinos del Rey, or the King's Mills. A Scott's posi- quarter of a mile west of the fortified mills stood another t'onm respect ^ to Mexico Stone fortress called Casa Mata. These were the ob- '"'fences.^ stacles which now barred the way of the Americans to the capital ; and they constituted the supporting points of the Mexican army ranged behind fhem, headed by ^ll^^°^ Santa Anna, and amounting to fourteen thousand. ^ h.ooo?^' Am.' 3,200. The generals, Scott and Worth, went forth in person — ^ Mex. loss se- to reconnoitre, and they sent out their skilful engineers, ^^'hnown"" Scott then gave the order for an assault on Molinos del 52'officere. Am. loss, Rey, committing its execution to Worth. A terrible k.iie.w.ues, " including 49 battle was fought,— the fortresses of Molinos del Rey ''®'"'- t92 184T. CHAPULTEPEC. and Casa Mata were taken, and an important victory- was won. But the very tone was melanclioly, in which the commanding-officer praised the victors, " the gallant dead, the wounded, and the few unscathed." The com- manders in their reconnoissance before the battle had been somewhat deceived as to the enemy's strength; they masking their batteries, and concealing their men, which were perhaps fivefold the numbers of their assail- ants. In the heat of the action, Major Wright, assisted by Mason of the engineers, fell upon the enemy's centre, and took his main field-battery ; when so furiously did he charge to regain it, that of fourteen American officers, eleven fell. Among the number were Wright and Ma- son. One brigade lost its three senior officers,— Col. M'Intosh and Major Waite wounded, and Col. Martin Scott killed. Casa Mata was blown up, and El Molinos dismantled. It was at the beautiful hill of Chapultepec, where once arose the veritable " Halls of the Montezumas." Here was now the military school of Mexico, and the last exterior defence of the successors of Cortez, to that capital which he had so iniquitously taken, shedding seas of blood, because " the Spaniards had a disease of the (t See Pres- cotfs Con- heart, which nothing could assuage but G-old."+ The "^"^ God of battles, who had so signally made the American armies the means of chastising the Spanish Mexicans, for national cruelties early begun and long continued, again led them to victory. ^ On the night of the 11th of September, Gen. Scott BATTBES OF MEXICO. 93 caused to be erected, from the cannon taken in former 1 84T. victories, four heavy batteries, bearing on Chapultepec. /batteries Before night, on the 12th, the outworks of that fortress, skilfully assailed by a cannonade directed by the Ameri- can engineers, began to give way. On the 13th was ch?pultk the battle. The officers and men, by whom such an ^^''' unbroken series of victories had been achieved, were all promptly in the places assigned them, by eight o'clock in the morning. The fortification which they were to storm was a nation's last hope. The roar of the American cannon ceases for a moment. It is the preconcerted signal for the assault. In an instant the assailants are in rapid motion. Gen. Quitman hastens from the south. Gen. The fortreess r> -r et • I /^ stormed. Fersifer bmith from the southeast, and Gen. Pillow, with Col. Clark, from the wooded slope on the west. The batteries throw shells into the fort over the heads of their friends, as they begin the furious attack. The garrison, though they fought with desperation, were overpowered. Some yield, and others attempt to retire. At the mo- ment of their retreat, the supporting force under Santa Anna, in the rear of Chapultepec, is attacked and de- « ,o bept. 13, feated by Gen. Worth, who for this purpose had passed M^xrco' the batteries. Directed by the commander, he nursues ■""''e tha" ' " ouco i>0,000. the enemy as he flies to the city, pressing forward to ^"':2l^^°- enter, by a circuitous road, the San Cosme gate on the wh'ie°a™y! tU 1 /-i /-v . . except about northwest. Gen Quitman, m the meantime, follows the ^•"""' ''■■ ^•. or deserted. flying foe to the city, by a route direct from Chapulte- s^pT. Js-h, pec ; he being instructed to make a feint of storming the "offi!!^!" , -^ ° w. 703—68 southwestera or Belen gate, near to the formidable °®'='"'- 94 THE CAPITAL TAKEN. 1847. citadel within, — in order to make a diversion from the real point of attack at San Cosme. Gen. Scott meantime advanced with Worth into the suburb of San Cosme, where opposing batteries were taken ; but he returned at night to Chapultepec, to look with a father's care to the condition of all, — the living, the wounded, and the dead. Worth, as instructed, remained in the suburb until morning. But Gen. Quitman, accompanied by Shields and Smith, rested that night within the city ; having changed the feint which the commander ordered, into a real attack, by which they entei-ed (though with considerable loss) the Belen gate. They had not yet passed the formidable citadel. At four o'clock on the morning of the 14th, Gen. Scott havincr returned to San Cosme, the Mexican Mexico ta- authorities sent him a deputation, desiring of him KEN. terms of capitulation ; their army having fled a little (The Am. after midnight. Gen. Scott replied, that the American colors were i ^ u If hoisted at 7 armv would come under no terms, but such as were seii- A.M.) ^ ■ • c u imposed, and demanded by honor,— by the spirit of the age, and the dignity of the American character. Worth and Quitman, as directed, moved cautiously forward, — Worth to the Alameda and Quitman to the Grand Plaza, where the victorious army reared above the National Palace of Mexico, the stars and stripes of the Republic of America. I Three hours before noon. Gen. Scott made his entrance, with escort of cavalry and flourish of trumpets, into the conquered city of the Aztecs j and ^^4^ GEN. SCOTt's orders. 95 as he approached the grand plaza— his towering figure 1847. conspicuous as his fame,— loudly and warmly was he cheered, by shouts, which arose from the hearts of his companions in arms. The troops for twenty-four hours now suffered from the anarchy of Mexico, more than her prowess had been able to inflict. Two thousand convicts, let loose from the prisons, attacked them from the house-tops ; at the same time, entering houses and committing robberies. The Mexicans assisting, these felons were quelled by the morning of the 1.5th. Gen. Scott gave to his army, on the day of their entrance into Mexico, memorable orders concerning their discipline and behavior. After directing that companies and regiments be kept together, he says, "let there be no disorders, no straggling, no drunkenness. Marauders shall be punished by courts martial. All the rules so honorably observed by this glorious army in Puebla, must be observed here. The honor of the army, the honor of our country, call for the best behavior from all. The valiant must, to win the approbation of God and their country, be sober, orderly and merciful.— His noble bre- thren in arms, will not be deaf to this hasty appeal from their commander and friend." On the 16th, he called on the army to return public and private thanks to God for victory. On the 19th, for the better preservation of order, and suppression of crime, he proclaimed martial law. Thus protected by the American army, the citizens of Mexico were more secure from violence, and from fear of gQ MURDERS IN MEXICO. 184T. robbery and murder, than they had ever been under their own flag * » M'Culloch quotes from the French traveller, Chevalier, the fact, that in the city of Mexico 900 bodies were annually carried to the House for the Dead ; the presumption being that they came to their death by violence. CHAPTER X. Puebia — Huamantla— Atlixco — Treaty of Peace — Conclusion. The crisis of the war was past. Mexico throughout 184T. her broad domains, was virtually conquered ; and what followed was but as the dashing of the waves, after the storm is over. We have seen, that when Scott left Puebia, he cut his own line of supplies; not being in force sufficient to garrison any place between that city and Mexico. At the final entrance of his troops into that capital, he had only 6,000 men.f If the army had failed to conquer, ^ gee scott's . dispatches. they had, m sober earnest, good reason, irom past practices, to consider it probable that their infuriated enemy would kill them all.lj: Bitterly did the Mexicans (jsee also Santa An- reap the fruit of their former cruelties, by the almost '"»'s arrange- ments for cut- superhuman energies put forth in fight by the Americans, Am "rilaL'a* and the unvarying success which it pleased the Almighty to give to their arms. The Mexican capital was not conquered by the American republic, as Carthage and other cities were by the Roman, — to be destroyed, or to become the sport of petty tyrants and a lawless soldiery, who in time would turn and become the destroyers of 08 COL. CHILDS' DEFENCE AT PUEBLA. ^^*'^* their own country. Nothing was now asked of Mexico, conquered as she was, but to negotiate a treaty of peace, in which America stood ready to be generous. To bring forward a Mexican government, with which peace could be made, became, at this period, the difficult task of the well-meaning of both belligerent parties. Santa Anna after leaving Mexico on the night of the 13th of September, was not heard of for some days. In the meantime, Colonel Childs, commander at Puebla, whose effective force amounted to only 247 men, and having 1,800 sick in the hospitals, had been closely besieged by the enemy, since the same date, the day of the battle of Sept. 22. Santa Anna Cliapultepec. On the 22d, the besiegers were encour- at Puebla. i r ' t> aged by the appearance of Santa Anna, with some thousands of the remnant of his army. Col. Childs and his gallant band, though worn with watching, and wasted by fatigue, still refused the summons to surrender, and bravely continued their defence. But Santa Anna had heard of the approach of 3,000 recruits under General %trac^af^ Lane,y on their march from Vera Cruz, to reinforce nntier'Major Gen. Scott ; and he left Puebla on the 30th, to go to JLally left earlier.) Pinal, whero they were daily expected. Gen. Lane, on his part heard of the Mexican army, and turning from Oct 9. Huamaiitia. his diroct coursc, he encountered it at Huamantla, with iVItx. loss . '•'".., Santa Anna at its head ; fought and defeated it, — losina Am. k. 13, w. 7 ' r? eleven men, among whom was the well-known Capt. Walker of the Texan rangers. Gen. Lane arrived, October 12th, at Puebla, and relieved Col. Childs from a distressing siege of forty days. Lane again turned from 11. TREATY OF PEACE. 99 his course to seek the enemy ; and at Atlixco, ten leagues ^^^'y* from Perote, he defeated a strong guerilla force under Atlixco. the well-known chief, Gen. Rea. By these guerilla k.aiy, w.ado. Am. k. 1, parties, of which Atlixco had been the head-quarters, w. i. many Americans, found as stragglers, or in small parties, had been killed. Major Lally, in marching his command of 1,000 men from Vera Cruz to Jalapa, had lost 100 men, having been waylaid by them, with Rea at their head, four times. f In every instance, however, AJi^„"Sove- he defeated them with loss. lath/at' Pru- ente del Rey. Santa Anna, now abandoned by his troops, resigned i^tir. at Cerro his offices on the 18th of October, and soon became a i"'''' ^' ^^^^ appoint lour coinmisson- ers. S' Gurdo. I, u,iiu. ouuii ucuame a Animas.) fugitive. The supreme power passed into the hands of Senor Pefia y Peila, by virtue of his office as president of the Supreme Court. He forthwith sent his circulars, calling on the several states, in pathetic language, to send deputies to Queretaro, to treat for peace. A con- gress there assembled on the 12th of November, which >.'^"^- ^'• o ' iVIe.v. congress appointed four commissioners, one of whom was Gen Rincon, to arrange with Mr. Trist the plan of a treaty In the meantime, Mr. Trist had lost the confidence of the American Executive, and his powers had been re- voked. Nevertheless, with Gen. Scott's approbation, he presumed in ihis emergency, to act. On the 2d of ^c-b 2. February, the treaty was signed by Mr. Trist and the ^"signer " Mexican commissioners, at the city of Guadalupe Hidal- Feb. 22. Laid before go, and twenty days afterwards it was submitted by the "'f *';'.'a'« of President of the United States to the Senate. That body ^"^"'^^ adopted it with alterations. President Polk then ap- 100 PEACE DECLARED. ^^ ^^' pointed two gentlemen, Mr. Sevier of the Senate, and Mr. Clifford, attorney-general, to proceed with the modi- fied treaty to Queretaro. There, on laying it before the Mexican congress, the president eloquently urged its acceptance, and it was ratified by a large majority. On the 21st of February, the beloved and venerated pa- triot, John Quincy Adams, who, since his presidency had served his country in the national legislature, fell from his seat during the debates of the House of Representatives, struck by a fatal paralysis. Congress in both its branches suspended public action ; and its members were waiting as around the couch of a dying father. He expired, in De!uh''of^E.-- Christian hope and resignation, on the 22d ; saying, a^ AdaLs'. " This is the last of earth." In March, Gen. Sterling Price moved with a force from New Mexico to Chihuahua ; and from that city, March 16. sixty miles on the road to Durango ; where he conquered. Force un at SuTita Cruz de Rozales, a Mexican army, making known. ' k'^&''w'°"38 pj'isoners the commanding general, Angel Frias, and about 20.^^' forty-two other officers. Peace was declared to the American army in Mexico, Peice mo- °" ^''^ ^^^^ °^ J^I^y, by Geu. Butler, who was, by order Gen "Butler of the government, left in command of the army by Gen. ill Mexico. Scott, he being about to return to the United States. The treaty stipulated tliat all Mexico should be evacuated by the American armies within three months. Prisoners on each side were to be released ; and Mexi- can captives, made by Indians within the limits of the United States, were lo be restored. These limits, as ACCESSION OF TERRITORY. 101 they affect Mexico, are to begin at the mouth of the Rio IS'IS. Grande, — thence to proceed along the deepest channel of that river to the southern boundary of New Mexico. From thence to the Pacific, they are to follow the river Gila, and the southern boundary of Upper California. The United States may, however, use the Colorado, for purposes of navigation, below the entrance of its affluent, the Gila. If it should be found practicable, and judged gnbstance of ,. 1 1 -i 1 t''s Treaty of expedient, to construct a canal, road or railway, along Guadalupe, the Gila, then both nations are to unite in its construction and use. The navigation of that river is to be free to both nations ; and interrupted by neither. Mexican citizens within the limits of the relinquished territories of New Mexico and Upper California, are allowed a year to make their election — whether they will continue Mexi- can citizens, and remove their property, (in which case " they are to receive every facility,) or whether they will remain and become citizens of the United States. This nation agrees to restrain the incursions of all the Indian tribes within its limits, against the Mexicans ; and to return all Mexican captives hereafter made by these savages. In consideration of territory gained, the Amer- ican government is to pay to Mexico fifteen millions of dollars ; and also to assume her debts to American citi- zens, to the amount of three millions and a half more. Three millions were paid to Mexico in hand ; con- gress having the preceding winter placed that sum with the president, in anticipation of such an event ; the re- maining twelve millions to be paid in instalments. 102 CONSEQUENCES OF WAR. *^^^' Tlie territory of Wisco7isin was admitted into tlie American Union as a state, on the 29th of JVfay 1848. The Mexican treaty was brought home by Mr. Sevier ; Mr. Clifford remaining in Mexico as American envoy. President Polk made his proclamation of peace Teit^pro- between the two republics, on the 4th of July, 1848, the claimed. ^ j n tirst day ot our seventy-third national year. The American armies have evacuted Mexico. Dis- tinguished generals, and other officers, have been re- ceived by their country with the honors due to those who Jiave so well sustained the national character, — not only for courage, activity, endurance, discipline, and military science, — but for the nobler virtues of humanity. The remains of other officers, who died in the service of their country, have been brought home to be honored, in death ; and to find their last repose among their friends. And the soldiers too, — they who fought so bravely for their native land, — they have returned. Regiments that went forth full and fresh, have returned, — smitten and scathed. Many is the desolate hearth, to which the son, the husband, the father, shall return no more. No kindred eye shall weep at his grave. He is buried with the undistinguishable dead, who fell on the foreign battle- field, or died in the hospital. Twenty-five thousand American lives, it is calculated, have been sacrificed in this war; and about seventy-five millions of money expended. And we know that the sacrifice of Mexican life and property has been still greater. The number of Mexican soldiers, who fell in battle, greatly exceeded CONSEQUENCES OF WAR. 103 that of the American ;— and who can tell how many of l^'i^- their women and children were killed in the bombard- ment of their cities. Let tne value of money be estimated by the good it may be made to do, and we shall then see the magnitude of the evils which, in a pecuniary way, war inflicts. Ire- land was visited with famine in the winter of 184G-7, from the failure of crops, especially that of the potato. The benevolent among us were moved with compassion, and contributed money and food to her relief. The government in one instance sent a public ship to carry (^ ]vTarch 28. ° Sailed from provisions thus contributed.! The very heart of affec- ^°f^;^^l^^^ tionate Ireland overflowed with gratitude ; and England ^^^l^'Xi and Scotland, themselves sufferers in a less degree from 'at^cork,"" April 22.) the same cause, felt and praised our liberality. Thus, we blessed others, and were ourselves blessed in return ; — and the money which it cost us was about half a million of dollars; whereas, we paid seventy-five mil- lions, to kill and distress the Mexicans. The time to act for the prevention of war, as of in- cendiarism, is when none is raging ; and those to move first in the cause of peace, should be nations and men, ^.^^^ ^^^ of undoubted courage and ability in war. The Mexican fo^nlversai contest has placed our Republic, for the present time, eminently in that position. No country has at any period, shown braver soldiers, or better officers. Our government, from respect to the moral feeling of the nation, which wishes no territory gained by force, pays peace. 104 COUNCIL OF PEACE. 18 48. to conquered Mexico the full price of the lands acquired from her ; yet is it none the less true, that these terri- tories were won by the valor of our armies, and without conquest would not have been ours. They extend from ocean to ocean, the full breadth of the grand platform on which stands the American nation ; and the 300,000 emigrants, which come yearly to her shores, will soon people her waste places. Some among the very first of our veteran officers are avowedly in favor of universal peace, as soon as means can be devised by which it may ensue, consistently with the existence of national law • which, in its violation, has at present no other penalty than that of war. Why then should not our government — while yet the bereaved among us are sorrowing for the miseries which even a successful war has inflicted upon ourselves, — and the benevolent are grieving fo^j those which our armies have been obliged to inflict upon others, — send some one of those veteran generals, while his laurels are yet fresh upon his brow, as a special envoy, to negotiate with Great Britain and other Christian powers, the immediate ^^Pe'ack ""^ ^oi™atio" o^ ^ Council of Peace ? Such a Council, having its constitution founded in the law of nations, sitting alternately in the different countries, whose govern, ments shall have sent delegates and sanctioned its special arrangements, has nothing visionary or impracticable in its scheme, now, when men move by steam, and send their thoughts by electricity. Could this great errand PEACE AND PROGRESS. 105 of "peace on earth" be accomplished, and that by the 1848. instrumentality of this nation, then, with peculiar em- phasis, might PROGRESS be made the watchword of the nineteenth century, and of the Republic of America. " HISTOEY OF CALIFORIIA. [Note.— It was not until the author had completed the follo\\dng pages, that she thought of writing a sketch of California, The plan of this sketch, going back as it does to the first discovery and settlement of that country, is different from the preceding " Last Leaves of American History," and on that account it is placed before the reader as a separate article. J CALIFORNIA. LAST LEAVES OF AME RICAN HIST ORY. I PAET IL CHAPTER I. Introductory Remarks— Discovery and Settlement of Old and New California — Establishment of Missions by the Jesuits in Old California, and the Franciscans in New. California is the one theme which at present excites i849. the whole American community, and each in his sphere r T -I • 1 , . Great excite- teels the strong impulse which leads to action. The ment. pursuit of wealth — the natural desire which every man feels to better his condition, has set in motion an almost incredible number of our most vigorous, enterprising, and useful men, particularly among the young. It is t?eemiSnu. not the refuse of our society who are going to California, for the journey is expensive, and they cannot command the means. From all our cities and villages organized 110 PROSPECTIVE IMPORTANCE. ^Q'*^' companies are in motion, and there is scarce a hamlet preJcnl 'Tid ^ut sends an individual to go in search of gold to Cali- tnre. fomia. Europe has caught the excitement, and South America, and the Islands of both oceans ; and California, so lately a poor anarchical territory of an ill-governed state, is now attached as an integral part of the American Republic, and at the moment of her becoming so, discov- ered to possess immense mineral riches ; and a flood of emigration is hastening by sea and land, such as the earth has never seen before, to go to the same place, vol- untarily and separately, without a leader. In a Report just laid before Congress, of the com- mittee to whom was referred the memorial from William H. Aspinwall and others, praying for aid in constructing a railroad across the Isthmus of Panama, the following estimate is made, which sets in a strong but not exag- gerated light, the probable future importance of Califor- nia : " It is believed by many who have had the best (Jan., 1853. Opportunities of forming an opinion, that one hundred Not half the estimated thousand emigrants will go to that territory within a year population. o o j ^ try'^in Aul-' ^'^^^ this time. — At the expiration of three years, the turnea the time proposed for the completion of the railroad, if the current.) reports of the mineral wealth of California shall be found to be true, it would perhaps not be regarded as visionary to suppose that at least half a million of peo- ple will have found their way to it, who will be em- ployed in collecting gold, mining operations, and com- merce." Not only is the desire of wealth, developed in action, FIRST DISCOVERERS OF THE PENINSULA. Ill but the benevolent and religious feelings of the com- *^^^* munity are engaged in planning and executing, what may give to our Californian emigrants our best institu- tions.* History is said to be the school of politics. It is certain that the statesman of California will have before him no ordinary task, in brin^incr her government Correct histo- •' o a o fy important to harmonize with the most enlightened views now pre- n^ian" *^s^tates- valent concerning human polity. He should begin with as correct an understanding as may be attained, of what has been already done ; as therein will be found the causes of things existing. Truths and that alone, leads to wis- dom. The histories of Old and New California are so blended in their discovery and early settlement, that they cannot be separated ; and as the same method of settle- ment by missions prevailed in both, in this respect to understand the one, is to understand the other. California owes its discovery to Fernando Cortez, cortez. the Spanish conqueror of Mexico. In 1534, Fernando 1534. DE Grijalva was sent by him to explore the coast of the Sends Gri- jalva, Pacific ; and he discovered the peninsula. In the mean time, Cortez, ill-treated by the court of Spain, after his * In New- York, on Sunday, February 18, 1849, all the Episcopal churches in the city took up collections for the purpose of construct- ing and sending out a church to St. Francisco, and of supporting a minister to officiate. Sermons suited to the occasion were preached in the churches. Other denominations are also active ; and the Tract, Bible, and other societies are awake. 112 VALUABLE PEARL-FISHERY. ^^^^* great services, and seeking occupation for his restless and pk.°erthe' energetic mind, had determined to pursue the discovery- Gulf in per- . son. m person ; and m 1536, after Charles V had superseded his authority in Mexico by sending out a viceroy, Cortez sailed ; and amidst incredible difficulties and dangers, he coasted both sides of the Californian Gulf. Finding that his affairs demanded his return, he went to Mexico, leaving Francisco de Ulloa to complete the survey of what was then called the Gulf of Cortez.* This expe- dition was accompanied by a pilot named Domingo Cas- 1538. tillo, who made a map of the coast, including the mouth son's Ameril °^ ^^^ Colorado, laying down Old California as a penin- sula. Nevertheless, it was afterwards, for more than a hundred years, generally supposed to be an island. No settlement was attempted on this peninsula until Philip III. 1596, when Philip II of Spain, in part attracted by the 1596. valuable pearl-fishery found on the coast, sent Sebas- Vi^caino"' "^^^^ ViscAiNO, who established a small colony of Mexi- cans at the bay de la Paz ; but the natives, whom his people abused, refused to provide them food ; and he re- turned with his company to Mexico. Again he was sent out to explore the coast in search of harbors, where the 1602. Spanish galleons employed in the East India trade, might ^ v^cdno °^ ^"'^ ^" asylum. Viscaino thus became the first Spanish discoverer of Upper California. He discovered and named St. Diego and Monterey, giving on his return a glowing description of the beauty and fertility of the country. * This Gulf is also on very old maps laid down as the Vermillion Sea. THE JESUIT FATHERS. 113 But the first discovery of Upper California was made 1519. ly Sir Francis Drake, an Englishman, who, in 1579, ^. ^ ' 'Sir Francis visited the northern part of New California, and named ?" Northern it New Albion.* Caiiibrui.. After the voyage of Viscaino, the Spanish sovereigns made many attempts to colonize Old California; but such had been the conduct of the pearl-fishers and other Europeans who had visited the country, that the natives hated, and so annoyed them, that no permanent settle- ment could be formed. Thus wearied with fruitless attempts and expenses, Charles II, the Spanish sove- reign, acceded, 1697, to propositions from the Jesuits, to i69T. take California under their superintendence, for the object Spanish of converting the natives to Christianity. ^*°'''' The Presidio, or Presidency, was a kind of fort guarded by the military, the protectors of the neighbor- ing missions. The missions were quadrangular inclo- Jesuit Mis- /> 1 1 . , sions in Old sures 01 adobe, with gardens, to which the natives Cai'6. the king of Spain, Charles III, began to fear, from the . ThekiiK' Progress of English colonization in America, that he nrovefW^'te might be anticipated in New California, that he gave lands. orders to the Chevalier St. Croix, Viceroy of Mexico, to found missions and presidios in the ports of San Diego and Monterey. Expeditions by sea and land were set on foot. The Franciscan priests received the royal per- mission, to superintend the conversion of the Indians in New California, as the Jesuits had in the old province. Franciscan The first mission in New California was established by MUsiuns in New caiifor- Pranciscans, in 1769, at St. Diego ; and the second, in 1770, at Monterey. The following list of the missions of New California, with the date of the first settlement and the number of inhabitants of each in 1802, is copied from the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, whose authority is Humboldt. Names. Founded. Population in 1802, Names, &o. of the Mis- sions in New California. 1. San Diego, 1769 1560 2. San Carlos de Monterey, 1770 700 3. San Antonio de Padua, 1771 1050 4. San Gabriel, 1771 1050 5. San Luis Obispo, 1772 700 6. San Francisco, 1776 820 7. San Juan Capistrano, 1776 1000 8. Santa Clara, 1777 1300 9. San Buenaventura, 1782 950 10. Santa Barbara, 1786 1100 11. La Purissima Concepcion, 1787 1000 12. Soledad, 1791 570 13. Santa Cruz, 1794 440 14. San Jose, 1797 6.S0 15. San Miguel, 1797 600 16. San Fernando, 1797 600 ABSURD REGULATIONS. 115 ^""^s. Founded. Population in 1802. 1802. 17. San Juan Bautista, 1797 960 18. San Luis Rey de Francia, 1798 600 According to Humboldt, the population of New Cali- fornia, including the Indians attached to the soil, and who had begun to cultivate their fields, was doubled in Population. twelve years. In 1790, there were 7,748 souls, and in 1802 they had increased to 15,630. We further quote, from the same authority, the Edin- burgh Encyclopedia, the following description of the manner in which the foundations of society were laid in that beautiful region, which Providence has now placed under a new, and we hope it may prove, a regenerating influence. " The number of whites, mestizoes and mulattoes, oA'!f iC 1 . , and begia- may be estimated at 1,300, upon whom alone the eovern- "'"" «" ">« & lOth century. ment can depend for the defence of the coast, in case of any military attack by an European power. The small- ^«ndef Ihe' f ,1 • , ,. Spanish Pa- ness ot this number, so disproportionate to the fertility '^'■^'• and extent of the country, is owing entirely to the absurd regulations by which the Spanish presidios are governed, and the principles of colonization followed by Spain, which are in general directly opposite to the true inte- rests, both of the mother country and colonies. ' It is ^^Sl^i^lT , , J. . Spain. truly distressing,' says the Spanish navigator, Galiano, ' that the military, who pass a painful and laborious life, cannot in their old age settle in the country, and employ themselves in agriculture. The prohibition of buildin-r houses in the neighborhood of the presidios is contrary 116 INDIANS ENSLAVED. ^^Q^' to all the dictates of sound policy. If the whites were permitted to employ themselves in the cultivation of the soil, and the rearing of cattle, and if the military, by establishing their wives and children in cottages, could Theconntry prepare an asylum against the indigence to which they not prosper- r i .' c n .; °"*' are too frequently exposed in their old age, New Califor- nia would soon become a flourishing colony and resting- place of the greatest utility for the Spanish navigators who trade between Peru, Mexico, and the Philippine islands.' " The Governor of the Californias resides at Monterey, with a salary of 4,000 piastres. His authority is con- fined entirely to the garrisons, and the independent In- dians J for he is not allowed to interfere with the affairs of the different missions, but is only obliged to grant as- sistance when they claim it. His real subjects consist only of four hundred military, distributed in the different presidios, which are all the means that are required for keeping in subjection about 50,000 wandering Indians. Every parish is governed by two missionaries, whose authority over the converted Indians is absolute ; and Indian sia- '/*c do7}iestic economy of each mission differs scarcely in any respects from the regulations of a West India planta- tion. ' The men and women,' says La Perouse, * are as- sembled by the sound of a bell ; one of tiie priests con- Religion en- . ii i ■" i forced. ducts them to their work, to church, and to all their other exercises. We mention it with pain, the resemblance is so perfect, that Ave saw men and women loaded witli irons, others in the stocks, and at length the noise of the 1832. Litle power of the Cover- MIND AND CONSIENCE DEBASED. 117 strokes of a whip struck our ears, this punishment being 1802. also admitted, but not exercised with much severity.' " The utmost regularity and order pervades these reli- . . ^ Religious ex- gious communities. Seven hours a day are allotted to ercises and meals. labor, and two to prayers ; they have each a certain al- lowance of food, which consists of boiled corn and maize, and which is prepared and served out in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. On festivals, the ration is beef, which many of them eat raw. Corporal punish- Punis(,„ients ments are inflicted on both sexes, for the neglect of pious ■exercises, or for the smallest dishonesty ; that of the wo- men, however, is private, while the men are exposed to the view of all their fellow converts, that their punish- ment may serve as an example. As soon as an Indian is baptized, he immediately becomes a member of the community, and subject to its laws. On no pretence The baptis- , . , , ed Indian se- wtiatever is he allowed to return to his rancheria* or parated from his family. family ; his fate is as decided as if he had pronounced eternal vows, and should he escape, he is brought back by force, and under pain of the lash is compelled to join in the solemn devotions of the altar, and to offer up his Compulsory unwilling prayers to that Being, who desires not the homage of the lips, but the free and unreserved worship of the heart. " This system of government has been attempted to be justified from the character and disposition of its subjects. They are represented as a nation of children that never * The hamlet near the mission, where are collected the resi- dences of the converted Indians. religion. 118 SPANISH POLICY. 1802. arrive at manhood ; they are small and weak, entirely (tNodoubt destitute of that love*of liberty and independence which there is much • i i truUi in this, characterizes the northern nations, and equally ignorant The U, S. hy ^ J o tem°t"lfat?he °^ ^^^^^ industry and arts. They have very few ideas, "iclnisr ^■J'e almost incapable of reasoning, and have so little sta- bility, that unless continually treated as children,^ they would escape from those who have been at the trouble of instructing them, and again return to their original bar- barism. But if the Californian Indian be thus destitute -of the ideas and qualities of men, he will, by such means, be continually kept so. He has no property that he can ftThesiayes call his own.f His labor and actions are entirely under oi our South- ' .' ^'have^)** ^^^ direction of his masters, whom he has been taught to regard as superior beings. " The great number of both sexes who are in a state of celibacy, and have taken vows to continue so, and the Policy of de- invariable policy of the Spanish government to admit pression. only one religion, and to employ the most violent means in support of it, will incessantly oppose a new impedi- ment to its increase."* California has heretofore attracted so little notice, that Little known i ^ l ■ • ,, . . ■ , /> , of the early nid'e skctches conceming it are all which can be found history of C. in standard English authorities. Of these, perhaps, Dr. Robertson, on early American history, occupies the first place. Although he had carefully studied for his His- tory of America, a host of Spanish writers, yet the follow. * Edinburgh Encyclopedia. First Am. Ed. 1832. Robertson's history. 119 ing extract comprises all that his text contains of Cali- 1836. fornia. "The peninsula of California, on the other side of the Vermillion Sea, (the Gulf of California,) seems to have been less known to the ancient Mexicans than the pro- vinces which I have mentioned.* Tt was discovered by Dr. Robert- son's ac'couDt Cortez in the year 1536. During a long period it con- of ti.e first o 1 discovery of tinned to be so little frequented, that even its form was ^"'i'''"''""^- unknown, and in most charts it was represented as an island, not as a peninsula. Though the climate of this country, if we may judge from its situation, must be very desirable, the Spaniards have made small progress in peopling it. Towards the close of the last century, * These are Sonora and Cinaloa, in which valuable gold mines had been discovered. " At Cineguilla, in the province of Sonora," says Dr. Robertson, " they entered a plain of fourteen leagues in ex- tent, in which, at the depth of only sixteen inches, they found gokl in Gold mines in grains of such a size, that some of them weighed nine marks, and in Sonora. such quantities, that in a short time, with a few laborers, they col- lected a thousand marks of gold in grains, even without taking time to wash the earth that had been dug, which appeared to be so rich, that persons of skill computed that it might yield what would be equal in value to a million of pesos. Before the end of the year 1771, above two thousand persons were settled in Cineguilla, under the government of proper magistrates, and the inspection of several ec- clesiastics. As several other mines, not inferior in richness to that of Cineguilla, have been discovered, both in Sonora and Cinaloa, it is probable that these neglected and thinly inhabited provinces may soon become as populous and valuable as any part of the Spanish empire of America." 120 Robertson's account of the Jesuits. ITOO. the Jesuits, who had great merit in exploring this ne- Yj,gjpj.„ijji^ glected province, and in civilizing its rude inhabitants, nia. imperceptibly acquired a dominion over it as complete as that which they possessed in their missions in Paraguay, and they labored to introduce into it the same policy, and to govern the natives by the same maxims. In order to prevent the court of Spain from conceiving any jealousy of their designs and operations, they seem studiously to About 1752 the Jesuiu are have depreciated the country, by representing the cli- country"° ^ '* mate as so disagreeable and unwholesome, and the soil as so barren, that nothing but a zealous desire of convert- ing the natives could have induced them to settle there. Several public-spirited citizens endeavored to undeceive their sovereigns, and to give a better view of California ; The Jesuits but in vain. At length, on the expulsion of the Jesuits were expelled from Spain in fj-Q^j^ j^g Spanish dominions, the court of Madrid, as ]j7(), the year t^ ' ' indepemir^" pi'onc at that juucture to suspect the puriiy of the order's intentions, as formerly to confide in tliem with implicit trust, appointed Don Joseph Galvez, whose abilities have since raised him to the hiijh rank of minister for the In- dies, to visit that peninsula. His account of the country ''vakabi'e'^ was favorable ; he found tiie pearl fishery on its coast to be valuable, and he discovered mines of gold of a very promising appearance. From its vicinity to Cinaloa and Sonora, it is probable, that, if the population of these reckoned a proviucBs shall increase in the manner which I have sup- desohitc and wort trict iiiess dis- posed, California may, by degrees, receive from them such a recruit of inhabitants, as to be no longer reckoned among the desolate and useless districts of the Spanish empire." JESUITS DEFENDED BY M. RICHER. 121 Whether the Jesuits did slander the country, as Dr. itso. Robertson and others suppose, is somewhat problematical. tinK'in"wi,ich A French authority which we here quote, gives a different tinted^'""' account of their report. This writer confirms the his- tory which we have given of the first discovery of Cali- fornia, omitting however the survey of Grijalva, made under the direction of Cortez, two years before he went in person to the peninsula. " Apres que Fernand Cortez eut fait la conqu6te de auotation 1 ancien Mexique, il tenta de nouvelles decouvertes dans cher.a French writer. les pays voisins, decouvrit en 1534, le bout de la Presque Isle de la Californie. En 1539 il envoya Frangois d'Ulloa avec deux batimens, pour continuer la decou- verte. II visita la c6te orientale de la Californie, entra dans le golfe et avanca jusqu au fond. Depuis ce terns les Espagnols y ont fait des expeditions, ont doune des noms aux Caps et aux Ports. En 1683, le Vice-Roi du Mexi- que fit construire un Fort et une Englise dans ce pays. jes„iu de- Les Jesuites penetrerent dans la Californie, y construisi- the accus°a™ tion of selfish rent une habitation. Selon eux c'est un des beaux pays ^''^■>der. du vionde : le ierrein y produU abondam?nent sans culture. On en tireroit un grand parti, si on y apportoit tout Vatteniion gu'il merite."* * " After Fernando Cortez had made the conquest of ancient Mexico, he attempted new discoveries in the neighboring countries., and discovered in 1534 the extremity of the peninsula of Cahfornia. In 1539 he sent Francisco d'Ulloa with two vessels to continue the discovery. He visited the eastern coast of California, entered, and advanced to the bottom of the gulf Since this time the Spaniards 6 122 TRANSLATION. 1683. have made expeditions there, and have given names to capes and ports. In 1683 the Viceroy of Mexico built a fort and a church in this country. The Jesuits have penetrated into California, and built a habitation (for a mission). According to them, it is one of the 7nost beautiful countries in the world : the earth there pro- duces abundantly without culture. Great advantages might be drawn from it, if it attracted all the attention which it merits." — Histoire Moderne. Pour servir de suite a THistoire Ancienne de M. RoUin. Continuee par « M. Richer." Vol. xx. p. 10. CHAPTER II. The Spanish System of Treatment to the Indians, compared with that of the American Government— Account of Upper Cali- fornia—its Presidio, Missions, &c,, in 1822. Ordinarily the river keeps the course which was 1817. begun by the rivulet. The little city of Rome was commenced in the military spirit; when her borders were spreading over Italy it was by offensive war; and when her empire was grasping the civilized world, the identical character of military aggression remained. Nations n,. In California there will be tendencies coming from k-JtheTfi"t the order of things already established. Are those ten- dencies good ? encourage them. Are they bad ? suffer them not to remain, but root them out with an unsparing hand. In the sudden tide of a great immigration, the power now exists. The affluent welling up from a fountain just burst from the earth, is so much larger -f-^ an A ,,+.. • • should be an and stionger in its current, than tne original long and '"^•^"<"'- little stream, that now its force may be stemmed. But once fall into its course, and the power to change is lost. We believe that the system of the priests respecting 124 RULE OF THE PRIESTS NOT PATERNAL. 1847. the Indians was radically bad, and should at once be changed for that of the United States, in which the Indians are regarded as wards of the government. But we perceive that there is a fashion of speaking on this The treat- subjcct in California, which Americans who go there indilnf "'^ 'imbibe, which throws a veil over the truth of history, should be i i i i t j u changed. and is calculated to mislead the understandmg and the conscience of those who ought to be the founders of a new order of things. Col. Fremont, in his late able " Geogra- phical Memoir," thus speaks of the rule of the priests and the character of the Indians : " Under the mild and ijifference of paternal administration of the 'Fathers' the docile cha- opinion res- i i i /■ i u 1 pecting the racter of the Indians was made available ior labor ; and " Fathers." thousands were employed in the fields, the orchards, and the vineyards." We could quote other authors who have used similar language. This is not, we think, a true picture of the Califor- nian Indian. By nature, he is indolent. But by force or necessity, or by an appeal, not to his reason, but to the strong superstition of the Indian nature, he may be, as shoulder" he was by the " Fathers," brought to submit, and to treated not as • c v. amerecDnve- J 1^ , . j^j^^j ^\^y^^ minister to the accommodation oi the nience, but as ' b"eand"sen- whitcs. And WO objcct, iu the secoud place, to an admin- istration being called mild and paternal, which brings men by force to the baptismal font, and then, by military government and superstitious fear, obliges them to cut the ties of family and kindred, and settle into a state of slavery; because the Indian race can thus " be made available for labor." The remains of this system, as we sitive being- accounts. THE AMERICAN SYSTEM PATERNAL. 125 shall see, are still in California, though in a modified 1847. form— the tyranny begun by ecclesiastics, being carried on by seculars. We hope Americans will, as we have already remarked, pursue the more noble policy adopted by our general government, which regards the well-being and the improvement of the Indian himself, and which is therefore truly paternal. We have, in the foregoing pages, given accounts of Protestant writers respecting the arrangements of the ecclesiastical Fathers of New California, and the misera- ble condition of society in which those arrangements had resulted. We naturally desire to know, to what extent „, ,, r „ ,■ Will Catholic Catholic writers would accredit their statements. Truth, diJ'p'ote'ant concerning this interesting region, to which so many in whose fate we are interested are now hastening, we most anxiously desire to learn and to teach. Heretofore Cali- fornia can scarcely be said to have had either a geography or a history. But such is now its actual increase, and such its splendid prospects, that throughout the land it is becoming the one luminous point to which attention is attracted. We hope, that, among other good objects, those who go thither, will seek to aid the historian in Ji/i "ull'lfr correctly settling the foundations of its history. + cor^ecrerroR •^ ' or atlniil new Mr. Edwin Bryant, who, in 1846, travelled overland rrds!""'"'"' to New California, has, with praiseworthy zeal, talent, and mdustry, given us an interesting volume,* in which ^- ^'y""^'' ° book. * " What I saw in California." By Edwin Bryant. We have, for brevity, made occasional omissions and alterations in phraseology 126 SPANISH ARRANGEMENTS. _IS22^ he has done no little service to history. He has inserted " an extract and a translation from a Spanish Catholic writer " of 1822, which not only affords us the means of making the desired comparison between Catholic and Protestant authorities, but gives us the history of the set- tlements at a later date. From this article we copy the following facts. v^lTc^^hy GovERxNMENT.— Upper California, on account of its B Spanish Ca- 1 1 i • ^ i i i „ tbolic in 1822. small population, takes the character of a territory, the government of which is under the charge of a comman- dant general, whose powers depend upon the president and congress of the Republic of Mexico. The inhabit- • ants of the territory are divided amongst the Presidios, Missions, and Toions. The Presidio, Presidios. — The uccessity of protecting the apostolic or Presidency. ° ' predication, was the cause of the formation of the pre- sidios. That of San Diego was the first ; Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco, were built afterwards. The form of all of them is nearly the same, a square inclosure of adobe, 200 yards in each front, and about twelve feet in height. Within are a chapel, storehouses, houses for the commandant, officers and troops. At the entrance of the presidio, there are quarters for the sol- diers composing the corps de garde. '^oonM.^' ^^^ buildings in the presidios were placed there for defence against surprise from the wild Indians. But and arrangement— but to Mr. Bryant's translation we are indebted the same as if the quotation were entirely verbatim. PRESIDIOS AND MISSIONS. 127 this cause having ceased they ought to be demolished, as 1822. they are daily threatening to become complete ruins ; and from the limited spaces contained in the inclosures, they must be very incommodious. Several private indi- viduals have built comfortable houses vi^ithout the pre- sidios. Great emulation in building is evinced ; and no doubt but in a short time there will be considerable towns in California. At the distance of one, or, at the most, two miles Military de- fences. from the presidio, and near to the anchoring-ground,* is a fort, which has a few pieces of artillery of small calibre. The battalion of each presidio is made up of eighty or more mounted men, a number of auxiliary troops, and a detachment of artillery. The commandant of each presidio is the captain of its respective company, and he has charge of all things relating to the marine department. Missions. — The missions contained in the territory are twenty-one. They were built at different epochs ; that of San Diego, the most southerly, in 1769 ; its distance fret^'mi^lon from the presidio of the same name, is two leagues, founded. The rest were built successively, according to circum- stances and necessity. The edifices in some of these missions are more extensive than in others, but in form they are all nearly alike. They are all made of mud- bricks (adobe). In all of them may be found commo- * The four presidios previously named, are all sea-ports ; not so the missions. 128 THE Ix\DIAN RANCHERIA. ^^^^' dious habitations for the ministers, storehouses in which Accommoda- to keep their goods, proportional granaries, offices for soap- tions. ^ makers, weavers, and blacksmiths, — and large gardens, the mIS!" ^^°^'s^ ^"d <^attle pens, and independent apartments for Indian youths of each sex. A well-built and much or- namented church forms a part of each mission. Rancherias. — The Indians reside about two hundred yards from the mission building, in a place called the (Some ne- 'ro.nclieria. In most of the missions the /ancheria is a jrro quarters £ j in the South- contined structure of adobe, while in others the Indians em States, Two sloriei!''a ^^^ a^owed, according to their primitive custom, to build attachfd') ^° their village of wigwams ; which being made of sticks, and covered with bulrushes, can easily be destroyed and renewed, which their uncleanly habits make desirable. Opposite the rancherias, and near to the mission, is placed a small garrison, with proportionate rooms, for a Means by ^o^'Po^'al and five soldiers, with their families. This which the In- il • • /t- • , dians are kept Small gamsoii IS surTicient to overawe the gentile In- in order. dians,* there having been some examples made, zchich causes them to respect this small force. Besides keeping the Indians in subjection, they run post with a monthly correspondence, or with any extraordinary message that may be necessary for government. The Padres. — All the missions in Upper California are under the charge of religious men of the order of The unconverted Indians in California are called gentiles ; an odd application of a term used in Scripture, not for those who are not Christians, but for those who are not Jews. THE FRANCISCAN PADRES. 129 San Francisco. At the present time their number is 1822. twenty-seven, most of them of an advanced age. Each mission has one of these fathers for its administrator, and he holds absolute authority. The tilling of the ground, the gathering of the harvest, the slaughtering of the cattle, the weaving, and every thing that concerns the mission, is under the direction of the fathers, without any power of the I'adres. Other person interfering in any way whatever, so that if a mission has the good fortune to be superintended by an industrious and discreet padre, the Indians have in abundance all the real necessaries of life ; at the same time iJie nakedness and misery of any one mission are a palpable proof of the inactivity of its director. Extent of the Missions, numbers, &;c. — The mis- sions extend their possessions from one extremity of the territory to the other, and have made the limits of one mission from those of another. Though they do not re- quire all this land for their agriculture and the mainte- nance of their stock, yet they have appropriated the The Priests 1 T ^ . ^^^^ 'o mono- whole — always strongly opposing any individual who police aii the , land. may wish to settle himself or his family on any piece of land between them. But it is to be hoped that the neces- sity of increasing the people of reason* and augmenting * It is thus that the white inhabitants are distinguished in Cah- fornia, and it betokens an entire acquiescence in the fact of the innate superiority of the white race — a superiority, which in the po- litical family should be, like that of the father in the domestic circle, to seek the means of providing for, making happy, and improving the whole. 130 THE SOURCES- OF THEIR WEALTH. ^^^^' private property, will cause the government to take ade- quate measures for the interests of all. Amongst all the missions there are about 21,500 Catholic Indians. Of these, some missions have 3000 or perhaps 4000, whilst The wealth others have scarcely 400 : and the riches of the missions of the Padre "^ fhrnumbe'" ^^^ ^" proportion. Besides the Indians already spoken ^' of, each mission has a considerable number M'ho live chiefly on farms annexed. Character and Condition of the Indians. — The Indians are naturally careless, uncleanly, and of very limited mental capacity. In the small arts they are not indiai'i's"au'in"- deficient in ideas of imitation, but they never will be in- ferior race. . • i ^ ventors. iheir true character is that of being revenge- ful and timid. Tiie education they receive in their infancy is not the proper one to develope their reason, and if it were, they seem not to be capable of any good impression. All these Indians, are unhealthy and physically feeble ; and the records of births and deaths show ten deaths to one birth ! — Such is the assertion of a Spanish authority in 1822, which is a period within the vaunted reign of the old Spanish padres. Productions and Commerce — Agriculture, &c. — The general productions of the country are, the breed of the larger class of cattle and sheep, horses, wheat, maize or Indian corn, beans, peas, and other articles. The grape I'he Vegetables and garden fruits which are produced in and olive. ^ a i the missions more to the south are in great variety. There the grape and the olive grow in abundance. Of all the TRAFFIC WITHOUT MONEY. 131 articles of production, the most lucrative is, the large cat- 1822. tie, their hides and tallow affording an active commerce. The only articles which foreign vessels seek on Hides and this coast, are hides and tallow : for which they taiiowthesta- •' pie commodi- barter in the territory. It is well known that at any "^^■ of these ports there is no possibility of realizing any money, for here it does not circulate. The goods im- ported by foreign vessels are intended to facilitate the purchase of hides and tallow, it being well known that the missions have no interest in money, but desire such goods as are necessary for the Indians. Several persons who have brought goods to sell for nothing but money, have not been able to sell them. 1816. It is now about six years since hides and tallow About the „ time when the were nrst gathered for commerce. The annual number trade in hides of liides sold to foreign vessels is about 3.5,000, and the amount of tallow about twenty-five pounds for each hide. Flax, linen, wine, olive oil, grain, and other agricultural productions might exist in profusion if there were stimu- lants to excite industry ; but this not being the case, there is just grain enough sown arid reaped for home con- sumption. Were it not for the want of sufficient land, of which the inhabitants cannot obtain a rightful owner- ship, farming operations would be much more extensive. All the presidial companies are composed of the natives of the country; but most of them are entirely indo- lent, it being very rare for any individual to strive to augment his fortune. Dancing, horse-riding, and gam- bling occupy all their time. The arts are entirely un- began. 132 CLIMATE SALUBRIOUS. 1816. known, and I am doubtful if there is one individual who exersises any trade ; very few understand the first rudi- ments of letters, and the other sciences are unknown among them. Towns — The White Race. — The towns contained js>-2, few and in this district are three, the most populous being that of small. Angeles, containing 1200 inhabitants ; St Joseph's, 600 ; and the village of Branciforte, 200. They are all formed imperfectly and without order, each person having built his own house on the spot he thought most convenient for himself. The whites are in general robust, healthy, and well made. The age of eighty and one hundred has always been common in this country ; most infirmities are un- ofUie whites, known here, and the freshness and robustness of the people show the beneficial influence of the climate ; the women, in particular, have always the roses blooming on their cheeKs. CHAPTER III. Lewis and Clarke's Expedition in the years 1803-4-5. — Fremont's Exploration to the South Pass, 1842. Having now shown the condition of California while under the Spanish and Mexican governments, we next proceed with some account of the steps by which, among us, attention was called to this country, information ob- tained, and interest excited. This will lead to the con- „. History con- sideration of the various overland routes by which it is thaTo'f "ore- approached, and in this point of view its history is con- nected with that of Oregon. Oregon, as has been stated, became a territory of the itoa. United States by means of the discovery of Capt. Grey, Grey's disco- very, which was made in the year 1 792, 2 1 3 years after that of Upper California by Sir Francis Drake. At the beginning of the present century, the vast region containing the head waters of the Missouri and , , , '^ In the be- other western affluents of the Mississippi, were as little fmh'cfntury! known as the interior of Africa. The first exploration ti.rKo'^ky l\]oiiiit;iiiis made by the government of the United States was set on ""known, foot by President Jefferson, shortly after the acquisition of Louisiana ] and conducted by Meriwether Lewis, a 13'* OREGON. 1802. native of Virginia, a man eminently fitted for the bold Lewis and and arduous undertaking. Lewis was accompanied and Clarke, sent ^ mL^'s'reys ^"^^^ ^^ ^^^''^^- ^"^ ^'^^ ^^a'" 1803, they travelled up '"18U3-4-5!'' ^^^ Missouri to the Great Falls, when leaving that stream, they pursued a westerly course, crossed the Rocky Mountains in about lat. 47°, and soon after struck upon the waters of the Columbia. They examined its main branches, and followed its course to the Pacific Ocean. Thus they became the first explorers of that great river, and by this means, the title of the United States to the region which was watered by the Columbia and its afflu- ents, was confirmed. From the favorable accounts which they gave of the country on their return, a kw Ameri- can settlers were led thither. The first permanent * establishment made in Oregon was a trading-house of the Firit settle- " ment. Missouri Fur Company established in 1808, on Lewis 1811. j.i^,pj.^ j,^ jgjj ^j^g Pacific Fur Company, under John founded. Jacob Astor, of New. York, founded Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia. In the meantime Great Britain laid claim to Oregon, especially the northern portion ; and the Hudson Bay Fur Company occupied, with their trading-houses, some of the best locations in the country. This joint occupancy of American and British subjects was sanctioned by the pan^yofTel ^^'^^^y ^^ 1818 with great Britain, and continued until to 1846. the treaty ot 1846, when Oregon, with the boundary of 49°, the former extreme northern limit of the Republic, was relinquished to the United States. After the surveys of Lewis and Clarke, little geo- Fremont's first expedition. 135 graphical light was thrown upon the regions beyond the 1842. Rocky Mountains, and the routes by which they were approached, till 1842. Early in the spring of that year, Fremontsent to explore the Capt. Fremont, an officer of the U. S. Topographical """"^e t'l^u^h ^ ^ '=> ^ Ihe South Engineers, received orders from the American Execu- ^^^' tive, through Col. Abert, the chief of that bureau, to explore, and report upon the country, between the fron- tiers of Missouri and the South Pass, in the Rocky Moun- tains, and on the line of the Kansas and Great Platte rivers. In the early part of June, Capt. Fremont left the Juneio.Fre- mont leaves mouth of the Kansas — travelled along its fertile valley — 'he mouth of then struck off upon the sterile bank of the Platte — fol- lowed its South Fork to St. Vrain's Fort — thence north- erly to Fort Laramie, on the North Fork of the same July is, at . Ft. Laramie. river. Following up from this point, the North Fork, and then its affluent, the Sweet- Water river, he was conducted, by a gentle ascent, to that wonderful gap in the Rocky Mountains, called the South Pass ; which he August i7, reached on the 7th of August. Pass. As this natural gateway between the portions of our Republic, divided by these formidable mountains, has become a point of great importance, we insert Capt. Fremont's description in his own words. " About six miles from our encampment brought us to the sum- mit. The ascent had been so gradual, that with all the intimate knowledge possessed by Carson, who had made des«~'of this country his home for seventeen years, we were * 1"^°"' obliged to watch very closely to find the place at which 136 THE SOUTH PASS. 1842. we had reached the culminating point. This was be- tween two low hills, rising on either hand fifty or sixty- feet. When I looked back at them, from the foot of the immediate slope on the western plain, their summits ap- peared to be about one hundred and twenty feet above. From the impression on my mind at this time, and sub- sequently on our return, I should compare the elevation which we surmounted immediately at the Pass, to the as- cent of the Capitol hill from the avenue, at Washington. It is difficult for me to fix positively the breadth of this Pass. ***** It will be seen that it in no manner re- Notamoun- sembles the places to which the term is commonly ap- taiu gorge. plied — nothing of the gorge-like character and winding ascents of the Alleghany passes in America; nothing of the Great St. Bernard and Simplon passes in Europe. Approaching it from the mouth of the Sweet Water, a sandy plain, 120 miles long, conducts, by a gradual and 7,000 feet regular ascent, to the summit, about 7,000 feet above the the height of ® %^""' sea ; and the traveller, without being reminded of any change by toilsome ascents, suddenly finds himself on ,„ J - , the waters which flow to the Pacific ocean. By the Wonderful °^'°wiyr'^ route we had travelled, the distance from Fort Laramie is 320 miles, or 950 from tlie mouth of the Kansas. Con- tinuing our march, wc reached, in eight miles from the Pass, the Little Sandy, one of the tributaries of the Colo- rado, or Green River, of the Gulf of California." Mr. Edwin Bryant confirms this extraordinary ac- count, and gives further interesting particulars. In his Journal, under date of July 12, 1846, he says, " The gap OREGON EMIGRANTS. 137 in the mountain is many miles in breadth. The ascent 1846. of the Platte and Sweet Water has been so gradual, that although the elevation of the Pass above the sea is, ac- Bryant's Journal. July cording to some observations, between seven and eight, i^. i846. and others, nine and ten thousand feet, yet fi'om the sur- face we have travelled over, we have been scarcely conscious of rising to the summit of a hisrh ridfice of moun- tains. The temperature has given us the strongest admonitions of our position. The Pass, where the emi- grant trail crosses it, is in latitude about 42-^° north, and longitude 31^° degrees west from Washington city. The wagon trail, after we reach the summit, passes two or three miles over a level surface, between low sloping elevations composed of sand and clay, and covered with a vegetation now brown and dead, when it descends, by a gentle declivity, to a spring known to emigrants as the " Pacific Spring," the water from which, flows into the Colorado river of the West, and is emptied into the Gulf of California." In examining the accounts of travellers, we notice , . . , . . . ,^_, ., . Emigrants for every thmg material concernmg emigration. While m Oregon, the valley of the Kansas, (June 17) Capt. Fremont 1842. learned that a party of emigrants of sixteen families, -^"^^ i'^- sixty-four persons, had preceded his party, who were going to the Columbia river, conducted by Dr. White, an agent of the United States government of Oregon Terri- tory. July 2d, Fremont passed near where a party of Oregon emigrants had encamped, and at Fort Laramie met one Oregon party returning. They had proceeded 138 NO LAND EMIGRANTS TO CALIFORNIA. 184 2. beyond Fort Hall, when they became, with reason, alarmed at the hostile attitude of the savages. They were, however, led safely, in retracing their perilous route, by Mr. Fitzpatrick (a person often honorably men- tioned by Fremont and others) and were returning under the conduct of Mr. Bridger; the same, doubtless, whose name is now given to a Fort beyond the South Pass. Although Capt. Fremont saw many parties of Indians, yet this is the amount of what he saw and heard of civ- in ]fi« no ilized emigrants, in his solitary route in the summer of fhe'fanrt route 1842. All of the fow, that he saw or heard of, were for for California. Oregon — not one for California. With the survey of the South Pass was accomplished the duty assigned him for that year, and he returned after completing it. Of the road which he had passed over he says, " From the inouth of the Kansas to the Green River valley, west of the Rocky Mountains, there is no such thing as a mountain road on the line of commu- nication.'' Among the party who accompanied Fremont was one man too remarkable to be passed over without notice. This was his guide, the hunter, Christopher, or Kit Excellent Carson, a name which will be remembered for public character of Kit Carson, gerviccs, iu connection with great acquisitions to geo- graphical knowledge, and also as the impersonation of many of the best traits of humanity. We ever find Kit Carson, unselfish, faithful, efficient, untiring, quick in action, and full of resources ; — free and fearless as the north wind, yet kind and gentle as the south. Those to KIT CARSON. 139 whom he renders his voluntary service, he inspires with 1842. a loving confidence, which makes the tongue or the pen linger, while they write or speak of him, as though the subject were pleasant. How little, in his innate meek- ness, did Kit Carson suppose, that he was to be a famous man, and have his name in books, and even on maps, — a lake and a river bearing his name. He has probably Kit Carson ° I J one of the been the greatest traveller over the regions extending from ''*™ume^ '"" the Mississippi to the Pacific, and is the best guide through them, of any man living ; and he has also per- formed acts of genuine heroism, some of which we shall hereafter relate. Fremont's book is open before me, where a little in- cident is so graphically related as to be almost equal to a portrait. This incident also shows the perils of tra- vellers through desolate prairies, and that the American Indian still inspires terror. " The next morning (June 22) we had a specimen of the false alarms to which all parties in these wild regions are subject. A man, who was a short distance in the rear, came spurring up in great haste, shouting, Indians ! Indians ! He had made out twenty-seven. I imme- diately halted ; arms were examined and put in order ; Kit's eques- trian portrait. the usual preparations made ; and Kit Carson, springing upon one of the hunting horses, crossed the river, and galloped off into the opposite prairies, to obtain some cer- tain intelligence of their movements. Mounted on a fine horse, without a saddle, and scouring bareheaded over the prairies, Carson was one of the finest pictures of a 140 "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING." ^^*^' horseman I have ever seen. A short time enabled him to discover that the Indian war-party of twenty-seven consisted of six elk, who had been gazing curiously at our caravan as it passed by, and were now scampering off at full speed." / CHAPTER IV. Fremont's Discoveries on his second Expedition in 1843- So ably had Captain Fremont fulfilled his mission, ^Q ^^* that he was sent by the government the following year, deTeTo^nT . second expe- on a second expedition, whose objects were to make ex- diUon. plorations which should form a connection with his pre- ceding reconnoissance, and with tlie surveys of Com- mander Wilkes of the Expedition on the Pacific coast, so as to give a connected survey of the interior of our continent. Of the information concerning California elicited by Capt. Wilkes, we shall speak hereafter. Capt. Fremont set out earlier than the preceding year jy^^^^^ ^ ,,.,,.,. . , , at the month and took with him thirty-nine persons, a larger party of the Kansas. than that of 1842, by nearly one half. He also took for ^arty, 39. protection against hostile savages a brass twelve-pound howitzer and three soldiers to manage it. Capt. Fremont had again an interesting companion in Mr. Preuss, whose drawings illustrate the history of all his expeditions. Mr. Fitzpatrick was guide. Fremont set out on his former track ; but instead of striking from the Kansas to the Platte, he followed the 142 RIDGE OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. ''^^^' Kansas to the junction of the Republican and Smoky- Hill Forks, which two streams together form that river. Pursuing for some days the course of the Republican, he then crossed to the South Fork of the Platte, and was July 4 ^^ ^'•* ^^ai"e's Fort on the 4th of July. Here he turned, atStA^raine's ^^^ following up for a time the South Fork of the Platte, came ypon an affluent of the Arkansas, and pursued it July 18 ^° ^^^^ parent stream, near the location of the Boiling (or *'' sas/ ^°' effervescing) Springs, whose waters Mr. Preuss (a. Ger- man) found to much resemble those of Seltzer. Here Capt. Fremont was likely to meet a great disap- pointment in regard to an expected and much needed recruit of mules, but he had the good fortune to meet and again secure the services of his " reliable friend, Mr. Christopher Carson," whom he immediatlely dis- patched to Bent's Fort to procure the needed supply. Jaly 23, St. VraTii'e's Returning to St. Vraine's, he found the animals collected. Fort. ' and already at the Fort awaiting his arrival. Capt. Fremont here divided the party. Taking with himself thirteen men, he sent the remainder under Mr. Fitzpatrick, the guide, by the ordinary route to Oregon, through the South Pass, to Fort Hall on Snake River, where he was to meet them ; he then took a north- westerly course and ascended the mountain, following the Cache a la Pondre, one of the head streams of the Platte. The party then travelled at an elevation of seven or eight thousand feet on a high plateau, which forms the dividing ridge, between the two oceans bounding the continent. FREMONT ENTERS CALIFORNIA. 143 On the 21st of August, now exploring the eastern 1813. part of Upper California, Fremont was in the fertile and „^"sust 21 ' ' ' Near the Salt picturesque valley of Bear River, and approaching by its up^r''c^" course the Great Salt Lake. "We were now," said he, " entering a region which for us possessed a strange and extraordinary interest. We were upon the waters of the famous lake which forms a salient point among the remarkable geographical features of the country, and around which, the vague and superstitious accounts of the trappers had thrown a delightful obscurity, which we anticipated pleasure in dispelling, but which in the mean time, left a crowded field for the exercise of our imagina- tion. " In our occasional conversations with the few old hunters who had visited this region, it had been a sub- ject of frequent speculation, and the wonders which they related were not the less agreeable because they were highly exaggerated and impossible. " Hitherto this lake had been seen only by trappers, who were wandering through the country in search of new beaver streams, caring very little for geography ; its islands had never been visited ; and none were to be found who had entirely made the circuit of its shores ; geographical nor liistorical and no instrumental observations or geographical survey, ''°°"s[gj°^ of any description, had ever been made any where in the neighboring region. It was generally supposed that it had no visible outlet ; but among the trappers, includ- ing those in my own camp, were many who believed that somewhere on its surface was a terrible whirlpool, 144 A TRAVELLING HOME. -*?'*^* through which its waters found their way 1o the ocean by- some subterranean communication. Ail these things had made a frequent subject of discussion in our desul- tory conversations around the fires at niglit ; and my own mind had become tolerably well filled with their in- definite picture, and insensibly colored with their ro- mantic descriptions, which, in the pleasure of excitement, I was well disposed to believe, and half expected to realize. " We continued our road down the river, and at night encamped with a family of emigrants — two men, women, A family and sovcral children — who appeared to be bringing up of emigrants for Oregon, the rear of the great caravan. I was struck with the fine appearance of their cattle, some six or eight yoke of oxen, which really looked as well as if they had been all summer at work on some good farm. It was strange to see one small family travelling along through such a country, so remote from civilization. Some nine years since, such a security might have been a fatal one ; but since their disastrous defeats in the country a little north, the Blackfeet have ceased to visit these waters. Indians, however, are very uncertain in their localities ; and the friendly feelings also of those now inhabiting it may be changed. This is the route all the emigrants now travel to Oregon. " Crossing, in the afternoon (of the next day), the point of a narrow spur, we descended into a beautiful bottom, formed by a lateral valley, which presented a picture of home-beauty that went directly to our hearts. A CALIFORNIAN EMIGRANT. 145 The edge of the wood, for several miles along the river, l^lS* was dotted with the white covers of emigrant wagons, oi4on"em?- collected in groups at different camps, where the smokes were rising lazily from the fires, around which the women were occupied in preparing the evening meal, and the children playing in the grass ; and herds of cat- tle, grazing about in the bottom, had an air of quiet se- curity, and civilized comfort, that made a rare sight for the traveller in such a remote wilderness.' " In common with all the emigration, they had been reposing for several days in this delightful valley, in order to I'ecruit their animals on its luxuriant pasturage after their long journey, and prepare them for the hard trail along the comparatively sterile banks of the Upper Columbia." We make the last quotation to show that American emigrants were in considerable numbers now, 1843, tra- velling over land to Oregon. Fremont has, as yet, found none bqjand for California, except a Mr, Chiles, his fa- mily and his laborers, who are going from Missouri to settle in the valley of the Sacramento. He is carrying the parts of a mill which he means to set up on tliat stream. We wish partcularly to call attention to the fact of the rapid improvement in the geographical know- ledge of these regions, by showing how little they were known in 1843. On the 25th Capt. Fremont was at Bear Springs, August 25. whose character is not unlike those of the Boiling Springs at the Arkansas. Wandering among the moun- 146 THE SALT LAKE. 1813^ tains in search of the Salt Lake, Fremont and his party suffered for want of food. Kit Carson shot off the track, went to Fort Hall, and returned with such a scanty supply, as the Oregon emigrants had left behind them. Sept. G, On the 6th of September the party had reached a at the Salt Lake, point, where, says Capt. Fremont, "we beheld at our feet the object of our anxious search — the waters of the Inland Sea, stretching in still and solitary grandeur far beyond the limit of our vision. It was one of the great points of the exploration ; and as we looked eagerly over the lake in the first emotion of excited pleasure, I am X. „ . doubtful if the followers of Balboa felt more enthusiasm hjntliusiasm "atthe^ret^ when, from the heights of the Andes, they saw for the view. first time the great western ocean. It was certainly a magnificent object, and a noble terminus to this part of our expedition ; and to travellers so long shut up among mountain ranges, a sudden view over the expanse of silent waters had in it something sublime." The lake Capt. Fremont and his party explored in a small boat and found all superstitious fears to be ground- less. The waters of the lake a mile from the shore were saturated with common salt.* On the islands were in- * Fourteen pints of fine grained salt were obtained by the party from five gallons of the water. Fremont heard of immense beds of rock salt in the vicinity. Truly, Mr. Jeflerson's " Salt Mountain," for which in 1803 he was so much ridiculed, has come to light at last. FORT HALL. 147 crustations of salt to a considerable thickness. But we ^^'*'^' must leave minute descriptions to the geographer, and trace the progress of discoveiy and emigration. Sept, 19, On the 19th Capt. Fremont was at Fort Hall, where "'Fort Haii r •" from bent. 19 his whole party were reunited. Here he met Mr. Chiles and his company of whom he had before heard, as American emigrants going to California. Mr. Chiles divided his party at this point ; the largest division, taking the wagons, with mill- saws, &;c., were to travel under the conduct of Mr. Joseph Walker, of Missouri; and a long route lay before them, along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada, to its Mr. Chiles and his coru- southern extremity, and thence through " Walker's '""^J"^'" pass," (that intrepid traveller having discovered it,) into the valley of the San Joaquin, Thence they were to go north to the place of their destination on the Sacramento. This tedious journey they performed ; but we afterwards learn, that before they finally reached the valley of the Sacramento, they suffered much, and lost their wagons and mill-irons. Mr. Chiles himself followed the stream called Lewis's Fork, or Snake River, to the mouth of its affluent, Matthew River; then following that stream to its source, he found his way over the Sierra into the valley of the Sacramento. His people were among those k\v American settlers of the Sacramento, who under Fremont made in July, 1846, the "Bear revolution." From Fort Hall Capt. Fremont followed the course of Snake River to Fort Boise ; then crossino- tlie Blue .J^^^ '^'"^ ^ ~ Mountains. Mountains, (their height 5000 feet,) he came upon the 150 DISCOVERIES. ^^*^* side, he discovered lakes, to which he gave the names of thi^Pryaliiid Summer and Ahert. He was now on the wintry side of Lake. \ ci- the bierra; and the commencement of the year 1844 found him and his men in a forlorn condition, but still seeking the imaginary great river. On the 10th of January they discover the Pyramid Lake. Finding here the inlet of a considerable stream, which they named Salmon Trout River, and which rose in the mountains on their right, they became satisfied that the direction of the water-courses was incompatible with the existence of the supposed Buenaventura. Their provisions were The conse- Gxhaustod, their garments tattered, their animals jaded, quenees of . i o- tvt i • i • delusion, and they must recross the oierra JNevada, or perish in the inhospitable desert. They found a tribe of the natives of apparently more than ordinary sagacity. " We explained to the Indians," says Fremont, " that we were endeavoring to find a pas- sage across the mountains into the country of the whites, whom we were going to see ; and told them that we wished them to bring us a guide, to whom we would give presents of scarlet cloth, and other articles, which were shown to them. They looked at the reward we offered, and conferred with each other, but pointed to the snow on tlie mountains, and drew their hands across their count ..f the necks, and raised them above their heads to show the cro>sin2ol the ' Indian ac- OUMt of 1 j^sin^ofl depth ; and signified that it was impossible to get through. They made signs that we must go to the southward, over a pass through a lower range, which they pointed out ; there, they said, at the end of one FIRST EXPLORERS. 151 day's travel, we would find people who lived near a pass ^^^'^* in the great mountain ; and to that point they agreed to furnish us a guide. They appeared to have a confused idea, from report, of whites who lived on the other side of the mountain ; and once, they told us, about two years ago, a party of twelve men like ourselves had ascended their river, and crossed to the other waters. They pointed out to us where they had crossed ; but then, they said, it was summer time ; but now it was impossible. t In some I believe that this was a party led by Mr. Chiles,f one of former year, the only two men whom I know to have passed through j^,^.,^^ ^^^ Walker the . - I • • /■ 1 T) • " alker tne the California mountams from the mterior oi the iJasm — only pioneers before Fre- Walker being the other ; and both were engaged up- mom. wards of twenty days, in the summer time, in getting over. Chiles' destination was the Bay of San Francisco, to which he descended by the Stanislaus River ; and Walker subsequently informed me that, like myself, de- scending to the southward on a more eastern line, day after day he was searching for the Buenaventura, think- ing that he had found it with every new stream, until like me, he abandoned all idea of its existence, and turning abruptly to the right, crossed the great chain. These were both western men, animated with the spirit of exploratory enterprise which characterizes that peo- ple." We introduce this extract, not only to manifest how entirely in the dark the best informed, such as Fremont himself, were at that period respecting California, but also to show that overland emigration had then made no 152 ALPINE REGIONS. ^^*^' progress. The great breadth and formidable nature of the chain of the Sierra Nevada* is made apparent from the ignorance of the Indians of what was beyond, and from the length of time employed in crossing it. It was the leaves Pyra- Ifith of January whcn Fremont left the Pyramid Lake, mid Lake. -^ ' to follow up into the mountains its affluent, the Salmon Trout River ; and it was not until the 6th of March that he struck the waters of the Sacramento. The hardships endured during the many days, which occupied these resolute, uncomplaining men, to cross these Alpine re- gions, were all that they could endure. Indeed, one Extreme ^^^*^ ^"^ ^^^**^ bccame iusano. Had there been women ing'incmssing ^^^ children of their number, a great proportion must the Sierra. , . i . have perished. Capt. Fremont, in descending the mountains, fortu- nately came upon a stream which he was told was the River of Americans, and never did the name sound more grateful to an American ear. Its waters led his famished The party (-. » t-i . approach compauy to buter s bort, the spot of all others in the valley Sutor's Fort. •' where they might expect to find the hospitable relief of good and wholesome food; which they who had been sub- sisting on the flesh of dogs, and of lean and starved mules, would well know how to appreciate. They came up to the Fort, weak and emaciated, each man leading a horse or mule as weak and emaciated as himself, unable to * On the new map of Fremont's explorations, made by Mr. •Preuss, these mountains are laid down opposite the Pyramid Lake, as not less than seventy or eighty miles in breadth. GOLD AND mTNGER. 153 bear the weight of a rider. They had been obliged to ^Q"*^' leave their howitzer ; half their animals had perished in the mountains ; their mules falling with their loads, down Fremont loses frightful precipices, into gulfs below. Thus were lost i^'s botanical ° r 1 ' o specimens. their botanical specimens, and other articFes, which could not be replaced. The Fork of the American where they passed, was the same, along which the gold placers were first discov- ered. How little did these sufferers, as they passed, wayworn and hungry, over the desolate wilderness, know that they were treading on gold ; and how little would it have availed to their necessities, if they had at that time, not only known its existence, but possessed The hungry tread on gold. it ; — and how little did their leader suppose that ere five years should pass, a thronging multitude, not only of his countrymen, but from every part of the earth, would be there ; and he mark the wonderful spot upon his map, as El Dorado, or the Region of Gold ! 1814. CHAPTER V. Fremont in California — At Baler's Fort and in the valley of the San Joaquin. Capt. SuTERf received the famished party with his wonted generous hospitality, gratuitously supplying their (t Witliin the . . i;ii|t two years, immediate necessities. He is by birth a Swiss, and was this name is mZy^pXd ^ lieutenant of the Swiss guards of Charles X, the last of the Bourbons. He continued so during the Revolu- tion of the " three days " in 1830. While the aged exiled monarch fled, and went to reside in old Holyrood, in Edinburgh, John A. Suter emigrated to America, and settled in Missouri. From that State in 1838-9 he removed ; and settled in his present location, near the confluence of the Rio de los Americanos with the Sacra- mento. He owned the Fort and a princely estate adjoining, the title to which he had obtained from the Me.xican His eminent position, government.* Himself and his position are now full in * We find it stated by McCulloch and others, that the Califor- nians had cast off the Mexican authority, and made themselves independent. But we see from this, and similar cases, that land- suter's fokt. 155 t the eye of public observation. It was by his agent and ^^'*'** on his property that the gold, which is attracting such vast numbers to California, was first found ; and the governor of California was by the latest advices, making Suter's Fort his head-quarters. The fort is built upon a pond-like stream communicating with the American River about two miles above an entrance into the Sacramento ; and is a quadrangular adobe structure about five hundred feet in length and a hundred and fifty in breadth. At this time it was garrisoned by forty Indians, whom Capt. Suter at first, according to Fremont, found troublesome and dangerous, but by prudent management and well- timed discipline,* he had reduced them to order and obedience. title from Mexico was alone considered good. If California did not belong to Mexico, why should our republic take it as a Mexican province ? and why should it be universally conceded, that a cession from the Mexican Republic is valid title to the American 1 * Capt. Wilkes gives us further information concerning this dis- cipline. It was severe to an extent that negro slavery in the United States by no means admits. But we know too little of what that necessity consisted in, to offer any condemnation. The inherent dif- Inherent ference in different races of human beings, is one of those truths difference in diiierent which men look away from in theoiy, but act on in practice. When ''*'^^^' philosophy shall have done her part in settling what is truth con- cerning the kind and degree of these differences, the world will be lees agitated on some subjects than it is at present. We have not a doubt that the Creator's arrangements are all in perfect wisdom, and it is for man to fuid out what they are, and conform to them. In order to this, the superior race (that is the race superior in force 156 CAPT. SUTER S WHEAT CROPS. l^"^^* In the Journal of Fremont's first visit at the Fort, he says that Capt. Suter, " on application to the chief of a village, readily obtained as many (Indian) boys and girfs as he has any use for. There were at this time a num- ber of girls at the Fort in training for a future woollen factory, but they were now all busily engaged in water- ing the gardens." Capt. Suter's agricultural operations are on a great 1843-4. scale. He sowed, according to Fremont (in 1843), three Farming ope- hundred fancffas* of wheat, expectinor the ordinary yield rations on a '- ' r o j j great scale. ^^ ^j^^ country, thirty-fivc fold. The price of wheat at this time, was two dollars and a half per bushel. In 1846. 1846, the wheat crop of Capt. Suter, according to Mr. Increased. Bryant, was about 8000 bushels ; his number of Indian laborers, from two to three hundred. In August, 1848, when Gov. Mason visited the Fort on his return from the gold placers, where many had gone and left their crops unharvested, Capt. Suter on the contrary, was carefully gathering his wheat. It was estimated at 40,000 bushels, 1848. Still increasin". and power) must hold the superior place in government. In the matter of sex men do it, and sternly maintain their prerogative ; — and sometimes while they quarrel with nature, for differences of race. But while the men of the white race, ought perhaps to maintain the first rank, so far as power is regarded ; they should remember that they are exercising it over the children of God, and are responsible to him, that they exercise for the good of those who are its subjects. * The fanega is 140 pounds. Mr. Bryant says that a fanega of wheat is rather more than two bushels. Fremont's departure. 157 and bore already the enormous price of nearly thirty-six ^Q'*^^* dollars per barrel, and was exjiected soon to fetch twenty more. The site of New Helvetia laid down upon the maps at the i unction of the American River with the Sacra- ^.O^ScX *' 1 his situ 13 mento, was selected and named by Capt. Suter, fi'om the ""b"^ sa'c"a-'"^ ,, . « , . . , , -r. 1 tnenlo City.) ancient appellation oi his native land. But he came an emigrant from the United States, being a naturalized citizen.* We should infer from the following expression in Fremont's Journal that he was the first emigrant, as he 184'!:. is certainly up to this period the most eminent. " Since probrbiy^"he' hig arrival, Several other persons, principally Americans, from the u.s. in that region. have established themselves in the valley." We hear of none who were there before him, except a few hunters. Mr. Sinclair, a highly respectable emigrant, was in 1844 settled' about two miles from the Fort on the American River, and Mr. Chiles was again met by Fremont at the Mr. chiies near Suter's Fort, being temporarily located on a farm near the Sacra- Fof'- mento, until he could select land for a permanent resi- dence, for which' he had secured a grant from the Mexi- can government. On the 22d of March, Capt. Fremont took his de- jviarch 22, c p ••10 Fremont parture with an ample outfit of provisions, animals, &c., leaves suter'i furnished him at the Fort. To avoid crossing the Sierra, * We hope, as a farther element of CaHfornian history, that we may ere long receive from some source, a complete list of the first American emigrants in the valley of the Sacramento. s 158 .SPRING IN THE VALLEY. ^^'*^* he ranged southeasterly along its base through the beau- tiful and balmy valley of the San Joaquin, where life itself was enjoyment. Here the party travelled five _ . . ., hundred miles, luxuriating in the loveliness of nature, San'^Joaqu'in! ^nd the dclights of spring. Fresh streams were welling from the dissolving snows of the mountains ; green carpets of tender grass were beneath ; bright and harmonious birds nestled in the branches of the trees, or amidst the splendid array of wild flowers, which sometimes seemed as if arranged in grand natural bouquets, rising to the height of the horseman's head, and stretching to the ex- tent of a New England garden. But on that whole vvay, not one civilized human being was found, who had as yet made his dwelling in the charming valley. The nearest approach to this was when, on the 18th of April, the day before they began crossing the mountains, a single Christian Indian, habited in the Spanish costume, much to their satisfaction, rode into their camp and accosted them in the Spanish Ian- Fremont's party in the gUagC. Great Basin. This Indian, Fremont took for a guide, as he travelled through Walker's Pass into the Great Basin. The com- pany then moved southwestwardly, leaving the Sierra on tlieir right, until they reached the Spanish trail from Los Angeles to Santa Fe. This was followed until it turned to the southeast. Their course was northeast, and led them along the base of the Wahsatch Mountains to the Utah Lake ; and thence, across the Rocky Mountains, to the head-waters of the Arkansas. QUALITIES OF A COMMANDER. 159 These explorations form a constituent part of the his- ^814. tory of Upper California ; and tiie great ability mani- fested by the leader, in bold and daring action, fertility of resource, and capacity of endurance, amidst fatigue and long-continued privation, — power of attaching to his person by watchful care and kindness those whom he Fremont led ; — these qualities and others, marked him as a man in *^° ^""glf^'" whom the American administration might well place great confidence. In the spirit of such a confidence, he was sent again, the succeeding year, to California ; and history can do no other, than to make him the hero of the American possession of that important country. CHAPTER VI. Visit to Upper California of Capt. Wilkes, Commander of the Ex- ploring Expedition, 1841— The Californian Revolution of 1836, &c. 1841. The United States Exploring Expedition under Capt. Wilkes, made, from the middle of August to the last of Wilk6s and ° veTd°"differ'- ^^P^^'""^^' ^^^l, a survej of the maritime parts of Vp^ToJ!^ Upper California ; especially the Bay of San Francisco and its vicinity, — parts of the country which Capt. Fre- mont did not visit in his first explorations. The publica- tion of Capt. Wilkes' researches did not, however, occur until afler Capt. Fremont's first and second expeditions, and he was not availed of any geographical knowledge thus elicited. From the short time employed by Capt. Wilkes in his personal survey of California, hearsay necessarily mingled with observation in liis accounts : and we find in them some errors, with much that is correct and valuable.* It is, however, in most cases, * Take for example the following passage : " The best route to the United States is to follow the San Joaquin for sixty miles, thence easterly, through a gap in the Snow7 Mountains, by a good beaten BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO. 161 easy to distinguish what is drawn from others, from 1841. that which is reliable information, drawn from actual survey.' When the Commander of the Exploring Squadron entered, August 14th, the Bay of San Francisco, the ^.i-n'^t i4 country disappointed him ; having an uninviting aspect enters the' "^^ Bav of San on account of the uncommon drought, which, in 1841, Frdncisco. prevailed in Upper California. There had been no rain during a year. But the vineyards had produced abun- dantly ; and wherever irrigation had been practised, the earth had yielded a large increase. Capt. Wilkes bears his testimony to the superior excellence of this great harbor. " Upper California," he says, " may boast of road ; thence the course is northeasterly to Mary's River, wliich flows southeast and has no outlet, but loses itself in a lake ; thence continuing in the same direction, the Portneuf River, in the Upper Shoshone, is reached ; and thence to Fort Hall. According to Dr. Marsh, (an American of much intelligence, resident at the mouth Incorrect reports made of the San Joaquin, to whom we are indebted for much information •° ^'?P'- \V likes. of the country,) there is plenty of fresh water and pasturage all the way, and no proper desert between the California Range and the Colorado." Vol. v. p. 181. From this may be seen the incorrect notions which then pre- vailed of the Great Basin, with its deserts, and of the formidable Sierra Nevada. The course of Humboldt's, or Mary's River, is made southeast instead of southwest — it is incorrectly stated that there is no desert ; and as to Portneuf River in the Upper Shoshone, according to Fremont's map, the Upper Shoshone is far from the river, and off the route to Fort Hall, and the river itself is but a email stream to be crossed just before arriving at that place. 162 VERBA BUENA. ^841. one of the finest, if not the very best harbor in the ofu^imX^ world — that of San Francisco. Few are more exten- of .San Fiuii- . iii i-ii^ii ci=co. sive, or could be as readily defended ; while the com- bined fleets of all the naval powers of Europe might moor in it." He says, however, that "this is the only really good harbor which the country possesses ; for the others so called, may be frequented only during the fine season, being nothing more than roadsteads, affording little safety and but few supplies to vessels." The progress of immigration, especially the Ameri- can, may be traced by the growth of San Francisco. The mast frequented anchorage of the bay called Yerba San Fran- Bueua is thus described by Capt. Wilkes : " The town ■ is not calculated to produce a favorable impression on a stranger. Its buildings may be counted, and consist of a large frame building, occupied by the agent of the Hudson Bay Company ; a store, kept by Mr. Spears, an American ; a billiard-room and bar ; a cabin of a ship, occupied as a dwelling by Capt. Hinckley ; a black- smith's shop, and some outbuildings. These, though few in number, are also far between. With these, I must not forget to enumerate an old dilapidated adobe building, which has a conspicuous position on the top of the hill overlooking the anchorage." This was in 1841. When Mr. Edwin Bryant first visited this place in September, 1846, he found it con- taininjr 200 inhabitants. But when he left it the sue- _. r„ ceeding sprinii, the number had increased to 1500. Size of San o r »' rancisco. 'j>|^ig ^yag before the gold mania had commenced. Re- RAPID GROWTH. 163 cent advices state that at the close of the year 1848, ^Q^ ^* there were already 15,000 inhabitants. San Francisco F,and°o1n" Will therefore probably increase faster than any city oi i848. our fast-growing republic has ever done.* Of all the men found by Capt. Wilkes' party in Cali- fornia, Capt. Suter is made, in his report, the most pro- minent. His grant from Mexico, Capt. Wilkes states, to be conditional, and for thirty leagues square. Besides capt. Suter's eminence and this, which is of itself a prinfcipality, he had bought out weaiih. the Russians, whose principal stations Avere Fort Ross and Bodega, on the coast of the Pacific, northwest of the Bay of San Francisco. It was with the guns from Fort Ross, that Capt. Suter garnished his own fort. In the vicinity of the Bay, the next most prominent TbeVaiiejo /> 1 . 1 , . . , family. persons for business and political consequence were the two brothers Vallejo, of Sonoma. Capt. Wilkes says of Capt. Suter, that he holds, by appointment of the government, the office of adminis- trator, " and has, according to his own belief, supreme *^pJ',vefo!e'r'* 1 . ^• . • , 1 • . . 1 the Indians. power in his own district ; condemning, acquitting, and punishing, as well as marrying and burying those who are under him." * Yet will it not be a healthy growth, unless the immigrants take ^ , ,. , sober, earnest thought, and resolute action ; to suppress vice and dis- 'mii'g'ants. order, and to uphold law, morals, and religion. They must in these things be intrepid and resolute. But we hope they will also be true to the Union. Great disasters would follow in the long run, if they were not. Foreign influences are, in this respect, to be guarded against. 164 SONOMA. ^Q'*^' "Although Capt. Suter is, in genpral, in the habit of treating the Indians with kindness, yet he related to one Nine Indians , . . i . , , , , , , ,. , tau-ed to be gentleman, mstances in which he had been obliijed to fusilade nine of them ; indeed, he does not seem to stand upon much ceremony with those who oppose him in any way."* Capt. Wilkes shows us what was, at this time, the meagre condition of Sonoma, a place which will here- after be of much consequence, and which has already become celebrated, in the annals of American California, as the spot where the Bear flag was first raised. "On the opposite side," says Capt. Wilkes, " of the Bay of San Pablo, (the northern portion of the Bay of San Fran- cisco,) or to the west, are some of the finest tracts of country in California. One of these is that of Sonoma. In Sonoma is situated, in the town of the same name, the condition of residence of General Vallejo, and the mission of San Sonoma. Rafael. Upon paper, Sonoma is a large city, and laid * Of Capt. Suter's farming, Capt. Wilkes says, he "has com* menced extensive operations in farming ; but in the year of our visit, the drought had affected him, as well as others, and ruined all his crops. About forty Indians were at work for him, whom he had taught to make adobes. The agreement for their service is usually made with their chiefs, and in this way, as many as are wanted are readily obtained. These chiefs have far more authority over their tribes than those we had seen to the north ; and in the opinion of an intelligent American, they have more power over, and are more respected by their tribes, than those of any other North American Indians." GENERAL VALLEJO. 165 out according to the most approved plan. In reality, ^Q*^* however, it consists of only the following buildings : -General Vallejo's house, built of adobes, of two stories, which fronts on the public square, and is said to be one of the best houses in California. On the right of this is the residence of the general's brother, Salvadore, and to the left, the barracks for the accommodation of the guard for the general, consisting of about twenty fusileers. Mission house ililapi Not far removed is the old dilapidated mission-house of dated. San Francisco Solano, scarcely tenantable, though a small part of it is inhabited still by the Padre Kihas, who continues, notwithstanding the poverty of his mis- sion, to entertain the stranger, and show him all the hos- pitality he can." Besides the buildings just enumerated, there were in the course of construction, in 1841, a neat little qbapel, and a small building for a billiard-room. There are also three or four more houses and huts which are tenanted. " General Vallejo," the Captain further says, " was one of those ^vho figured in the revolution of 1836, Gen. Vaiiejo com II andant. and was then appointed Commandant-General of Alta California. He is now the owner of a large estate, and having chosen this part of the country for his residence, he is free from the opposition and broils that are contin- ually growing out of the petty concerns of the custom- house and its duties. He is not over-scrupulous in de- manding duties of the vessels entering the port of San Francisco, and until he has been seen and consulted, a 160 A TERRITORY. ^^'*^' vessel trading here is liable to an indefinite amount of duties. " I have already spoken of the unceremonious man- ner in which Capt. Suter officiated as administrator of the district to the east of the Sacramento. The anec- dotes related to me of Vallejo, in like manner, show a striking disregard for the lives, as well as for the pro- perty and liberty of the Indians by the gente de razon. He is supreme, and acts with the same impunity as all his predecessors, with one or two exceptions, have done before him. As an instance of the lawless acts of the governors, it is said that one of them entertained the idea of training the Indians as soldiers, and a company of them had been brought together, drilled, and made such proficiency in the use of their arms, that his excellencv Great (lisre- r J mtn°J']!u'in became alarmed, and forthwith ordered them all to be '^ Indians, shot ! I have Utile doubt that this story may be essentially true, for the value of an Indian's life, in the eye of the rulers, scarcely exceeds thai of one of the wild cattle. The Commandant-General {Vallejo) is frequently said to hunt them, and by his prowess in these expeditions he has gained some reputation.'' Concerning the affair of 1836, which has been dig- nified with the name of a revolution, it had its origin from the condition into which the country fell after the second Mexican revolution, which produced the federal California republic, and the constitution of 1824. California not a iVlexican i ' "'°'^" being found at that time sufficiently populous to con- stitute a state, was erected into a territory ; and territorial THE MISSIOA'S ABANDONED. 1-67 officers were sent from Mexico. The aared spiritual 1834 » r ^„ 183G. fathers who, as heads of the missions, had, with the mili- tary under their control, governed the country and kept the Indians in order, were either driven from the mis- sions by the course pursued by Mexican officers placed Fathers "Iwr- over them ; or they voluntarily abandoned their charge, ^V^sk)ns.^" rather than take the oath of allegiance to the new gov- ernment. The property which had belonged to them, was taken into possession by the Mexican " adminis- tradores" and often dissipated. The buildings and gardens went to decay ; and often the Indians — no longer allowed to feel that there was a hand to feed them, though poorly, from the common store which their labor had helped to accumulate — grew wild and ferocious. The inlians'grow lives and property of the whites became insecure from this cause, as well as from the universal prostration of all law and order. The Mexican authorities wished to renew the reign of the padres, and sent other priests ; but they were, in so many cases, rapacious and dissolute, that their coming only made" worse, what was bad before. The best of the Mexican governors was Gen. Figuera. By his influence Mexico sent 200 laborers and agricul- turists, who landed at Monterey. They proved bad inhabitants, and jealousies sprung up between Mexicans and Californians. The governor died in 1835, and his death was the signal for revolutionary movements ; in which foreigners, who, from different countries, had settled there, took a part. " Among them," says Capt. 183^ Revolution- ary move- ments. 168 TWENTY-FIVE AMERICAN HUNTERS. l83g-6. Wilkes, " were to be found America7is, who had led the lives of hunters and trappers, some of whom had been living in the Rocky Mountains, some on the Columbia River, t No emi- jrrants direct while others Came from MexicoA These restless spirits States. declared that California ought to be a free state, and they encouraged rebellion against the governor, Gutierez. This party took advantage of a dispute between him and Alvarado, inspector of customs, and a popular man. Alvarado thus became the nominal head of the party, Ca'ifornians threaten to which declared the intention of making California inde- make them- ° penden"'^^ pendent, banishing all Mexicans, and adopting as citi- zens all foreigners then under arms. This arpied party drew on their unwilling leader to attack Gutierez at Monterey. " Who they were," says Capt. Wilkes, " is not well known, but the presumption is that various citi- 183G. zens of the United States as well as of England, advised Th^revoiters '^"'i gave him (Alvarado) promises of aid. On the 2d of November, he arrived with his force at Monterey ; it consisted of perhaps two hundred, (some say half that number,) of whom tiveniy-fice tvere American hunterSythe only part of his force which loas efficient. Gutierez shut himself up with sixty soldiers in the Presidio of Monterey, fearing, it is supposed, the far-dreaded I'ifles of the Americans. The insurgents obtained ammunition in the harbor from American vessels, which seemed to Nov 4. favor their enterprise. On the 4th, they sent Gutierez At the Presi- ^ ' •' **'"■ a summons to surrender. While ho was long consulting with his officers concerning the ceremonial, not doubting it seenris, that the thing itself was to be done, an eighteen- REVOLUTION OF '36. 169 pound ball — the only shot fired in the revolution — struck '8 36. the roof of the Presidio. The noise was astounding. Thismi'ht. , ... , . . T 1 /- 1 to aid the me- thougn no one was injured ; and it was immediately lol- morv, be called the lowed by a flaff of truce, and an unconditional surrender. _,o«t-gun J o ^ Revolution. The Me.xican flag was then hauled down ; but when it came to the point of hoisting an independent one, the heart of Alvarado and his Californian brethren failed them ; nor could their foreign allies persuade them to the measure ; so they cried " Long live free California !" and hoisted the Mexican flag again. But they turned out the Spanish officers, made Alvarado governor, Gen. A peaceful '■ ° conclusion to Vallejo commandant-general, and Jose Castro, lieu- Revolution, tenant-colonel of the militia. The new government satisfied the foreigners by diminishing the duties one-half, and made their peace with Mexico by acknowledging tlteir allegiance, with the condition that they should choose their own rulers. But the customs were unproductive, and the duties were soon renewed, and other means oppressive to for- eigners, were used to obtain money. They thus became disaffected, and put the authorities in such fear that cahforniant to cut off they secretly determined to cut them off — first con- foreigners, triving a story of their having secretly conspired, and next sending Castro with an armed party of eighteen to assassinate Graham, a resolute trapper of Kentucky. They barbarously wounded him, cast him into prison, and took from him all his goods and estate. Sixty other foreigners were taken and cast into prison, but they were afterwards released. 8 1841. 170 CAPT. WILKES' PROPHECY. 1836. Capt. Wilkes thus speaks concerning the future pros- pects of California : " The situation of Upper California will cause its separation from Mexico before many years. The country between it and Mexico can never be any thing but a barren waste, which precludes all inter- Capt. Wilkes' course except that by sea, always more or less inter- thesepara- pupted bv the course of the winds, and the unhealthful- tion of Call- '^ •' ^^iexico."" ness of the lower or seaport towns of Mexico. It is very probable that this country will become united with Ore- gon, with which it will perhaps form a state that is des- tined to control the destinies of the Pacific. This future state is admirably situated to become a powerful mari- time nation, with two of the finest ports in the world— that within the straits of Juan de Fuca, and San Fran- cisco. These two regions have, in fact, within themselves every thing to make them increase, and keep up an m- tercourse with the whole of Polynesia, as well as the countries of South America on the one side, and China, the Philippines, New Holland, and New Zealand, on the other. Among the latter, before many years, may be Advantages included Japan. Such various climates will furnish the can posses- materials for a beneficial interchange of products, and an sions on the ^''"'"^''- intercourse that must, in time, become immense ; while this western coast, enjoying a climate in many respects superior to any in the Paciic, possessed as it must be by the Anglo-Norman race, and having none to enter into rivalry with it but the indolent inhabitants of warm climates, is evidently destined to fill a large space in the world's future history." 1816. CHAPTER VII. Emigration to California begins in 1846. — Mr. Edwin Bryant finds many parties on the road. — Tiie horrible sufferings of the belated party. — The Mormons. The travels of Mr. Edwin Bryant, in the summer of 1846, throw additional lisht on the progress of the settle- May i. * Mr. Bryant ment of Upper California, particularly as regards Ameri- 'f=^'^« ,^''- 1°- * * ^ ./ o dei)endence. can emigration. j„„,23. The first part of Mr. Bryant's route was that of the mie, 672 m. ordinary wagon trail — from the mouth of the Kansas, /"'Iq^-^ along that river— along the Platte — by Fort Laramie — fcthen'^ "*' to the South Pass ; — and thence to Fort Bridger. Mr. Ju'y i7. ' ^ At Fort Bryant was bound for California, and here his route ^''"^^^'■ diverged from that of the emigrants to Oregon. It was this year, 1846, that emigration from the United States to Upper California commenced in earnest ; and that to Oregon, greatly increased. This emigration as it respects California, was irrespective of the Ameri- can possession of the country ; for the war with Mexico was not thought of, when the emigrants began their pre- paration; and it was not known — uctil the rumor of Tay- 172 MR. BRYANT. ^^'^^^ lor's battles on the Rio Grande, reached them on their journey. The beauty, salubrity, and advantages of the country, now beginning to be known, must have attracted them to seek it as a home. Mr. Bryant finds, this year, large parties of emigrants, about equally divided, in regard to their destination, be- tween Oregon and California. Most of them travelled Oni^he Platte, with wagons drawn by oxen, containing their furniture, 430 wagons of emigrants, their wives and children ; — and so had party after party fallen into the train, tliat on the 16th of June, on the South Fork of the Platte, the wagons amounted to no less than four hundred and thirty. Indeed so lively, social, and hospitable were these emigrants, though having many hardships to encounter, that it does not seem pos- sible, that this is the solitary desert route, so lately passed over by Capt. Fremont. At Fort Bridger, (a name given to two or three trading-huts of logs,) " we determined," says Mr. Bry- iJaves ant, (i. e. himself and a small party of mounted men,) Fort Hri(l;:er, rsi m. iioin «« to lake the new route via the south end of the great South Pass. ° Salt Lake. Mr. Hudspeth, (well known as a guide and ex- plorer,) who with a small party, on Monday, will start in advance of the emigrant companies which intend travel- ling by this route, for the purpose of making some further explorations, has volunteered to guide us as far as the m foliowetr* Salt Plain — a day's journey west of the Lake. Although sucli was my own determination, I wrote several letters to my friends among the emigrant parties in the rear, advising them not to»take tin's route, but to keep on the A CHEERFUL SCENE. 173 old trail, via Fort Hall. Our situation was different from 1S46. theirs. We were mounted on mules, had no families, and could afford to hazard experiments, and make explo- rations. They could not. During the day, I visited , . ° ■' t A oorral is several of the emigrant corrdls.\ * * * * '7„^;_^)^J^"f Messrs. Curry and Holden left us to-day, having deter- shXr'or de- fence. mined to go to Oregon instead of California. Circles of white-tented wagons may now be seen in every direc- tion, and the smoke from the camp-fires is curling upwards, morning, noon, and evening. An immense number of oxen and horses are scattered over the entire valley, grazing upon the green grass. Parties of In dians, hunters, and emigrants are galloping to and fro, ^"^^"^ °' ^™' Cheerful ;ene of ei grant life. and the scene is one of almost holiday liveliness. It is difficult to realize that we are in a wilderness, a thousand miles from civilization." On the 28th, Lieut. Bryant was at the Great Salt ^^y^li^^ Lake. His party then passed southerly and crossed the from For?' B ridge r. Strait which connects the Salt with the Utah Lake. They were then, after a day's journey with Mr. Hudspeth, to cross without a guide the Great Salt Desert, where for seventy-five miles they were to find neither water nor food. Such an enterprise it is painful even to con- template. " About eleven o'clock," says Bryant, " we a g"fafday''s travel ; 75 struck a vast white plain, uniformly level, and utterly m''es over a •^ " desert witli- destitute of vegetation, or any sign that shrub or plant °"' '^^'^''" had ever existed above its snow-like surface. Pausino- a few moments to rest our mules, and moisten our mouths and throats from the scant supply of beverage in our ^'''4 THE D5SERT. ^^^^' powder-keg, we entered upon this appalling field of sullen and hoary desolation. It was a scene so entirely new to us, so frightfully forbidding, and unearthly in its aspects, that all of us, I believe, though impressed with its sublimity, felt a slight shudder of apprehension. Our mules seemed to sympathize with us in the pervadino- sentiment, and moved forward with reluctance, several of them stubbornly setting their faces for a counter- march." The party, however, succeeded in making the dreaded distance in one day. Aug. 9 to 18. Mr. Brvant continued Jiis route alonw Marv's or Mr. n. trav ° J ^'■ tiZ"ro]^V Humboldt's River, and came to the dreary pool called the Sep. 10. ^^"'^ °^ the River, where the stream entirely disappears in Reaches Su- ^i j , ter's Fort, 2s the dry calcareous earth. He then crossed the Sierra m. Irom the %"is tivet Nevada by the Bear River Pass, and reached Suter's Fort by the first of September. A history of the first emigrations from the more eastern states, would show many instances of great hard- ship ; but there is one, which in regard to intensity of suffering, stands pre-eminent. Emigrants at d^ide'Voo'e- ^^^ have introduced from Mr. Bryant's Journal, an gon and Cal. i r i i account ot the pleasant and cheerful camp at Fort Bridger, 133 miles from the Soutli Pass, and where the route to California by the south end of the Salt Lake, leaves the wagon trail, to Oregon. A party of these emigrants, having sixty or more wagons, were bound to Oregon. Most of these finally arrived at their destination, although emnTrufttr!' t'ley suffered greatly ; having lost their wagons and baggage in the Umqua mountains; but, men having THREE PARTIES. 175 been sent to their relief from the valley of the Willa- 1846. math, their lives were preserved. Of this party Mr. Newton of Virginia, whom, with his wife, Mr. Bryant met in the beginning of his route, wa? murdered by Indians for the spoils of his tent. Mrs. Newton escaped. Of the emigrants for California, there were eighty wagons, which were to take the new and yet untrodden route by the south end of the Salt Lake and Humboldt's or Mary's River. This company divided. The advance party, known as Mr. Harlan's, California company di- were fortunate in making their way speedily through /''Je. Har- '=' J I J o Ian s compa the mountain passes near the Salt Lake ; and they reached "saleiy.'' California, in season to insure a safe crossing of the Sierra Nevada. But the rear party, known as that of Messrs. Read and Donner, taking a different and moi'e difficult route, were detained a month longer, in the j^^^^j ^^^^j vicinity of the Salt Lake ; and did not reach the Sierra ty are belated. until the last day of October, when they should have been there on the first. The snow fell early, and fell deep. Their dangerous plight became known at San Fi-ancisco ; and the sum of fifteen hundred dollars vv'as meritoriously subscribed, to hire men to eo to their ^ •' ° Generous ef- relief. This showed how well the wintry terrors of the ^'''IH^^''^ Sierra were there understood. Capt. Suter, prompt at the call of humanity, sent men and mules at his own cost. A little more than half their number, which was eighty- one, were thus saved ; but thirty-six perished. One of those who escaped, related their sufferings to Mr. Sinclair, who gave the narrative to the press. It is one of the 176 WINTRY TERRORS OF THE SIERRA. _1^1^1_ m Ti obtains a pa- Upper Calitornia. The Mexicans, he said, should lose tent— not per- fected. no time, or otherwise " within a year, California would become a part of the American nation ; be inundated by cruel invaders, and their Catholic institutions the prey of Methodist wolves!" The Mexican government was moved, and made a grant to the Irish priest of 3,000 square leagues, in the rich valley of the San Joaquin.* Yet the patent was not to be perfected, until the Governor of California should have given it his sanction. * His petition also embraced the Bay of San Francisco and the important stations of Monterey and Santa Barbara. 182 A BRITISH FLKET NEAR. 1846. Mr. Forbes, in tlie meantime, had a meeting in April, j^ ^1, 1846, with Gov. Pico, Gen. Castro, Gen. Vallejo, and gets'upa'con- Others, where the project was entertained of declaring veiition. Upper California in-dependent of Mexico, and putting the country under British protection ; and assurances were it is said, ad- here given, that a British naval force would soon appear vocated Brit- ish protection, upon the coast. A junta was to meet on the 15th of Gen. Vallejo, ^ •' ^he"LL st°atel! Ju^^, to consult, Concerning the perfecting of the Mac- namara grants, and concert final measures. Macnamara, who had resided in the house of a British public functionary at Mexico, was taken from that country in the Juno, a British sloop of war ; and in June, he was landed at Santa Barbara. There was at this time lying at San Bias, a larger British squadron than had ever before been sent to the Pacific, commanded The British naval force jjy ^ear admiral Sir George Seymour, his flag-ship being mrgwood,^80 the Collingwood of 80 guns.f The Juno, which trans- guns ; a Ra- , ■, »■ <. pi- i zee, 00 ; 4 ported Macnamara, was of course a part oi this squadron. sloops of war, and 2 war- Commodore Sloat at this time commanded the Ameri- steamers. 's°uperi™"to' can naval force in the Pacific, his flag being on board theAmerican. the Savannah. Early in the season he was lymg at Mazatlan, with orders to attack California, if he should hear of actual war with Mexico, whether officially notified or not. While Mr. Forbes, the planner of these schemes, was thus, with politic shrewdness, operating for the ad- vantage of his government, the United States had also a faithful agent in California — Mr. Thomas O. Larkin, American consul at Monterey — formerly a resident of THE GUERDON. 183 Boston. All these plans could not be brewing without his 18*5. having some knowledge concerning them.* The pre- sumption is that he communicated what he knew to the American ' consul at American government — that it was too little to authorize Monterey, c probably un- any public action on the part of the Executive, but "communl" cates. enough to lead to measures, which precipitated the war with Mexico. For if the American Executive was to have the war to conduct, which Mexico had declared she tive^probab°y acts on his or would make, if Texas was annexed, he might naturally other inform- " ation. prefer to have it, while there yet I'emained a guerdon, for which to fight ; and, take away California, there was nothing else desirable. Capt. Fremont was sent out in the spring of 1845. Lieut. Gillespie was sent early in November, (his letter of credence being dated November Coincidence* in time. 3,) as a special messenger from Washington, with verbal instructions to Fremont, to watch for American interests, and counteract foreign intrigues. f Gillespie had come through Vera Cruz and Mexico, * Mr. Larkin had accumulated, we understand, a handsome fortune in California — both that, and his life might have been the sacrifice, had he been known as communicating on these subjects to the American government. Yet fi'om the excellent character of Mr. Larkin, we cannot doubt that he performed thoroughly his offi- cial duties. But his position might have constituted one reason why the American Executive should act, where he could not safely com- municate. + This we learn from Fremont's defence before the court-martial, and from Col. Benton's speech in the Senate ; but how he was di- rected to watch, is not known, e.xcept by Fremont's course of action. 184 Fremont's corps. 1815. via Mazatlan and Monterey, with orders to find Fremont wherever he misrht be. About the time when he would given to naval havo Completed his passage through Mexico, Gen. officers in ref- erence to war Taylor received oi'ders to march to the mouth of the Rio in the Spring. •' Mr. Bancroll C^„nr\At^ blames Com. «jranue. too co'nscien- We HOW rctum to Capt. Fremont, with his resolute tious inactivi- * 'J- corps — not of enlisted soldiers, but made up of " Kit Car- Character of son," and such as he; men who with hardihood and Fremont's i • i i j j corps. electric activity, were ready at their ieaaer s word to dare or to do.* — He had in his equipment 200 horses. Having crossed the Sierra, Capt. Fremont, in order to avoid any suspicion of hostility, left his camp at 200 miles' distance from Monterey. He then proceeded * Capt. Fremont's force appears to have been as large as could be ventured under the cognomen of an exploring expedition ; and particular pains were taken on the one hand not to give it a military name or aspect, and on the other, to give it real efficient strength. Sixty such men, w^ith a leader like Fremont — a number of the inhabitants being known to be favorable —might well be supposed capable of action ; when according to recent reports of Capi. Wilkes, twenty-five American hunters, without a leader, constituted the effi- ciency of the insurgent force in the one-gun revolution, in ]836. Gen. Kearny, at his camp near New Helvetia, June 14, 1847, wrote the following in reply to a note from Col. Fremont : 1841. June 14 „ r^, ... •.•,/• Gen.Kearny " SiR — The request contained in your communication to me ot speaks of the , , - ,, ■ i i , ■ i toiK)graphicaI this date, to be relieved from all connection with the topographical party as con- i tt • j o taining nine- party (nineteen men), and be permitted to return to the United States leen men. with a small party made up by your private means, cannot be granted." If nineteen men constituted the topographical party, why were forty others sent 1 THE hawk's peak. 185 almost alone to Suter's Fort, which was the nearest inili- 1846. tary station. Here he obtained from Capt. Suter a pass- Tan ^0 port to Monterey, at which place he arrived, Jan. 27, Fremont at Monterey. 1846, and immediately repaired to Mr. Larkin at the American consular-house. The worthy consul accom- panying him, he called on Gen. Castro, the military commandant ; informed him that he had come to the country for peaceful explorations, and desired his permis- He obtains sion to winter in the valley of the San Joaquin. This Castro's per- •' ^ lnlS^IOU to permission he received from Gen. Castro ; and from raiiey'o'"san Joaquin. the consul, he obtained supplies for his men. Resting only two days in Monterey, he returned to his camp. On the 3d of March, a sudden change occurred. March 30. He is ordered Orders were sent from Mexico, dii'ecting Castro to drive away. the Americans out of the country ; and Fremont now received a notice from that general to quit California, accompanied with such blustering threats, in case of non- obedience, as gave to the captain, an expectation of immediate attack. This officer then resolved, as Gen. Taylor did, when about to move from Point Isabel to his camp at the Rio Grande, that if the enemy opposed, in whatever force, he should fight him \ and he accordingly raised the American flag. His camp, which he now March .5. Fremont fortified with a breastwork of logs, was pitched on the raises the ° ^ American top of the Sierra, at the " Hawk's Peak," near the head ^^lf{^ ^^"^^t- watcrs of an affluent of the San Joaquin, which crossed the road to Monterey — distant sixty miles. With his spy-glass he could look from his eagle height, down upon the camp of his foe, at the mission of San Juan. Castro jQg MR. LARKIn's letter. 1846. approached within four miles, with about 200 men, and was seen preparing cannon as if for an assault. But he did not attack. If he had, the Mexican war might per- Castro ap- t-» • /-< j i U proaches h^ps have commcnced, not on the Rio Grande, but on the within 4 miles ^ '""atltck.'"'' Sierra Nevada ; and California have belonged to the American Republic, some months earlier than it did. But said Mr. Larkin, afterwards writing on this subject, " Castro of himself had no wish to go after Col. Fre- mont," although with all the Californians to aid him ; ,l!:l^'t \- for Fremont " had verbal applications from the English 'en^eVrbearl and Amcricans to join his party, and he could have mus- ing duplicates it. i • . \ ji, of the fame tercd as many men (m addition to his own party) as the lelter. One of "^ these reaches „„*;„p5, " Fremont.) natlVCS. A Californian messenger on the 9th carried a letter from the judicious consul to Capt. Fremont, at his forti- fied camp. Travelling sixty miles in ten hours, the messenger carried back a letter from Fremont, in which he thus wrote to Mr. Larkin,* (saying that he did so before reading his letter,) " We have in no wise done wrong to the people, or the authority of the country, and if we are hemmed in and assaulted here, we will die, every man of us, under the flag of our country." Con- cerning the appearance of Fremont, his camp and his men, the Californian messenger on his return to Mon- Opinion of {p„g„ yaid, that " two thousand of his countrymen would a Cahliirnian -J ' Fremont"a"nd Hot he Sufficient to compel him to leave the country, his men. .. ., though his party was so small.' * See Mr. Larkin's letter to the Secretary of State, April 3, 1846. A SPECIAL MESSENGER. 187 It was on the 9th that Fremont received Mr. Larkin's ^J^'lG. letter, of which we know not the contents. But we (tseeMr: know that within a few hoursf notwithstandinn his wil- ter totheSec. of State.) lingness to die under his country's flag, Capt. Fremont broke up his encampment, and went north ; declaring it the soinrpan I 1 • 1 • II I /> /-v "* Oregon. to be his object to explore the southern part or Oregon, and survey a new route to the Walahmath by the way of the Hamath Lakes. He was then within Oregon, but on the confines of California ; and the hostility of the savages in that vicinity made it a dangerous loca- tion. On the evening of the 9th of May, two messengers found Capt. Fremont at the north end of the Hamath Lake, who informed him that an officer of the United May 9. States army was in search of him with dispatches, and Fremont hears of Gil- that his danger from hostile Indians was imminent. At '^^p'^- dawn of day, Fremont took with him nine men, of whom Kit Carson was one ; four were of the fine old race of Delaware Indians, and one was Basil Lajeunesse, a young Frenchman, of whom Fremont speaks, in his descriptions, with affectionate reliance. Coasting the western shore of Hamath Lake — at night they providen- tially met the party whom they were seeking. The officer was Lieut. Gillespie, who, as before re- marked, was sent from Washington in November, via Vera Cruz, Mexico, Mazatlan, and Monterey, with strict orders to find Capt. Fremont, and who had now travelled Ciiiespie i,as travplled over from Monterev 600 miles for that purpose. He bore a ^^ ■"''^^ '» ' '■ find Fremont. letter from the Secretary of State, indirectly accreditincr 188 CONFIDENTIAL SERVICE. 1846. him, leaving the maiirpoints of his mission to oral commu- nication. Exactly what this mission was, we know not, but we know the action which, on the part of Fremont, it produced. The administration, not without reason, placed confidence in him. In their service, he fearlessly took responsibility, and faithfully kept counsel. Fremont was excited with hearing from his country and from his family, — one of his letters being from Sena- tor Benton of Missouri, the father of his wife, — and at May 9. • Fremont's night, forjiettina; for an hour his ordmary watch, hostile camp attack- t> ' & t^ •> de^s^'commit- lodiaus stolc withiu the still camp, when all were asleep. dians. A cry from Carson, and Fremont awoke to hear the death-groan of his favorite Basil Lajeunesse ; and three Indians of his party were killed, before the murderers were subdued. Capt. Fremont forthwith removed his whole party Fremont re- south iuto ths Unsettled parts of the Valley of the Sac- Gi'ii'es"|7ie, is ill ramento. He encamped for a time at the Buttes, near the valley of tiie Sacra- ^^g confluencc of that stream with the Rio del Plumas. mento. Here he learned that the friends of British protection had, as was supposed, excited the Indians against the American settlers. At any rate this dangerous race had assumed a hostile attitude. Gen. Castro had also pub- (t We know lished a proclamation requiring foreigners to leave the not liow ma- i i- ny, nor wiio couutry : and he was, it was believed, collectmg an ar- were all ■^ anrivrife ^y to enforce his orders. Women as well as men were fanc/t^et!Lk in a State of excitement, and all looked to Fremont to of taking; down their m^jjg ^yif^ them in their defence. f " There was a good names would "aiduojr/ deal of correspondence," says Capt. Owens, one of Fro- "the way the revolution began." 189 mont's officers, " between the settlers and our camp ; and ^Q^^* as the danger seemed near at hand, and there was no Letter of , ^ . . /• 11 1 • • Cant. Owens, other way to get out ot it, it was finally agreed to join simwina the way the revo- the settlers and fight the Californians. This is the way '"''«" ''ssan. the revolution began. I do not think the settlers could have been united, without the aid and protection of Capt. Fremont. They had not confidence enough in their strength to undertake the war without support. Capt. Fremont's party was strong and well armed, and went together like one man." Fremont's name too, and his position as an American officer, had great influence. Fremont now becoming openly the leader of the re- volted Americans, he soon moved his camp farther south. The first overt act of hostility was on the part of the Americans, in seizing a number of horses, which Gen. ju^g j(, Castro had ordered to be taken from Sonoma to his camp Gen. caltro's ^ horses the first at Santa Clara. They were taken round by Suter's Fort, °Y^'^ .?.'=^ °^ •' •' ' hostihty. when a party of twelve American Californians, mostly hunters,(Mr. Merritt being their leader,)captured them ; and sent word to Gen Castro, that if he wanted his prop- erty he must come and take it. Mr. Merritt's party in- •'""^ ^*- . c J Capture of creasing, at length amounted to more than thirty. They '^°"°™^- then took Sonoma, making prisoners, the Vallejos, and other principal persons. But they violated no private (jWe take property. f Don Salvadore Vallejo,once having had Mer- from Mr.°Bry- . . ait, who ritt m his power, struck him. Merritt now looked fierce- g'^^s, as his authority, R ly upon Vallejo, but restraining himself, he said, " You ^^^otluht are now my prisoner, but I will not strike you." cauiomian.) A small garrison was left at Sonoma, commanded by 190 "the bear revolution." ^^^^* Mr. Ide, who issued a proclamation, inviting all to come to his camp, and aid in forming a Republican government. About this time, two American young menf were brutally (t Cowie and Fowler.) murdcred in the neighborhood of Sonoma, and others were taken prisoners, by a party of Californians under one Padilla. Capt. Ford, with a part of the garrison of Mexican ' Sonoma, pursucd Padilla to San Rafael, where he had force, 8G ; Mex^"ios"'io' ^^^^^ joined by Capt. Torre. An engagement took place in which the Americans were victorious, killing eight of their opponents. Cap. Fremont having heard that Cas- tro was approaching with 200 men, joined the camp at So- June 25. noma on the 25th of June. Torre had now gone to the Fremont at o south, and no enemy I'emained on tlie north side of the Bay of Francisco. The Californians at Sonoma and the vicinity, seemed vvell pleased with the American ascen- dency, and offered their property to aid in carrying on the war. Fremont took a number of horses of the Val- lejos and others ; but anxious to fulfil the wishes of the government and conciliate the people, he promised that payment should be made, for whatever was taken. The fourth of July was duly celebrated. On the 5th, the Californian Americans declared their independence, indc".en-'^<-/'" ^f^ reuro and Fremont both embarked with their forces at Monterey, ^''" ^'^^°' the former for San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles, and the latter for San Diego further south. Stockton with his marines first approached the enemy, who decamped at his approach. Fremont soon joined him, and togethei they took quiet possession of Los Angeles, with the coTstock- public buildings, the archives, and all the public property. Fremont 'take possession of On the 17th of August, Commodore Stockton issued his los Angeles. proclamation, in which he informed the people of Cali- fornia, that, at his approach, Jose Castro, Commandant 19G Carson's biail. 1816. General, buried his artillery, abandoned his fortified camp, and fled, as was believed, towards Mexico — that with the sailors, marines, and Californian battalion, they entered the city of Angeles on the 13th of August, and hoisted the North American flag, which was now flying August 17. from every commanding position in the territory — that Com Stock- Ion institutes California was now in the possession of the United States, government, tions^ami'^re- ^nd would soon be provided with a civil government ; but *of aHegiac'te' till then, it was under military law, to be administered from tlie mili- tary. \)y himself, the commander-in-chief. In the meantime, the people were requested to assemble in their several towns, and choose their oflicers. Military men who chose to remain, would be required to take an oath to support the existing government. Com. s. ap- Having made this proclamation. Commodore JStock- miiiiary cTn- tott, ou the 24th, intending to go to sea, appointed Major niandiint,an(l Gillespie sec- Frcmont, military commandant of California, and Lieut. • retary. •' Gillespie secretary. On the 28th of August, these pro- , ceedings were reported to the Navy Department, and Carson dispatched, via Santa Fc, to carry the reports public and private to Washington. Carson had pro- ceeded to the valley of the Del Norte, when he was met Gen.Kearny j^ Q^^^ Keamv, with 300 mcn, coming to conquer coming 10 J •' ' / . J Umirby'Kli California. Carson informed him that the work was Carson wilh i ^ ' ' among whom were Gen. Kearny, Captains Gillespie and Gibson, Lieut. Warner, and Mr. Robideau, the interpreter. Among the killed, were Captains Johnson and Moore, and Lieut. Hammond. The camp of the Americans, the night after the bat- ^'^%if ^''® tie, presented a scene of which private life aflbrds little campTcene^ room for Comparison. Their wounded — where should they procure them comforts ? Their dead — where find them graves, so secret and so profound, that their bodies would not be exhumed and rifled ? Mournfully, by the darkness of the night, the survivors made their resting place, deep beneath a solitary willow ; while wolves howl- ed a discordant requiem. Dec. 7. On the 7th, the Americans were intercepted by the (tone of the most lie- enemy. A part of their little force was occupied with the ;oic deeds of *^ the wur.) ambulances of their wounded, as they attempted to move. But they charged,f and drove the Californian horsemen, wounding several. But they had only retired, to return THE HILL OF SAN FERNANDO. 205 in greater numbers. The next day, the 8th, the Ameri- 1 846. cans were besieged in their camp, on the hill of San Fer- nando. For the party to move, would be a deed of des- The Ameri- 1 1 1 1 1 /> 1 • /. cans in dan- peration, as it would take half their force to transport the . ger-heio- ism of Carson wounded ; and the enemy, fresh and well-mounted, and """^ '^'''^^• in superior numbers, were watching them in every di- rection. Fortunately, they found, by digging at the foot of a rock, a little water ; but they were distressed for want of food. Then it was that Carson,* with Lieut. Beale * One of the most eloquent portions of Col. Fremont's defence, is where he speaks of Kit Carson. Wishing to invalidate the testi- mony of Gen. Kearny, Fremont thus alludes to the evidence given by him, that he did not recollect, indeed did not know, the person (who was Kit Carson) that brought him a certain letter, hereafter to be mentioned. " For Gen. Kearny," said Fremont, addressing the court, " not to forgetting^Kit know Kit Carson, not to remember him when he brought the letter mont shows , . , , . . . Kit's claims on Which this prosecution is based ; to swear that he had never seen to be remem- the man, before or since, who brought that letter, when that man was the same express from Commodore Stockton and myself from whom he got the dispatches ; whom he turned back from the con- fines of New Mexico, and made his guide to California ; the man who showed him the way, step by step, in that long and dreary march ; who was with him in the fight of San Pasquai ; with him on the besieged and desolate hill of San Fernando ; who volunteer- ed with Lieut. Beale and the Indians to go to San Diego for relief, and whose application to go was at first refused ' because he could not spare him ; ' who was afterwards the commander of the scouts on the march from San Diego to Los Angeles ; not to know this man who had been his guide for so many months, and whom few see once without remembering, and not oniy not to know him, but to Dee. 10. A deliver- ance. 206 HEROISM AND SUCCESS. IQ^C' and an Indian, (his name should be told,) heroically vol- unteered to go to Com. Stockton at San Diego, and pro- cure assistance. Most dangerous was the service, and forlorn the hope, that the messengers could escape the keen-eyed foe — but they did. — On the night of the 10th, the tramp of horses was heard in the melancholy camp, and soon the hearts of the soldiers were gladdened, and their hunger relieved, by their brethren from the Ameri- can ships at San Diego. Not a moment had been lost after Carson and Lieut. Beale had made the condition of the party known to tonTprorapt Com. Stocktou, before measures were taken for their re- lief. Lieut. Grey, with a party of 180 sailors and ma- rines, left San Diego on the night of the 9th. They hid themselves during the day of the 10th, and at night gave to their scarcely expecting countrymen, a joyful surprise. In the surprise, though not in the joy, their enemies par- ticipated ; and forthwith decamped, not even removing their animals. In two days, the party were at San Diego.* Com. swear that he had never seen him before or since ; — this was indeed exhibiting an infirmity of memory, ahnost amounting to no memo- ry at all." * Capt. Emory relates, that as they came upon a hill where they had their first view of the Pacific, one of the men from the interior, who had never seen an ocean, exclaimed, " Lord ! there is a great prairie without a tree ! " — The town of San Diego, says Capt. Em- ory, consists of a few houses of adobe, two or three of which only, have plank floors. The Mission is a fine large building, now deser- ted. (1846. WHO IS GOVERNOR f 207 Stockton, having sent all his horses to Gen. Kearny's relief, walked out to meet him, took him to his quarters ; and all possible attentions were shown by the officers of the navy, to him and his wayworn companions. Fremont, now toiling on his long march, did not yet appear, nor was any thing heard of him or his battalion. They were anxious at San Diego for his fate, and Gen. Kearny, not probably relishing his subordinate position, and perhaps desirous to see Fremont before he should see Stockton, offered to go with a party to his relief. Com. Stockton, however, decided himself to move north immediately, with all the force which could be mus- tered. Gen. Kearny was now in a position, anomalous and unpleasant. He was sent to conquer and to govern. But he had by no means entered California as a con- queror ; and how was he to become governor, without an efficient force at his command, when Com. Stockton be- lieved that he was, by right, governor of the country ? Yet he courteously offered to relinquish the command to Gen. Kearny> and go to Los Angeles as his aid. Gen. Kearny was, in truth, the superior officer, being a brigadier-general ; and — holding the order of the Sec- retary of War to that effect, he was really governor-in- chief. But Com. Stockton having been in the chief command, and having at risk to his own corps, saved that of Kearny — this far-off order of the War Depart- ment, made for one state of things, and now fallen upon another, seemed to him a nullity. There is nothing 184T. Kearny wishes to go and meet Fremont. Stockton de- cides to go himself. Difficulties growing up between Kearny and Stockton re- specting the chief authori- ty. 208 TWO COMMANDERS. 184T. more precarious than the peace which exists between two persons thus situated — no matter how polite each may be. Who wants his right by courtesy ? and besides, he who accepts it thus from the stronger party, may at any moment be displaced. , Kearny knew, that, at the moment, Stockton commanded more men than he. Fremont was an important man to him, and he (t Fremont received four, wrote him short affectionate notes ;+ while he declined beiure writing ' ' ''^eu^iVom"'' the courteous offer of Gov. Stockton, to take the chief command of the expedition ; and on his parr, proposed to accompany Stockton to Los Angeles as his aid. This service the commodore accepted, and himself took the chief command, notwithstanding the little knowledge of land tactics, which he and his officers possessed. Before setting out, liowever, Kearny told Stockton that he must command the troops. Stockton agreed that he might, and introduced him to the ma- rines as their commander — yet under him, as governor- in-chief. Dec. 29. They began their march on the 29th of December, besins. with fifty-sevcn dragoons, officers and men, the remains of Gen. Kearny's escort — four hundred marines, and sixty volunteers. They had six heavy pieces of artillery and eleven heavy wagons. They had provided well against surprise, by organizing a scouting party, with Carson for its leader. Their march was along the coast — across the Solidad — by the deserted mission of San Jan. 2. At Han Luis L^jg Rey, and the small town of Flores : thence by a narrow pass between the ocean and a neighboring moun- SAN GABRIEL. 209 tain to another deserted mission — that of San Juan 184T. de Capistrano, now owned by the Pico family. Here At Ja" j'uan had once been a fine cathedral, but a part of it was thrown down in 1822 by an earthquake, killing fifty per- sons within, who had fled to it for refuge. On the 6th of January, the troops passed the pleasant stream of the Santa Anna. On the 7th, when near the River San Gabriel, and nine miles distant from Los Angeles, they found the enemy in force, and prepared to dispute their passage ; and they joined battle. The enemy under Gen. Flores were superior in num- San Gabriel. bers. They were all mounted, and the best horsemen in Americans victorious. the world. The great body of the American troops were ]^^"-\^°fi~ sailors, little skilled in land operations ; and they had two commanders. In two instances, at least, in the course of the battle, what was done by Gen. Kearny's com- mand, was undone by Com. Stockton's.* Yet officers and men bore gallantly on, and won the field. But the enemy were still in force, and while the Americans, now within three miles of Los Angeles, were ^^MesI*''* marching across the Mesa, a plain between the rivers k. o;'w. 5. San Gabriel and San Fernando, Flores appeared before them, opened his artillery, and deployed in crescent, his line of battle. After some fighting, and a small loss on both sides, the foe drew off. This was the force which (t Except capitulated to Fremont at Cowenga.f Flores, who escaped to Mexico.) * One was the forming of a square, and the other, the unlim- bering of the guns, as they were about to cross the San Gabriel. (See Fremont's trial.) 210 COL. Russell's mission. 1846. The commanders judiciously forbore to enter the city at evening, lest during the night, excesses should be Jan. 10. committed. The next morning they entered Los Ange- Stockton and Kearny enter jes vvithout material injury : but with unpleasant expres- Angeles. sions of dislike from the inhabitants. Immediately after the capitulation of Cowenga, Col. Fremont, who had now learned that Gen. Kearny was at Los Angeles, although he knew not in what capacity he had come, sent forward Col. Russell with directions carefully to inquire whether he or Stockton was in chief s^n"'' ?" Fre- command, and to make his report of military operations Tho is°iov-" accordingly. He bore a letter from Fremont to Gen. Kearny, in answer to his affectionate notes. Col. Rus- sell, personally acquainted with the General, called first on him, and asked him whether he or Stockton was in chief command. Gen. Kearny informed him, that it was the Commodore who was in exercise of that func- tion ; but he claimed that, by his orders, the right to exer- cise it belonged to him. em or. CHAPTER XI. Col. Fremont made Governor, by Com. Stockton. — Gen. Kearny's successful measures to obtain the ascendency. Col. Fremont the next day after the capitulation of 1846. Cowenga marched at the head of his battalion ; and j^^ ^^ when within five miles of Los Angeles, met his mes- (t The plain of Cowenga is senger Col. Russell ; from whom he learned for the first 12 miies from ■ .Angeles.) time, that Gen. Kearny had been sent from Washington to conquer and to establish a government in California. He had previously been informed — while at the camp of the Willows, near San Barbara, by Capt. Hamlyn, a special messenger sent to him by sea from Stockton, Fremont had while he with Kearny were lying at San Luis Rey, on of Keamy's entrance into their way to Angeles — that Kearny had, after a defeat California. at San Pasqual, been assisted to reach San Diego, by the naval forces sent by Stockton to his rescue. That coming thus, Stockton and himself, who had conquered California, were at once to defer to Kearny, he probably, 1/11/" 11 • ^'^ choice in the flush or success, thought too unreasonable to merit between Stockton and much attention. Gen. Kearny, the elegant officer, and, J[,fgflyj."°f when not moved by anger, the prepossessing man, he ''^'^""ng. 212 NEARLY BALANCED. ^^'*'^"» appears to have regarded with personal cordiality, as a former acquaintnnce, and as the friend of those he loved. But every thing had been laid in a train between himself and Com. Stockton ; the latter to go to Mexico, and he to be l-eft Governor-in-chief of California. The 25th of October had been the day appointed ; and the con- summation was only prevented by the insurrection which both had been engaged in quelling. And not only this, ^^ouaf lid''' ^^^ ^^^^^ whole plan had been transmitted to Washing- ton, in the mail sent by Carson, and by Gen. Kearny transferred to Mr. Fitzpatrick ; so that it was without doubt there believed, that he was at the moment actually filling the post of Governor of California. From Col. Russell he further learned, that although the General and Stockton and the Commodore had met as friends, they were now each Kearny eS°othw chafed in mind, — each feeling that the other claimed what belonged to him. In this juncture Fremont, at the head Fremont kn important of 400 efficient troops, was an important man. Which- raan to each. ever side he joined, would be the superior in militaiy strength. Gen. Kearny, in case Fremont acknowledged his authority, would have the whole land force at his command ; but if he united with Stockton, then Kearny's position would, for the time, be mortifying to his pride ; and calculated to awaken his anger. Both he and Stockton, Russell said, offered Fremont the governorship ; though the offer from Kearny was not to take immediate etfect.- Col. Russell thought, that Kearny was the belter friend of the two, to Fremont. Stockton had at first dis- COGITATIONS. 213 approved the capitulation of Cowenga. Kearny had put l^^-f^* words into his mouth, wherewith to defend it. But Stockton was, as matter of fact, in chief command. This Kearny acknowledged ; and allowed that he had served under him in the march from San Diego ; but he showed orders from the government, by which he judged himself entitled to the chief command ; and a military tribunal has since decided that he was right. Fremont, ^ '-' Fremont re- however, regarded those orders as obsolete — intended n^'^s'^ordit^as for a state of things no longer existing. He regarded Kearny's orders to govern as predicated upon a previous conquest, which himself, rather than Kearny, had made. He thought that his country owed it to his prompt and independent action, that California had not been lost to her, by the scheme of British protection. The fact that to him the American Executive had sent by sea and shore, a special messenger five thousand miles,* doubt- * To continue, not to commence secret confidential inter- course and instructions. The message was verbal, not writ- ten. Capt. Gillespie was a worthy officer of marines, but not a Mettemich, to explain, for the first time, a course of policy and the reasons for it. Fremont in his defence, uses this expression: " Knowing well the views of the Cabinet, and satisfied that it was a great national measure to unite California to us as a sister state, by a voluntary expression of the popular will." We cannot but think he was willing, that the crisis should have been met, at the Hawks' Peak. Lieut. Revere, in his " Tour of Duty," an interesting book just issued from the press, speaks thus of the reasons for Fremont's not accepting the offered services of Californian Americans while at 214 HONESTY- MAY MISTAKE. 184T. less had its weight; and if he had successfully ex- ecuted these confidential orders, without betraying the administration to the blame of their opponents, then this might naturally make him presume, that his course, if sanctioned by his own sense of duty, would be sus- tained by the government. But the Executive could not afford to ofTend the whole army ; and discipline is the right arm of its efficiency, and the sensitive nerve of Jan. 14. Fremonten- evei'v officcr. — Frcmout went forward to Angeles ; and ters Angeles. •' o ^ was met both by Stockton and Kearny with cordiality. This was soon, in the latter, to be changed to stern un- yielding resentment ; for Gen. Kearny soon found, that it Jan. 16. was to Stockton, not to himself, that Fremont would ad- Slockton commissions here. Fremont as > governor. rpj^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^. ^j^^j^. arrival at Los Ange- les, Com. Stockton, then residing at the house of the governors of California, sent to Fremont and Russell, who came a little past noon, and received from him commissions, to act as governor and secretary of the province. At the dusk of the evening, Capt. Emory, the ac- Capt. Emory _, , brings Fre- complishcd adjutant of Gen. Kearny, came to Fremont s mont Gen. r J J' wrUten"oCer quarters, bearing a copy of the orders of the Secretary that mountain camp. " Knowing, I imagine, that his own party was quite sufficient to compete with any force that Castro could bring against him, fearing perhaps to compromise his countrymen, in person and property, had Castro by any unexpected circumstance proved successful." Mr. Laritin is rich. Bryant says he will proba- bly be the first American millionaire of California. AN ACT WITH CONSEQUENCES. 215 of War, giving to the General, the chief command in is-lt. California ; — and a written order, directing Fremont to make no changes in the Californian battalion without Gen. Kearny's sanction. The next morning the General sent him a line of request to come to him on business. Fremont was making his written answer, but he hastened at the sum. mons, leaving his acting secretary, Lieut. Talbot, to copy the letter, and send it after him by Carson, to Gen. Kearny's quarters. Carson soon brought it in, and Fremont signed and Jan. 17. handed it to the General. It was the avowal of his de- Fremont le- fuses to obey termination, with his reasons, not, at that time, to change ^q^^J'' his military position. " Until you adjust between your- selves," he wrote, " the question of rank, I shall have to report and receive orders, as heretofore, from the Com- modore." Gen. Kearny, on reading the letter, requested Fre- mont to take it back, and destroy it ; and with kindness remonstrated against his course. Fremont persisted ; and the same kindness, he never met again. From that time, Kearny determined to arrest, and bring him to pun- ishment. The next morning, the embittered General took his jan. i8to23. Kearny way from Angeles, with his small and diminished escort marches from JO' , Angeles to of now unmounted dragoons. He retraced his march to ^^" ^"'°°- San Diego, to meet the expected Mormon battalion under j^^^ 20 Col. Cooke. That officer had already reached San Diego, "arrives". leaving the Mormons in the vicinity. Subsequently they 216 GOVERNOR FREMONT. ^^*'^- were removed to the mission of San Luis Rey, 100 miles from Angeles. — Lieut. Emory was on the 25th sent to Washington with dispatches. Kearny had now a land srockton ^'^^'^^ ^^ l^is command. He next went by sea to com- '^^^1'es. °°^ mune with the naval authorities at Monterey, leaving He goes to sea. Cooke in command of all the troops in that vicinity. Com. Stockton meantime left Los Angeles two days Kearny sails after Kcamy's departure. At San Pedro, he embarked from San Diego for his marines, and sailed, as he had predetermined, to make conquests on the coast of Mexico. Fremont now occupied the gubernatorial mansion in Los Angeles, vacated for him by Com. Stockton. He appears to have administered the government with mild- ness, discretion, and dignity. His state papers are Tew, Jan. ami Feb. but such as no American need be ashamed of — in his Fremont as governor, own, or a foreign country. He mingled, as one among Lives respect- o j & J Jn love/wi'thout ^he people, having the intimate friendship of influential guard7 Californians. He sent his battalion for quarters to the deserted mission of San Gabriel, nine miles from Angeles, and kept with him, and in his family, but Col. Russell, the secretary, Capt. Owens, and another ofiicer of the Californian battalion. But these fair and pleasant days were, to Gov. Fremont, soon to be succeeded, by months of darkness. Feb, 8. ^^"- Kearny, on arriving at Monterey, found Com. V-acbes"'^ Shubrick, who had arrived in the Independence on the Monterey. 27th of January. Shubrick had orders, originally di- rected to Com. Sloat, but now transferred to him, by which the government of the country seemed vested in GOVERNOR KEARNY. 217 the commanding naval officer ; and although as he wrote ^Q'*'^* in answer to a letter from Fremont (stating his course pg,, 17 Fremont and his reasons) he was mstructed by the government writes 10 shu- brick. that Kearny was governor, yet he intimated that he "^1''" ,commo- should not interfere to break up present arrangements, until further orders from Washington, A few days after receiving this letter, Fremont was astounded by public proclamations issued from Monterey. The first of these was signed by Com. Shubrick and joint^pfocia- . . mation of Gen. Kearny, jointly ; and declared, that the President simbrick and Kearny. of the United States had assigned to the naval com- mander the regulation of the import trade, and all the conditions by which vessels were to enter and leave the harbors ; and to the commanding military officer, the di- rection of the operations on land, and the administrative functions of the government. The second proclamation cen. Kear- ny's procla- — both of the same date, March 1, — was signed alone mation, and " annexation. by Gen. Kearny. It set forth, that he, (the under- signed,) having been instructed to take charge of the civil government of California, he entered upon its duties, with every good desire and intention to pz'omote the wel- fare of the people. He guaranteed freedom of con- science and protection of life and property. " It is," he said, " the wish and design of the United States to pro- vide for California, with the least possible delay, a free government, similar to those in her other territories, and the people will soon be called upon to exercise their rights as freemen, in electing their own representatives." But in the meantime, the Mexican laws, when not conflicting 10 218 A DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT. 184T. with those of the United States, would be continued, and those persons who held office, continue ; " provided (tThe ca- tlicy swear-\ to support that constitution, and faithfully per- pitulation of Coweiigahad fQj.,^ their dutv- — The undersigned hereby absolves all provided tliat -' o •' oaulfshouM the inhahitants of California from any further allegiance tLiithe\"ow to the RepuUic of Mexico, and will consider them as citi- ot'the war.) zens of the United States." Entire annexation was de- clared. The Americans and Californians were now but one people. All difficulties were at an end. " The star- spangled banner floats over California, and as long as ^ the sun continues to shine, so long will it float there." Fremont By this pubHc proclamation, unknown and unex- Keatny's pro- pected to Frcmont, until the blow was struck, that young clamalionina rT(Uwrae"nt ^^^ high-spintcd officer was held up to the people, after having been their leader and their hero, in a light the most intensely mortifying. And had he no power to sting back again ? Holding the governorship at the old metropolis where the people were Mexican in feeling — having the friendship of the Pico family, the most powerful and influential among them— having the com- mand of 400 men of the Californian battalion, a portion of which were his original party, and another part, those who had made liim their independent leader, and who were as hostages from the valley of the Sac- ramento — he might, had he chosen to pursue the dic- tates of natural pride and resentment, have at least man[Iw?true made a civil war, whicli would have wet the soil of lii'ruiMii indc- , , , , i i ill lerniiningio California with kindred blood, and perhaps eventually submit. lost that country to the United States. But Fremont FRESH INJUNCTIONS. 219 resolved rather to submit to personal humiliation ; nor 18^'^' had he intended to resist the orders of the government. The change in the course of Com. Shubrick was brought about by orders, dated Nov. 5, 1847, received from Washington, and brought out by Col. Mason, who had been appointed to relieve Gen. Kearny — he having permission to return to the United States. Di- rections were also given, to allow Lieut. Col. Fremont, if he wished — to join his regiment, or pursue his explo- rations. Capt. Turner, sent from Gen. Kearny to Los Angeles, .March ii. ^ ./ o ' He receives arrived on the 11th of March, bearing orders to Fre- ord^rbyCapt. mont, dated March 1. He brought him also late or- ders of the government, by which he was convinced, for the first time, that Kearny, not himself, would be sustained at Washington. Gen. Kearny also advised Fremont that he had intrusted Col. St. George Cooke S^'i ^o"*"^ o made by uen. with the supervision of the southern military district ; ^ta^yoom- '' mandnnt. for the protection and defence of which, his Mormon bat- talion would be placed wherever he should deem most eligible. To Fremont, an order was given, as com- mander of the Californian battalion, to muster the men, if not already done, with a view to their regular pay- ment and according to acts of Congress, into the regular The Mormons approach Los service of the United States ; (to remain doubtless with Angeles. the Mormons, under the command of Col. Cooke,) while if there were any, who were unwilling thus to remain, Fremont was ordered to conduct them to San Francisco, via Monterey, to be there discharged. 220 A TRAVELLER S RECEPTION. 18-lT. It was at first Fremont's intention to obey these orders, and thus he told Capt. Turner. But difiiculties arose. The entire battalion, officers and men, refused to be mustered. Fremont regarded himself as responsi- ble that they should be righted, as to payment for past services ; and he had, in the course of his public acts, become personally responsible in large amounts. He further thought, that the American interest required that „ , „, . the Californian battalion should not be disbanded. Leav- March 21 to Frenwnt rides i^g ordcrs to the officcrs, that tlie ordnance and stores horseback 400 miles in 3 d. should remain as they were until his return, he took with 10 h. •' him, his friend, Don Jesus Pico, and one servant ; and on horseback, they rode four hundred miles in three days and ten hours, and arrived on the 25th of February at Monterey. The particular object of Fremont was to discuss with Gen. Kearny the pecuniary liabilities in- curred by himself individually, and as governor; and to devise some means by which they should be so met as to save his honor and that of his country.* He went to the house of the kind Mr. Larkin, and from thence sent a note to Gen. Kearny, desiring to see him on business ; and an hour that evening was ap- pointed. Mr. Larkin accompanied him, but soon with- drew. Col. Mason was present, and when Fremont A cold recep- su"c:ested that he wished to be alone with Gen. Kearny, he was told by him that he had nothing to hear or to * These pecuniary claims were not provided for, until by a law of Congress, passed in the winter of 1848. UNQUIET TIMES. 221 communicate, to which Col. Mason, who was to succeed 1^'*'^' him, should not be a party. Thus repelled, Fremont wholly failed in the object of his journey. But when the question was peremptorily put, whether he would obey Kearny, he answered in the affirmative. He then re- ceived an order to send those of the battalion who re- fused to take service, by water to Monterey ; and him- self speedily to repair to that place by land.f Fremont niililnVeT and his little party then remounted, and rode back in the Fremont on his telling him same rapid manner as they came, makinsj their whole ^''=^' ^^'^'""^1 ^ J ' o ages disagreed absence from Angeles but eight days. health^ New vexations awaited Fremont. Col. Cooke had arrived in his absence, and requiring, by virtue of his appointment, that the ordnance of the battalion at the mis- sion of San Gabriel, should be turned over to him, the offi- cers, acting under the directions of Fremont, had refused. Shortly after. Col. Mason came with orders from Kearny, j^^^^^ ^3 dated three days after the interview at Monterey, by ^lason's 0*1- which, he was to be received as governor, and obeyed by Fremont ; who was directed to appear in Monterey within tvi^elve days after he should have embarked the volunteers. The country in the meantime became convulsed. Parties of armed men were passing to and fro, and every ^j^^ ^.^.^.^ thing wore the appearance of a fresh outbreak. Kear- appear"°to%e . , on the eve of ny s proclamation and annexation of California, had au outbreaic. grated harshly upon the ears of those who loved their country, the Mexican Republic — and whose first wish it was, to return to her bosom ; and not be held under 222 THE MORMONS DREADED. 1®*'''* the dominion of those, who in lans;uarre, religion, and manners, were foreigners to them. Tlie proclama- tion, abrogating the conditions of the capitulation of Cowenga, set them free from all honorary engagements. They were hori'or-stricken by the fear of being sub- jected to the Mormons ; and of having, as they under- The approach stood was to be the case, their whole society to come of the Mor- mons agitates and settle among them — having heard of them, as a sect, the people. ° ~ ' ' blackened with foul and bloody crimes. " The Ameri- can people make war upon them," said they, " and why should not we ?" and to encourage them, rumor was rife with the report, that Gen. Bustamente was shortly to appear in California with a large Mexican force. In this disturbed state of the country, travelling be- came unsafe. Murders were committed, and the two officers whom Fremont had retained as travelling com- panions, after sending by sea the battalion to Monterey, remonstrated against attempting the journey. Fremont had prepared horses at San Gabriel to mount his original party, and proceed to Mexico, to join liis regiment, or May 9. Otherwise to pursue his explorations. Gen. Kearny arrives at The mouth of April thus passed, and Fremont not Angeles. ' coming to Monterey, according to his orders, Gen. Kearny, early in May, appeared in person at Angeles. Having predetermined to arrest Fremont and bring him to trial for disobedience, he how refused to permit him to join his regiment ; and the horses which he had prepared, were afterwards sold, some for three dollars apiece, as public property. THE NEW-YORK REGIMENT. 223 An important accessfon to the land force — which ^^^"^^ doubtless, by putting the Californians in fear, served to . . Mar. and Ap. quiet the country — was now accrunig, in the aiTival or coi. steven- ^ '' " son's reg't the New-York regiment of volunteers, under Col. Ste- '"'^r^l^^l';'' venson. They had been enlisted as those, who had no "objection to settle in California, provided they found an agreeable country. They came, different companies in different vessels, by Cape Horn ; and arrived succes- sively at San Francisco, in the months of March and (Coi. Steven- son himself April. Thev brought mill-irons and various articles arrived Mar. ^ •' ° 5, 1847.J useful to settlers, as well as munitions of war. They were separated to different commands, and stationed at San Francisco, Sonoma, Monterey, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles.* Fremont^ Towards the last of May, Gen. Kearny and Col. Fre- struments ta- ken out of his mont being then at Monterey, the latter was required to hand.. * A letter from Col. Stevenson, of Oct. 23, 1848, just pub- lished in the Albany Argus, gives a deplorable picture of Cali- fornia, at that date. He says it is without law^, either civil or military ; that there is not in Monterey, from whence he writes, either governor, or alcalde, or any military officer, except Capt. Burton, commanding the port, and some twenty soldiers. All the recruits sent out have deserted ; and he believes, that in a short time, there will be no military force, except officers ; and they have strong inducements to desert — if not to dig for gold, at least to find some place, where a common round jacket will not cost fifty dollars, and indifferent board, four dollars a day. " In short," the letter concludes, " there is neither law, order, nor any kind of government in the country." 224 Fremont's trial. ^^^'^' transmit to another's care, his exploring instruments. Com. Biddle, having arrived in the Columbus, was now in tile chief naval command. In his presence, Frc- mont, with his reduced corps of about nineteen, was paraded, with circumstances, as he felt, of indignity. Gen. Kearny had been preparing to return to the United States, by way of the South Pass. He still re- jected every proposition of Fremont, to be permitted to Fremont travel by himself, thou2;h at his own expense : direct- obli','eu to ac- '- ^ -^ KoarnyiioL. "^g ^"'^ ^0 accompany his route. At night he Avould Kept close to, 'ii-ji 1- the Mormons, ^ot permit him to choose his own encampment, but obliged him to encamp in the rear of a guard of Mor- mons. Thus was marched from the foot of the Sierra Nevada, to Fort Leavenworth on the Missouri, the man whose discoveries had opened to view the geography of August 22 ^^^^ "^^^ country — and whose fearless action, had perhaps re'ted°"tri^d prcscrved it to the American Republic. At Fort Leaven- Nov. 3. worth, August 22, he was arrested ; and at Fort Monroe, November 3, ho appeared before a highly respectable 1«18, court-martial, charged with mutiny, disobedience, and Jan. :n. disorderly conduct. After a long trial, the court pro- Found 1,'iiilty, o 7 r dcmned""to "ounced him guilty, and sentenced him to the loss of lose liis com- r- •• 1,^,1 •• n 1 • • i mission, his commissiou ; but the majority of his judges, m con- sequence of his professional services, and the peculiarity of his position, arising from the disagreement of his two superiors, recommended him to the clemency of the President. TiKM-'resident "^^ these pctitious, Mr. Polk replied, that he was not \< r oDs im. g^jjgjfjgj^ jjjj^j jjjg fj^Yst charge had been proved against CLEMENCY REJECTED. 225 the accused ; but he was of opinion that the second and 1841. third were sustained by proof, and that the conviction on these charges warranted the sentence of the court. The President therefore approved the decision, but on account of the peculiarities of the case, and of his previous meritorious and valuable services, the penalty was re- mitted ; he discharged from arrest, and directed to report for duty. Fremont, in his defence, had manifested an embit- ' Fel). 19. tared feeling against the administration ; chiefly that the a^cepfor^il^ charges against him had been sustained, and the prose- cution ordered. He now refused to accept of clemency, on the ground, that this would be admitting the justice of the sentence. His connection with the army was there- " fore at an end. There is no passage in American history which, in Thefore^o- .,, ., ,. rni 1 ing a singular some respects, compares with the preceding. 1 he three passageof Am. histoiy. principal actors were high in station ; and each possessing peculiar characters, and peculiar claims to our admi- ration. They were thrown together, under circum- stances to operate powerfully on human passions ; and the wonder is, that no more tragic consequences ensued. Gen. Kearny doubtless felt, that the dignity and discipline of the army was outraged in his person. His fellow The military " -^ will sympa- officers sympathized in his feelings, and will honor him K"arny,"tho for the efficiency of the measures by which he established mimi with Fremont. his authority, and brought to trial the second in the ,, offence, since he could not reach the principal. But the common mind will sympathize with Fremont ; and his 226 SYMPATHY. 1841. services will be the better remembered, and the more ' m highly appreciated, because they were followed, with humiliation.* * On one occasion Fremont was, it seems, threatened with (t Not by being put in irons.t If, instead of challenging for this threat, he but by Vo"v.' could have actually received irons upon his limbs, and worn Mason, for al- , , , , leged inso- them home, escorted by a Mormon guard — then there would IcDCC ) have been a cry of a second Columbus, brought in chains from a new world, which he had discovered and secured, for his country ; and (he meantime guilty of no vice or folly) it might, in coming years, have made him President of the Union. Such is the spirit of the times, and of the people. It is well to take note of it ; for thus, patience may be taught to the vexed, and forbearance to the angry. CHAPTER XII. 1846. Col. Mason, whom Gen. Kearny left as governor of California, appears, from the result of his admin- istration, to have managed its affairs with great discre- tion. After the incidents, which we have detailed, had passed by, the public mind was, in 1848, occupied with Scott's invasion, and capture of Mexico ; and with the consequent treaty of peace with that Republic. Peb. In the month of February, 1848, while the treaty Discovery of the gold pla- was yet pending, a private discovery of gold was made ''^'■^■ on the grounds of Capt. Suter. Mr. Marshall, his agent, was sent by him twenty-five miles up the South Fork of the American, to build a saw-mill. He obsex'ved gold existing in scales, washed down with dirt, in the mill- race. The discovery became known. The precious metal was found in other localities. The Mormons — other American settlers — and all of every race and na- tion, who heard and could labor, hastened to dig for it, in the upper " placers," or to wash it, from the sands of the river-beds. Rumors of Californian gold reached the Atlantic shores. These were converted to certainty by the message of President Polk to Congress, at the message. ^ 228 GOLDEN REALITIES. ^^•*^' opening of the session, December, 1848. Among the documents accompanying the message, was a letter from the governor of California, to the American Execu- tive, from which we draw these i-emarkable facts. Gov. Mason went in person to the gold '' diggings " and " washings," called placers. They are also called mines ; but since no gold seemed yet to have been found in its original position, this term is not properly applied. On the 4th of July — while, at Washington, the Presi- Gov. Mason ^^^^ '^^^^ proclaiming peace under the new treaty, by ^'"region^" which California passed from Mexico to the American Republic — the governor of the province was at Suter's Fort on his way to the gold region. As he passed along he found houses deserted, and fields of wheat going to ruin ; their owners having left them to dig for gold. Such had been the quantities already found, that labor, and all the comforts and necessaries of life bore an enor- mous price. Capt. Suter paid his wagon-maker and blacksmith ten dollars per day ; and received 500 dollars per month for the rent of a two-story house within his fort. Gov. Mason next followed the South Fork of the American, to the mill where the discovery was first made, and where two hundred persons were employed in gathering gold. He then pursued the course of the stream further into the mountains, where other parties were similarly engaged. He next crossed over to Weber's Creek, an alHuent of the South Fork. Through EXTENSIVE MOVEMENT. 229 all the way, gold was found by the hundreds who were ^^^Q* seeking it; especially in the beds of the streams, and in goM found in , . , , , • . 1 abundance. the dry ravines, where water-courses had once existed. In a little gutter two men had found- 17,000 dollars worth. Two ounces were an ordinary yield for a day's work. Other public functionaries of California, and private individuals, have given similar, or still more glowing ac- counts. The mint at Philadelphia assayed some of the specimens, and found them rich. The region over which ^^j^g^'^^''"® this mineral wealth exists, is said to pass over some hundreds of miles. California has therefore become the central point of attraction, both to our own citizens, and to those of other nations. Between the 7th of December, 1848, and the 20th of January, 1849, ninety-nine vessels are said to have left the ports of the United States for California. Of these, eighty went by the way of Cape Horn, fourteen by Chagres and Panama, and the remainder stopped at more northern ports ; the emigrants to pass through Mexico and Texas. Fifty-two of the vessels sailed from New- York, and twenty-nine from the ports of New England. From the newspapers of the day we learn that a number of vessels are now ready to sail. A great many emigrants from the older states, will go the land . (t It is esti- routet — taking families, provisions, tools, and furniture, mated that ' ° ^ ' 10,000 will in large wagons, drawn by oxen. Most of these will ^"'^J" J^l^' go by the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains — the Mormon settlement at the south end of the Salt Lake 230 SACRED RESPONSIBILITIES. 1849. by Humboldt's River, and thence through the Bear ^ro^es!" P^ss of the Sierra Nevada. For this journey, ninety days are calculated. Other emigrants will take the southern route by Santa Fe, the Rio del Norte, and the Gila, around the southern extremity of the Sierra Nevada. It is supposed that the emigrants from the western states, will exceed in number those from the eastern. Whether this is true or not, it is certain that many of our ablest and most enterprising citizens are now on the wing, of whom numbers are intending to settle in that salubrious clime. God grant that nobler views The founders ^^^"^ ^^^^ ™^^^ ^°^'^ 0^ gold, accompany them thither. " ^^''^' May they feel, with a deep sense of responsibility, that they are going to lay the foundations of a new and an important state. Let them look back for an ex- ample to their forefathers. Like them, may they be temperate, virtuous, and public-spirited. They will find that trials await them, which will call forth all their fortitude. Let their faces be sternly set against anarchy, the scourge> and too often the destroyer of free govern- ments. To this end, let them uphold law, found schools, observe the sabbath, and maintain pure Christianity. LAST LEAVES OF AME RICAN HISTORY. • PART III. CHAPTER I. Oregon — Jlinnesota — Taylor's Inauguration — Close of the 30th Congress — California — Unexampled Wealth and Increase — Establishment of Civil Goyernment — Exemplary Political De- meanor — Difficulty with Texas. 184:T. Orkgon. — In the valley of the Wallah-wallah, the •^ ' Nov. 2. worthy Presbyterian missionary, Dr. Whitman, with his M"^'|«v''°f, wife and twelve others, were barbarously murdered by ^'^^ i^niuiy. the Cayuse Indians. The people petitioned Congress for protection and a territorial government. The north- ern members desired that slavery should be prohibited ; the southern, that it should be recognized. The day before the session closed, the territorial bill was passed, ^u^ust 13 with a clause forbidding slavery ; this having been con- ^'^fuory.^''^ sented to by some southern members, and sanctioned by the president, on the ground that Oregon lies wholly north of latitude 36° 30' ; that being the line of the Missouri compromise. 232 A NEW DEPARTMENT. 1849. Minnesota, adjacent to the head waters of the Mis- Mnich 3. sissippi, was erected into a territory on the 3d of March, Minnesota a -i q < q territory. 1049. At the election in 1848, Gen. Zachary Taylor, the hero of the Rio Grande, was chosen president ; and Millard Fillmore of New York, vice-president. Their inausurMtou inauguration occurred on the 4th of March, 1849, when, an^dFifimore. by the constitution, the 30th Congress was dissolved. The increase of labor devolving on the executive de- partments, particularly that of state, in consequence of the growth of the nation, caused Congress to authorize New depart- ^ separate bureau, called " The Department of the Inte- ^^^^' rior.^' One of the duties assigned to this department was the taking of the census.* Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, was appointed by the president its first secretary, and John M. Clayton, of Delaware, was made secretary of state. 1848 With such exactness were the different parties bal- J''° anced, in regard to the slavery question, that in the Congress of 1848-9, all that could be obtained for Cali- fornia was a law, by which her revenue was to be col- lected and placed in the coflers of the republic. Hap- pily, the exemplary political conduct of California, un- der these trying circumstances, relieved the anxious forebodings of American patriots, that she might take * December 28, 1852. — When, in 1850, an attempt was made to take the census of Cahfornia, its unsettled state was such as to render it impossible. On an estimate, made upon the best data to be found, the census bureau judged the population to be 200,000. Lately it has been said that this estimate was too high, and that the population does not exceed 160,000. It is since much in- creased ; some say doubled. CRITICAL CONDITION OF CALIFORNIA. 233 Oregon for an ally, and then set up for herself. To ^^^ ^' prevent any such disaster, Gen. Taylor gave the Cali- ^^i'^'^,_ fornians the timely assurance, that " whatever can be 'Clayton's let- .' ' ter to J . B. done to afford the people of the Territories the benefits ^.!^"l.;"t','° of civil government, and the protection that is due them, ^theT'risi-^^ will be anxiously considered and attempted by the execu- tive.". He suggested to them the expediency of forming a state government for themselves, thereafter to be sub- mitted to Congress. These counsels tended to keep the leading politicians of California true to the Union. Indeed, they loved their native land, and confided in her ultimate justice. But while waiting for future protection, the exciting present was upon them. There, were the gathered and gathering thousands, attracted from every land by the sovereign power of gold ; and government, in addition to that exercised by Gen. Mason, the military command- 1848. , • . r 1 • ■ (Aug. 7. ant, the citizens lound it necessary to exercise among Mason now a lirevet brig- themselves. At first it was informal ; and he who was adier-gen- eral.) found guilty of high crimes, was put to death, with little ceremony or delay. Gen. Riley, the hero of Conireras, April fs! who succeeded Gen. Mason as military governor, issued ceedl'^M'i^o'n. his proclamation August 1st, 1849, establishing a species Aug. i. of judiciary, at the head of which was placed Peter H. diciary estai>- lished. Burnet. Subsequently, he issued another proclamation, inviting the citizens to choose delegates to form a consti- tution for a state government. Delegates were conse- sept. i. At iVlonterey, quently chosen ; v/ho met at Monterey, September 1st, delegates meet to form 1849, and there formed a constitution, which was ac- a state gov- ernment. cepted by the people. Slavery had, in the mean time, been decided against, by a special convention holden at 234 A STATE SELF-FORMED. 1819. San Francisco, and it was accordingly excluded by the constitution. Dec. 20. xhe first legislature convened at San Jose, December At S:in Jose, ° (ir.t ic-isia- 20th, 1849. Peter II. Burnet, who was elected chief lure meet, ' ' magistrate, addressed to the senate and assembly a mes- nei°tioquent sagc of extraordinary interest. " How rapid," he ex- claims — " how astonishing have been the changes in California ! Twenty months ago, inhabited by a sparse population — a pastoral people, deriving a mere subsist- ence from their flocks and herds, and a scanty cultivation of the soil ; — now, — the inexhaustible gold mines dis- covered, — our ports are filled with shipping from every clime ; our beautiful bays and placid rivers are navigated An example by steam ; and commercial cities have sprung up as if for older , i i states, by enchantment. . . . jNow we are here assembled for the sublime task of organizing a new state. But should our constitution confiict with the constitution of our common country, that must prevail. That great in- strument, which now governs more than twenty millions of people, and links in one common destiny thirty states, demands our purest aflections, and our first and highest duty. . . . We Avould leave our people to sufiier on, rather than violate one single principle of that great fun- damental law of the land." Gov. Burnet believed, how- ever, that there would be no such violation, and the mem- bers accordingly proceeded to legislative action. He had the wisdom and the courage to recommend direct taxation, rather than indebtedness. The choice of senators to Congress fell upon John C. Fremont and William M. Gwin. The constitution of California, and her petition for admittance into the Union, INTERFERENCE. 235 were carried by them to Washington, and by the presi- 1850. dent transmitted to Congress, with a commendatory mes- Feb. 13. President sasre. The clause prohibiting slavery was, in Congress, Taylor sends "= ' ° -^ ° to Congress as a torch applied to explosives ; some southern members t>'e constitu- i * '^ tion of C aii- declaring that its adoption by Congress would be the '^°"''"- cause of the immediate secession from the Union by the slaveholding states. Other subjects of appalling difficulty pressed upon Congress ;-=— all, however, implicated in the one absorbing topic of slavery. Texas claimed that her territory ex- tended to the Rio Grande ; but the New Mexicans in and around Santa Fe, east of that river, had never sub- mitted, and were utterly averse to her rule. In January, jan. 11 ^^ • ^■ IT J Texas makes 1849, her legislature passed laws, dividmg the disputed laws to assert her powei region into counties. To organize in these counties a over New ° ° Jlexioo. Texan government. Gov. Bell, the executive, sent an agent. Major Neighbours, to Santa Fe, who warned Col. 1850. Monroe, the United States military commandant, against Major Neigh- ' ./ / o boiirs at fcan- all " interference." Colonel Monroe, finding the New *!;^f-y|^^^^,f Mexicans enraged, and being instructed from Washing- ton, called a convention, which framed a state constitu- tion ; and, while Texas was making preparations to seize this territory by force, the petition of New Mexico to be admitted into the union was introduced into Congress. President Taylor, aware of the high-handed movements on the part of Texas, had prepared a military force to send thither.* The south maintained the claim of Texas, * The coui'se of the Texans was, as some suppose, a ncse to bring Congress to give them money for the relinquishment of their daim. But the well-grounded fear was, that the disunionists of the south would unite with Texas, and thus begin a civil war in earnest. and United States gov- ernments in- terfere. t. e. 236 THE MORMONS AT SALT LAKE. 1850. since, if it prevailed, the disputed territory would go to Jan. iG. increase the area of slavery ; and, for the same reason, Senator Foote iiitroauces a the noith opposed it. bill for the ^^ government While Ncw Mcxico was petitioning Congress for a Utah, government, another remarkable people were at their doors with the same request. These were the enter- prising Mormons, who had found a resting-place on the borders of the Salt Lake, — where, collecting their scat- tered bands, and sending out their leaders to return with proselytes, they had now a flourishing settlement, num- bering some thousands. Another exciting subject was a bill introduced by Sen- ator Butler, of South Carolina, for a new law, to enable the masters of fugitive slaves to recover them from other states. Gen. Taylor, we are informed, previous to his deatb, ordered 800 men to proceed to Santa F6, to defend the Now Mexicans from the Texans. The New Mexican judge, Hnghson, had told Major Neighbours that he -would imprison any one who attem.pted, in Santa Fe, to execute certain laws of Texas. lu a speech made at Albany, May 30, 1851, Mr. Webster said that this was the most im- mediately dangerous of any part of the slavery agitation. The ultra disuuionists of the south had a desire that the nortli should begin to shed the blood of the south, believing this would unite the south in unappeasable hostihty, aud tlius secure the 'dissolution of the Union. CHAPTER II. Meeting of southern delegates Critical position of the country —XXXI. Congress — Congressional eloquence — Speeches of Messrs. Dickinson, Phelps, Clay, and Webstee. The first session of the Thirty-first Congress was the 1849- longest, the most stormy, and the most important in its . results, of any since the organization of the government ; g^J^s ea°ch 1 J 'wo years. and in it, by the strife and power of words, were settled There have ■' been -31 Irom more important issues, than those of any battle-field since the adoption ^ of the federal the Revolution. constitution.) The southern delegation in Congress from the fifteen isiS. Dee. 22. slaveholding states met, on the 22d of December, in the Meeting of the southern Senate-chamber, to concert measures for the preservation delegates. of their common rights ; which they regarded as men- aced by the Wilmot proviso, a resolution which had passed the House of Representatives declaring against extending the area of slavery, and also by a proposition introduced into the House, by Mr. Giddings, of Ohio, to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia. In an ad- Mr.caihonn's address to the dress prepared for the occasion by Mr. Calhoun, he southern dele- gation. stated to the meeting his view of the grievances of the south, and the aggressions of the north, — complaining of the action of states as well as that of individuals, espe- cially in regard to fugitive slaves ; and lie maintained that these aggressions, if suffered to remain unchecked, 238 THREATENED DANGER. 184:9. would soon end in informal emancipation ; or otherwise, the same object would, if the north acquired the power, be attained by an amendment of the constitution. He finally exhorted the southern members to union among themselves — perhaps the north might pause — otherwise the south should be prepared to defend her rights, with- out looking to the consequences. Mr. Calhoun and his friends were disappointed, that this anti-national address was not at once and unani- Ad'^oiuncd Hiously adopted. The meeting was adjourned to the 22d M"Berrfe'n's of January, when Mr. Berrien, a senator from Georgia, ^ceiretl? offered, as a substitute, an address, which, while it was Calhoun's 31. southcm, was yet national in its tone. Although Mr. Calhoun's was adopted by a majority, yet the failure of absolute unanimity was grievous to those, who had wrought themselves into a determination to push on their project of disunion to its final consummation. The hostile feeling between the north and the south was now at its culminating point, and Washington the focus of its baleful rays. Members of Congress from Florida and other slaveholding states were sending ad- dresses to their constituents, enjoining them to send dele- gates to a convention, which had been appointed to be holden in Nashville, on the 2d day of the following June. This was the fruit of Mr. Calhoun's address.* The pro- ject was first moved by Judge Sharkie of Mississippi ; then matured at a convention of that state, held at its capital. The ultraists gloried in believing that arrange- * May, 1851. — We have it on the authority of Senator Foote, that a constitution -was prepared by Mi-. Calhoun, for " The United States South." DANGER MET. 239 ments would be made at Nashville for dividing the Union, 18.'?0. and forming a southern confederacy. In the discussions of Congress, the Senate took the lead ; and never had that body presented more able statesmen, or more powerful orators. The two first northern senators who broke in upon the sullen gloom of uncharitableness and discontent, with which the southern members met the northern, were Dickinson of New York, and Phelps of Vermont. The former, in the course of his speech, solemnly assured his southern brethren that the north, as a body, regarded the guaran- ties of the constitution as sacred. " Sir," said he, " take J="- ^'^^ ' ' Mr. Dickin- a small number out of the northern and also out of the ^°"'* speech. southern sections of the Union, or silence their clamor, and this accursed agitation would be settled in less than a week. . . . The constitution throws its broad segis over the whole of this mighty republic. Its people bow before it, with more than eastern devotion. They will adhere to this Union; and although the northern people are opposed to the institution of slavery, the great mass of them have no intention or disposition to trench upon constitutional rights. And this they will prove to the south, should the occasion arise, even though they should sell their lives in her defence." In the speech of Senator Phelps, logical argument was complacently mingled with an original vein of wit. j^^, 03. Without taking serious ground against the southern threat ^ pLips.' '^' of secession, he showed that the time had not yet come. The supreme judiciary of the United States were the proper court to try constitutional questions ; and unless the south, before proceeding to action, appealed to that 240 SELF-CONCEIT REBUKED. 1850. tribunal, she would put herself in the wrong. In so im- portant a matter, she should not be in too much haste, but take the proper steps, and bide her time. As to what had been offensively said at the north, this was a land of free speech ; and what was to be done with people " who beUeved themselves charged with a mission, not only to amend the constitution framed by the wisdom of our fathers, but also to assist the Almighty in the correc- tion of sundry mistakes which they had discovered in his works 1" The brows of the southern members un- bent, and they cordially greeted the orator when the speech was ended ; and an observer remarked, " He has thrown the first bucket of water, which has reached the fire." , „. On the 25th of January, Mr. Clay offered his memo- ei^lnS'ro-rable plan of compromise. On the 5th of February, '"'"on«°'"" amidst such a crowd of both sexes as the Senate-chamber had never before witnessed, he came forward to speak in their defence. He was now venerable in years, but his intellect retained its soundness, and his heart its deep well-spring of patriotic feeling. His voice, his eye, his grace of action and gift of words, which made him regarded as the first orator who speaks the English tongue, were yet preserved, that he might succor, and perhaps save his country, in this her hour of peril. In the preamble to his eight resolutions, he stated the reason of their introduction to be, that it was " for the peace, harmony, and concord of the Union to settle, and adjust amicably, all exciting questions of controversy between them, arising out of the institution of slavery, upon a fair, equitable, and just basis." The compromise proposed MR. clay's great SPEECH. 241 was substantially the same, as that which passed after 1850. months of debate, and is hereafter to be explained. Mr. Clay opened his speech by the affecting declara- tion, that never, on any former occasion, had he risen with feelings of such deep solicitude. He had witnessed many periods of great anxiety, of peril, and of danger to the country ; but never before had he risen " to address an assembly, so oppressed, so appalled, so anxious." ^^^ ^ He looked to God to give him the strength and the ability ^r.^ciay-s^ to perform the work before him. He attributed the dan- ger of the country to the unprincipled selfishness of party men. "They caught at every passing and float- ing plank, and thus brought into consequence pernicious aaitators. At the moment when the White House was on fire, instead of uniting to extinguish the flames, they were contending about who should be its next occupant ! While a dreadful crevasse menaced inundation, they were contesting the profits of the estate, which was threatened with total submersion ! . . All now is up- roar, confusion, and menace to this Union." . . The speaker, after imploring senators to listen to reason, ex- plained, with clearness, his plan of settling the several difl:iculties, which arose from slavery. He denounced secession. None had a right to secede. He belonged to the Union. Within the Union he took his stand, and there he meant to stand and die,— fighting, if necessary ; but no power on earth should force him out of the Union. Mr^ck^;*^ At the close, he dwelt on the ruin which would spring da„gerou,^ from the dissolution of the Union. " War would be in- the couatry. evitable ; and such a war,— so furious, so bloody, so im- placable, so exterminating,— could not be found upon the U 242 MR. Webster's eloquence. 1850. pages of history. He entreated members to pause on the brink of the precipice, before they took the fearful ortheconse- leap into the yawning abyss. But if that direful event, ^disunion, the dissolution of the Union, were to happen, he implored of heaven that he might not survive to behold it.* The words of this beloved patriot thrilled, not only through the halls of the capital, but to the farthest limits of the republic. To similar cflect was the eloquence of Daniel Web- ster, the great " expounder of the constitution." " Mr. Mr"web- President," he said, " I hear with pain, and anguish, and "speecr' distress, the word secession falling from the lips of the eminent and patriotic. Secession ! Peaceable seces- sion ! The dismemberment of this vast country without convulsion ! The breaking up of the fountains of the great deep, without ruffling the surface ! . . . Peace- Mr Webster ^^^^ sccession ! what would be the result ? What would on secession, ^jg^o^^g of ^l^e army, the navy, and the public lands ? Where is the line to be drawn ? What states are to be associated 1 What is to remain American ? Where am I to be ? . . . Where is the flag to remain ? Is the easle still to tower ? or is he to cower, to shrink, and fall to the ground ?" * January 1, 1853.— The writer of this history heard Mr. Clay de- liver tliis great speech — the crowning action of his useful life. After making this synopsis, in exactly the words here used, she sent it to Ih: Clay, before adding it to her history, begging to know if he was satisfied with it. His written answer to this question is a sentence in a word — " Perfectly." CHAPTER III. Beneficial effects of the collision of opinions in Congress — The Committee of Tliirteen— The " Omnibus bill"— Death of Presi- dent Taylor — Separate passage of the compromise measures. Not only was there in Congress eloquence in favor of 1850. the Union, but against it ; — and there was violent clamor and degrading personality. Every phase of popular opinion had its stormy advocate, and wrathful opponent. Yet, in the tempest, it is the lightning, not the thunder, which kills ; but as, peal by peal, the dangerous element explodes, the atmosphere becomes cleared. Thus the impassioned eloquence and fiery declamation of the capi- tol, gave wholesome vent to dangerous feeling, and in- spired a healthier tone of public sentiment ; which, be ginning at Washington, spread throughout the Union. And it produced a refluent wave, which threw back upon the members of Congress, instead of a seditious, a con- servative public opinion ; — which required of them to cease from mere words, — to compromise their difficul- ties, and perform the indispensable business of the nation. Mr. Clay had ably defended his plan of compromise. Senator Bell, of Kentucky, introduced and advocated ano- ther. Senator Foote, of Mississippi, made amotion, which was finally carried, for the appointment of a committee of Committee of the Senate, to be composed of six members from the north, appointed. 244 THE " OMNIBUS BILL." I80O. six from the south, and a thirteenth to be chosen by the ' first twelve ; to whom should be referred the different plans for compromise ; — with directions, however, that the committee report, according to their own judgment, a plan of settlement for the different branches of the slavery question. Of this honored committee, Mr. Clay was chairman, by choice of the Senate ; and he made their report to that body, on the 8th of May. Four months of jarring debate ensued ; much of which Mav 8. referred to the point, whether the several proposed laws ^cormiuee!' should be voted for separately, or in one- " Omnibus Bill," as reported from the committee by Mr. Clay. Mr. Benton urged the former course, on account of its fair- ness, and especially in behalf of suffering yet dutiful "^bus Bm"^-'" California ; while Mr. Clay maintained the latter ; urging that if the different parts of the bill were pre- sented together, both parties would concede some things, for the sake of gaining others. Janirs. In the mean time the Nashville convention, which, Nashville . Convention, j^g^^j ^j. assembled in January, might have led to civil war and national destruction,* met harmlessly on the 2d of June ; partaking of the country's calmer mood and re- newed devotion to the Union. Judge Sharkie, its pro- jector, was made president of the convention. In his * Januarij 4, 1853. — In the last addition, made in 1851, to my larger history of the Repubhc of America, I have stated, with as many of my reasons as my limits would allow, tlie opinions above expressed. Since that period my views have only been confirmed. A letter from Mr. Stevenson, our former minister in England, pub- lished more than a year ago, is, on the subject of foreign interfer- ence to sow disunion, a document of great weight. THE COMPROMISE. 245 initiatory address, he said, that its members had met, 1850. "because the constitution, which gave equal rights to June 3. Judge Shar- the south, had been violated ; and that was a shock fcie's address. which the government could not stand." They had as- sembled to devise a remedy, and thus to preserve the Union. It vv^as a slander of enemies, that they had met to dissolve the Union. For his part, he hoped that " the Union would be the last thing to perish amidst the wreck of matter." Pending the debates on the compromise measures, the nation was called to deep and sincere mourning for the ^ ° July 9, loss of her beloved chief magistrate. Gen. Taylor ex- Death of the ^ President. pired at the presidential mansion on the 9th of July, and j„^y„j,ra,i„„ Millard Fillmore, of New York, immediately sue- j-inmore''the ceeded him in the presidency ; happily well fitted, by vice-president, moral, intellectual, and physical soundness, for the exalted and difficult place. Mr. King, of Alabama, was chosen president of the senate. The cabinet of Gen. Taylor resigned. Mr. Fillmore appointed able succes- sors, Mr. Webster filling the department of state. In the early part of September, the measures reported sept. 7. The com pro- by the committee of thirteen passed — separately — but mise mea- sures. they had been considered together, and were agreed to, as mutual concessions and compromises for the sake of union. By them, 1st, California, with her constitution excluding slavery, and her boundaries extending from Oregon to the Mexican possessions, was admitted into the Union as a state. — 2d, The Great Basin east of California, containing the Mormon settlement near the utah erected ... • £• 1 • '"'° ^ terri- Salt Lake, was erected, without mention oi slavery, mto tory (esu- mated popu- a territory, by the Indian appellation of Utah. — 3d, New tion, 25,ooo). 246 A CRISIS PASSED. 1850. Mexico, with a boundary which, satisfied her inhabit- New Mexico ants, was also erected, without mention of slavery, into maile a terri- tory (esti- a territory ; Congress giving Texas, for the relinquish- luatfcd |)0|)U- tion, 01,504). meut of her claims, ten millions of dollars ; Texas to pay with the money, former debts, for which the United States were bound, — not legally, but in honor. — 4th, A law was passed, abolishing, not slavery, but the slave- trade,* in the District of Columbia ; — and 5th, the fugitive- slave law was passed ; whose object is, the more effec- tually to secure the prompt delivery of persons bound to service or labor in one state, and escaping into another.! The passage of the compromise measures proved the quieting of the fearful storm. In their success, patriot- ism rejoiced in " the re-union of the Union ;" and in a triumph over that foreign influence, which probably was the generating cause of the dangerous commotion ; and, certainly, was ever at work, to foment, and bring it to the one issue of national destruction by disunion. * By the slave-trade is liere meant the transferring of Ameri- can slaves, in the way of trade. f A fugitive law was passed in 1193 ; but being found or made difficult of execution, it had become obsolete. CHAPTER IV. Fii-8t Cuban expedition in 1850-Second in 1851-Crittenden with 50 men shot at Havana— Death of Lopez. The American people, highly appreciating their own free institutions, ardently sympathize with those of other nations, whom they believe to be oppressed. Flattered by demagogues, who want their votes, they have been ISSO.^ too much made to believe, that their own wishes and ^^^circurn-^^^^ opinions are the measure of right and expediency. w.tojhe_ Their general character, as drawn by enemies, has in it ^„^Pf,^;'j.";Ya. an active and feverish desire of making new acquisi- tions, not only as individuals, but as a nation.* If this accusation has ever been in any measure true, we trust that the mortifying lessons received from the history of recent events may prove an efficient corrective. The fertile and beautiful island of Cuba lies contigu- ous to our southern shores. Americans in Cuba writing to friends at home, and native Cubans in America, some banished for political offences, complained of the rigors of the Spanish government, and made stirring appeals for sympathy and aid. With these were joined heartless ^^^ ^, ^^^._ speculators. It was asserted that the inhabitants of Cuba, groaning under oppression, were prepared to rise in arms, and co-operate with a liberating force ; and such it was the unlawful object of the " fillibusters"— those engaged in the movement — to raise in America. * As to the past territorial acquisitions of America, they have been honestly made ; as is ably shown in a late letter by Mr. Everett, successor to Mr. "Webster. busters. 248 FIRST CUBAN EXPEDITION. i^SO. In order to procure the necessary funds, ihey assumed A base cur- to make a paper currency, — to be redeemed by a sale of the estates of royalists in Cuba, which was to be made under the anticipated new government. The deceivers thus prevailed over the enthusiasm of the sanguine, and the cupidity of the avaricious, and persuaded many to enlist. A military organization was thus effected at New Orleans, whose leader was the Cuban general, Narciso Lopez. Although warned by the proclamation of President Taylor, they cleared about the middle of May, from New Orleans ; — pretended emigrants in vessels bound for Chagres. They made their rendezvous in the island of Contoy, on the coast of Yucatan. On the night of the 18th of May, Lopez, with 609 men, approached the coast of Cuba in the steamship Creole. He landed at May 18, 19. ^^® ^il^^G towu of Cardcnas ; expecting that the inhabit- landTtca" a^^ts would joiu him. He intended to possess himself of the railroad, and then proceed fifteen miles west to Matanzas. But the people seemed only moved to rage by the inflated proclamation of the leader, which invited them " to uphold the banner of liberty ;" and pointed to " the sublime North American government as the arbiter of their fate." The alarm spread rapidly, and the coun- try rose against the invaders. These made themselves masters of Cardenas ; — carrying off bags of specie, — burning the governor's house, and making him and four of his officers prisoners. To prevent their enemies using the railroad, the Cubans tore up the rails. Lopez learned that hostile bands were approaching ; and on the evening of the 19th, he re-embarked;. — a bloody skir- A WARNING NOT RECEIVED. 249 mish occurring on his way to the ship. Sending his i»50, prisoners ashore in a boat, he put out to sea, intending May m to attack in another place. The Creole ran aground ; An-ican loss and to get her off, he was obliged to throw overboard his ^^[^^l^JZ ammunition. The men then compelled the officers to IntaVsa^ 1 . • probably 100. carry them to Key West, the nearest port on the Amen- J •' May 22. can coast. Just as they entered, the Spanish war- Amvai^at steamer, Pizarro, overtook them. The high honor of the ^^^^^.^^ old Spanish character appeared in the conduct of its ^^jl'^^^^^-^i^ commander. The enemy he sought was within his l^^'^'^'^^f^; grasp ; yet being within a neutral port, he forbore to take b'uTnmhing . 1 J 1 proved on even the bags of stolen specie, which were unloaded trial.), before his eyes. He asked of the American authorities its restoration, and the persons of the invaders ; which not obtaining, he on his return to Havana, represented the facts to his government. Gen. Taylor had sent a strong naval force to Cuba, which unfortunately arrived too late to prevent the invasion. Lopez not having em- barked all his troops at Contoy, the Pizarro took from thence 100 prisoners, and carried them to Cuba. The Spanish governor-general, Count de Alcoy, being much exasperated, these men were in great danger of suffer- ing death as pirates ; the pitiable fate of a few, who were left at Cardenas by Lopez. When Mr. Webster became secretary of state he negotiated their release. Notwithstanding the ill success of this wrong enter- prise, still the hopes of its friends were not extinguished. Lopez, though arrested at Savannah, was soon liberated amidst the shouts of the populace. With a zeal for his native land, not seconded by a proper moral balance of mind, or by those intellectual talents which command 11* 250 UNLAWFUL PROCEEDINGS. 1850. success, he immediately commenced plotting another ex- pedition ; and he found honorable names to second his projects. Gen. Quitman who on his return from Mexico, j^j „j had been chosen governor of Mississippi, was on the ^nan'^uili" ^ccond of July indicted at New Orleans, with several "'dieted"" other persons, by the grand jury of the U. S. District 1851. court, and on the 3d of February, 1851, he was arrested rested at New by the United States marshal, on the charge of unlaw- Orle.iiis, (but ,. ,. . ^ ... were never luliy settmg ou loot an expedition against Cuba ; — where- convicted.) upon he resigned the office of governor. But though generally regarded as guilty, he was never convicted, (John o Pni- ^" ^^^ ^^^^ °^ April, President Fillmore issued his proc- R'oi?p"rs'oaV.e lamation, warning all persons within the jurisdiction of icc^are'^ar- the United States not to engage in, or aid any expedition rested.) against Cuba. On the 26th of April several arrests of suspected persons were made in New York, and a ves- sel which they had procured was seized. Eluding the watchfulness of the government, Lopez sailed from New Orleans, on the 3d of August, in the steamer Pampero, with about 400 men. On the eleventh they were off the coast of Cuba, and in sight of the Moro, the castle of Havana. Turning at this time in a western direction, Lopez advanced a iew miles beyond Bahia Honda, when the steamer ran aground upon a August 12. coral reef. Meeting but slight resistance, he debarked L.oj)e/. de» barks. upon the island at Playtas with all his troops. Taking 300 of his men, he marched inland 10 miles to Las Posas ; leaving 100, with Col. Crittenden, his principal officer. He was an amiable member of one of the first families in Kentucky ; and had been deluded with the idea that the oppressed Cubans were everywhere ready MELANCHOLY SCENES. 251 to co-operate with their deliverers. Having procured S85i. two carts to convey the stores and ammunition which he August 13. had been left to guard, he was hastening to join Lopez, den'attempts to join him. when within four miles of Las Posas, he was met by 500 men, — not friends — but foes in arms. His little band was routed and in part destroyed. A few fled to Lopez. Crittenden with 50 retreated to the coast. Lopez at Las Posas was in the mean time attacked by 800 Spanish troops under Gen. Enna. He fought them valiantly, and killed, it is said, 200 of their number. He then retreated, leaving upon the battle-field 30 of his men killed, and 13 wounded, who were put to death by the Spaniards. Col. Crittenden found his way to the coast, and put out to sea in boats. He and his party were taken on the August 15. 15th, — carried into Havana, and condemned to die. He deli taken , . , . . . , . „ . , prisoner. was permitted m the interim to write to his friends. Bitterly did he deplore the deception by which he had been himself misled, and had become the misleader of others. On the 16th he and his parly were shot. He is shot. On the same day Lopez retreating toward the moun- tains was attacked by 900 Spanish troops, whom it is said he repulsed, with the loss of one-third of their number. In the mean time his own were wasting, and he was retreating from the shore to the mountains. His ammunition was destroyed by a rain-storm, and his pro- visions failed. His men in seeking to escape, were taken prisoners in detail, and he was left with only seven. The unhappy man, hunted by bloodhounds, was discovered and taken by a party of those native Cubans, of whom he had proudly thought to be the liberator. He 252 DIPLOMACY DISCLOSED. 1H51. was carried by them to Havana, and on the 26th of Angust 26. August Suffered the death of a malefactor by the garrote. "rotedr"" The Spanish authorities no longer in fear of the in- vaders, and appealed to for mercy by American and English residents, spared the lives of those remaining 1 c^ O /6 • (March 13. in their power. They took care of the wounded, and soon y."> released prisoners ar- scut about 100 of them to Spain. Mr. Webster, still secre- rive Ironi New York ^^^V ^^ State, appealed to the Queen of Spain for mercy in their behalf, and they were pardoned and sent home. Since these events, a secret diplomatic correspond- ence has, by request of Congress, been laid before that body by the president ; by which it appears that during Mr. Polk's administration, the executive offered to Spain a hundred millions of dollars for Cuba ; but the Spanish Spain refuses to sell Cuba, government utterly refused to treat upon the subject- England and Erance both sent ships of war to aid Spain in defending Cuba against the American " fillibus- ters ;" believing, or aflecting to believe, that their own government could not control them. Thus did these rash enthusiasts, and wicked speculators, by acts which the law of nations condemns as piratical, not only bring destruction upon themselves, but unmerited disgrace upon their country, and injury to the cause of human liberty. From the message of President Fillmore, Dec. 6, 1852, Dee. C. Commenoes -^q leam that hc had been invited to unite in a conven- tlie 2(1 session xxxV/'con- ^"^^^ ^\'(^ England and France, to guarantee to Spain ^"*'' the possession of Cuba ; but he declined : he does not say, whether on the ground of its being, in the language of Europe, a " holy alliance" of rulers against the peo- ple, or an " entangling alliance," such as our political fathers have warned us against. CHAPTER V. Remains of the slavery agitation — Treaties — Sandwich Islands — Chevalier Hulseman — Kossuth. The remains of the great agitation appeared at the north by opposition to the fugitive-slave law, (which, 1851. however, was upheld by the national and state judici- aries) and at the south by a convention of delegates, from the anti-union party, held April, 1851, in Charles- Remains of ton, S. C. ; where, notwithstanding the counsels of tationatthe south. Senator Butler and others, the majority recommended separate secession. But the mingled tide of national prosperity and returning confidence sets against sectional discontent and animosity. The network of railroads, which more and more intersects the country, promotes the intercourse of trade and civility, and this and other influences tend to harmonize its different parts. Charles- ton will soon be connected by railroad with the interior of Tennessee, and thus a competitor for the trade of the great valley of the Mississippi. The whole length of railroad in the United States, Jan. 1, 1853, is 13,000 miles ; and this amount is in- i853. creasing at the rate of 10 miles a day. The great pro- 13000'miies ject of the country, which all desire to see speedily ac- complished, is the building of a railway across the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, to California and Oregon. The restoration of confidence between good and of railroad. 254 AMELIORATION. 1 850. patriotic citizens of the north and the south, will be full of prosperity and happiness to both. The colored race, as they were the first to suffer by the loss of such con- fidence, so they will be the first to benefit by its return. Already we hear more and more of efforts at the south to improve them, as intellectual, moral, and religious Condition of , . thesiaves bemgs. 1 hcy are, by the generality of planters, al- contrasteil. lowed a degree of independence in the disposal of time and the holding of property, and so many personal com- forts, that their condition, except in name, is preferable to that of a large proportion of the peasantry of Europe, much more, to that of the wild tribes of Africa.* The southern planters furnish the article of cotton, to the manufacturers of Europe, as well as to those of America, which gives great value to slave labor. 1849 Treaties. — In 1849, a treaty was negotiated at Jan. i>7. Rio Janeiro by Mr. Tod, the American minister, with Treaty with •' ' Brazil, tjjg Viscount OUnda, on the part of the Brazilian em- peror ; the latter agreeing to pay a specified sum to the Americans for spoliations. ... A temporary treaty * The contrast between the condition of the negroes in Africa and their kindred in the soctliern states of America, formed the main feature of the able speech delivered by Mr. Webster at the anniversary of the Colonization Society, Jan. 20, 1852. To point out that Providence overrules even the bad passions of men to purposes of good — he showed how almost infinitely, the blacks liad improved by a contact with the whites ; whicli there seemed no other method of accomplishing, but that of theii' being liold in bondage for a time. Ho hoped that the improvement already made might be made available, by means of the Colonization So- ciety, to the breaking up of the slave-trade, and the ultimate civilization of tlie colored race in Africa. THE FISHERIES. 255 was negotiated at Washington, by the Austrian minister, 184:9. Mr. Hulseman, and Secretary Buchanan, by which cer- August 29. ... Ill- c -u Treaty with tain privileges were granted to the subjects 01 eacn con- Austria. tracting power, residing in the other's country. On the 16th of December, the National Assembly of the Republic of Switzerland, in open session at Berne, ratified, with extraordinary tokens of high satisfaction, Dee. ig. ' ./ o America hon- a treaty of amity and commerce, which had been previ- "''^^eri^^d'^"" ously negotiated between the two republics of America and Switzerland. Of all the triumphs of Christianity in our day, there is none more signal, than the conversion and civilization Sandwich of the Sandwich Islands. They are a feeble power, Wands. but England and America have with policy and justice p^f^^^''^^|';i,g made treaties with their king ; acknowledging his inde- "[bTtrary de- pendence, which has been threatened by serious aggres- "'^"''^" sions on the part of France. During the summer of 1852, by an order of the Brit- ish foreign secretary. Lord Malmesbury, Americans en- gaged in the fisheries off the coast of British America, were restricted, on the alleged ground of treaty viola- tion, from privileges heretofore enjoyed. President Fill- more sent the frigate Mississippi — Commodore Perry — /» 1 18»»2« to the fishing banks, not only to protect the fishermen (juiy c. Mr. W^eb- against iniury, but to restrain them from lawlessness ; star's first let- . ter respecting while Mr. Webster's statesmanship was called into ac- the fisiieries.) tion in diplomatic correspondence. The difficulty, on investigation, resolved itself into the understanding to be given to certain expressions in the existing treaty, con- cerning what is to be regarded as three miles from the British possessions. Is this line, up to which the Amer- 258 SPEECH OF SENATOR BELL. 185S. barred hi? way. Our country's policy was regarded by the nation as settled, and it admitted not of interference in the affairs of foreign nations. Senator Bell, of Tennessee, in the last speech made in Congress on the Kossuth " intervention," expressed his opinion, that in conferring public honors upon him, while, in his re-ported speeches, he was using towards the sovereigns of Russia, Austria, and Prussia the scathing language of hatred and contempt, we were making our- selves a party to the insult ; and we ought, therefore, to hold ourselves prepared, to meet whatever their united hostility might inflict. May 16. Kossutli, after collecting nearly §100,000 for the cause Kossuth leaves Anier- of Hungary, left the country. May 16, 1852, and pro- ceeded to England, wh«re he now resides. 1850. The Commissionej-s of European Emigration in New from Kuiope. York, report that from May 5, 1847, to December 15, in 1852, there had arrived at that port no less than 1,336,960. Some are of the bone and sinew of Europe, (See message of Gov. scy- attracted hither by our republican institutions ; while mour, oi jV. ■' ■* ^is'^")^' another portion is sent to our shores from jails and poor- houses ; and as we have reason to believe, for the pur- pose of hastening on that ruin by anarchy, which Euro- pean foes to freedom predict and desire. Crime accord- ingly increases ; but within the last few years, the de- termination on the part of the Americans to resist anarchy, by inflicting the penalties of crime, increases 18IO. also. In New York, a riot at the Astor-place theatre, Abioi-pia'ie was promptly put down by the legal action of the niili- tary ; several of the rioters losing their lives upon the spot. In Boston, John White Webster, a professor of BATTLE WITH CRIME. 259 Harvard College, expiated upon the gallows the crime of 1850. murder. (March 23. ... , . , Prof. Web- But m this battle with crime, much yet remains to be ster convicted of the murder done; and while thus overwhelmed with an unsound ofDr. Paru- man.) foreign population, it were ruin to pause — either from cowardice, from false philanthropy, or from a mean spirit of seeking office, or of fearing to lose it. Whatever makes life and property insecure, tends both to individual and to national destruction. In the years 1851-2, riot, mur- der, and robbery have been too often the sad themes of our public-journals. CHAPTER VI. Liberia— Death of Henry Clay — Of Daniel "Webster — Tlieir obse- quies — Presidential election — Sound condition of public feeling — Remarkable state of the political relations between ilr. Fill- more and Mr. Webster. 1852. Liberia, in Africa, now comprises 520 miles of Atlan- tic coast. It has been colonized by American-born Africans, of whom eight thousand have been carried For these Over bv the Colonization Society. These have extended facts, see ad- 'if^ss of Hon. their influence far inland and over 200,000 native in- J. R. Ingei^ ' ^lle a"^ Coi"^ habitants. They have now established a republican ^"peun."' government, their officers being all men of color, — of (Forty Afri- whom the worthy President Roberts is chief. Different can nations _^ , .. -iTT-ir-. have made Protestant denominations in the United States have sup- treaties with Liberia, ab- plied them with some of the most devoted of missionaries juring the slave-trade.) of both sexcs ; Several of whom have died martyrs to a climate, which, though salubrious to the black, is often fatal to the white. A regular Christian ministry, Sun- day and week-day schools are established ; and the slave-trade throughout the whole coast from Gallinas to Cape Palmas is broken up. The enterprise is fast growing in favor, not only as a safety-valve for drawing oflf our surplus colored population, but as a means of changing the present degradation of Africa into Christian civilization. Henry Clay was active in establishing the Coloniza- tion Society, and at his death was its president. At its SOLEMNITY. DEATH. 261 annual meeting, held at Washington, Jan. 20, 1852, he 1852. was wasting with hopeless consumption, and Daniel Web- Jan. 20. Colonizatioa ster was chosen, for the occasion, to preside. Patheti- meeting at Washington. cally did he, on his introduction to the chair, refer to the cause of his being called to fill the place of Mr. Clay,* and nobly did he pronounce the panegyric of his great rival. He enumerated the grand objects of the associa- tion, and then with deep solemnity, addressing Dr. But- ler, chaplain of the Senate, he desired that, in behalf of the society and its beloved president, prayer might be offered at the "throne of grace." Before Him who sit- teth upon that throne, the disembodied spirits both of Clay and Webster were soon called to appear. Mr. Clay died at the seat of government on the 29th m/e'i'a'jieg of June, and Mr. Webster at his residence in Marshfield, ^^^'' ^^' Oct 24 Mass., on the 24th of October.! Mr. Clay was at the Mr. Webster dies sfiTsd 70 time a member of the U. S. Senate, and Mr. Webster * The writer of this history was present at this meeting. She was to have the melancholy pleasure of seeing Mr. Clay in his room the next morning. From a previous conversation, she knew that he neither dreaded nor shunned the subject of his approach- ing death. She treasured in her memory the language of Mr. Webster, — and of Dr. Butler, as he fervently prayed for the man he loved. Finding, on her visit to Mr. Clay, that he desired to be informed concerning the meeting, she repeated their language con- cerning him. Never will the deep expression of Mr. Clay's coun- tenance be foi'gotten, as he listened, sitting in his chair, and raising his wasted hand to hide the rising tears, which soon trickled from between his fingers. f Mr. Webster, on the 8th of May, received a serious injury, by being thrown from his carriage at Marshfield. Subsequently, it was ascertained to be one of the leading causes of his death. 262 CLAY AND WEBSTER. 1852. Secretary of State. For forty years, their names and acts have been prominently before the public. Both died in the full faith of the Christian religion, and in the same love for their country — its constitution, and its union — in which they had so conspicuously lived. The eloquence of these two great men belongs to his- tween Clay tory, for it has had a powerful influence on the destinies and Webster, as orators, of America. But their oratory was as different as were their noble and peculiar forms. Mr. Clay was tall, com- manding, and graceful ; Mr. Webster, large, majestic, firmly knit, and justly proportioned. Mr. Clay's mind was original and comprehensive. He saw things to come, as if they were already present ; and he threw forward all his energies to meet and avert the evils which he foresaw. When thus excited, the whole compass of language seemed within his full and easy control ; and every gesture, look, and tone had its own impassioned and fascinating significance. Mr. Webster was ordi- dinarily more argumentative ; drawing the supplies of his greater knowledge, from more intense study, and more various reading. Perfect in his choice of words and ar- rangement of sentences, he, at the same time, so clothed his vast and logical ideas with beautiful imagery, that it was, as if Doric pillars were wreathed with flowers ; — not artificial and dead, but instinct with the life of his warm affections, and sometimes watered by his tears. If Mr. Clay, — more mastering the minds of the men Claymore arouud him, — was more the orator of the present; Mr. the orator of ' r ' WeCer of ^^bstcr, — leaving behind him a greater quantity of model the future, compositions, will be more the orator of the future. The remains of Mr. Clay, in their removal from THE TEST QUESTION. 263 Washington to his home in Lexington, Kentucky, passed i852. through Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York ; — from thence through Albany, to Lake Erie, Cincinnati, and Louisville. No conqueror's car, had ever a more trium- phal career, than that poor coffin. The nation pressed The love of the people around it, not with a tongue to talk, but with a heart to ma'iifef^ted ° towards vv'eep. At New York, while the corpse lay for a few ^^"'^ ^'"y- hours in the City Hall — the features not exposed — the guard suffered the people to defile, one by one, past the body. Fifty thousand thus moved by, in silence and in tears. Both Mr. Clay and Mr. Webster were, according to custom, officially mourned at the seat of government. The great name of Calhoun, so long their beloved fel- !„ New^o^'- low-patriot, was united with theirs, in many of the pub- p^uWi'cmfurn- lic demonstrations of sorrow, which, without distinction houn. ciay, - and Webster.) of party, Avere made throughout the Republic, — from Bos- ton on the east, to San Francisco on the west. In fine, they received funeral honors, such as had never before been paid in America, except to the memory of Wash- ington. The close of the year 1852 finds the Republic of America, though not without some local disorders, yet generally in a healthy condition. The past year has af- forded full evidence of the attachment of our people to that constitution and union of the states, by which we are ONE NATION. Each of the two great political parties, assembling by their delegates at Baltimore to propose candidates for the presidency, adopted a political creed called " a platform," in which the leading article was the profession of their belief in the justice of the late con- 264 GEN. FRANKLIN PIERCE. 1852. gressional measures called "the compromise." The (Whig vote democratic party was unanimous in the approval of the "more Jiat-" platforiH, whilc that of the whigs contained a resolute i272, noes 76.) minority who opposed it. Gen. Scott, with all the fame of his great military services, was nominated by the whig party ; while Gen. Franklin Pierce of New Hamp- shire, favorably, though not so extensively known, was brought forward by the democratic, — in connection with William R. King of Alabama, for vice-president. These gentlemen carried the election, by an overwhelming majority. Deo. 6. We hope that a new era of " good feeling" is once Opening of . rrii i • ■ . U' the last ses- morc dawning upon our country, ihe admission to nis XXXI. co'n- seat in the Senate of the United States, of Mr. Dixon of gress. Kentucky, in opposition to Mr. Merriwether, a democrat, and of the same party with a majority in both branches of Congress, is, we hope, an indication, not only of an era of " good feeling," but of a coming time, when that righteousness which " exalteth a nation," shall take the place of the one-sided views, and often unjust action, of party spirit.* December. The morc prominent of the whig journals, now that Good disposi- lion of the ii^Q election is passed, seem not to have taken the ungen- whigs. '■ * In this remark, we take no note of the right or the wrong of Mr. Dixon's case. Highly honorable gentlemen maintained that Mr. Merriwether, not Mr. Dixon, had the just claim. But whoever has watched the strife of party, knows that in similar cases, not merely in Congress, but in State Legislatures, scarce has there been an honest inquiry — what is the right ; although men, prede- termined to vote according to party, have spent the public's time in talking about it. PATRIOTIC VIRTUE. 265 erous attitude of lying in wait to seek occasion against 1852. the incoming administration ; but they appear patrioti- cally desirous, that the executive should so administer the affairs of the nation, as to do honor to himself, in pro- moling the public prosperity. A remarkable demonstration of patriotic virtue is shown ^^^^"J^g ^'f to the world by the relation, which, for more than two ?"*'"'= "'''"*• years, subsisted between the President of the United States, Mr. Fillmore, and his first secretary, Mr. Webster — they both being candidates for the whig vote in the com- ing presidential election, though, from divisions in the party, neither obtained the nomination. Yet did they in the mean time labor on harmoniously together, for their country's good. Credit is due to Mr. Fillmore ; for he might at any time, either directly or indirectly, have dis- placed Mr. Webster, when he found that his overwhelm- ing popularity was such, that approved acts of the execu- tive were attributed to the secretary. On the other hand, credit is due to Mr. Webster, that, at the nation's call, he brought, with his wonted unostentatious dignity, his fame, his talents, and his statesmanship, to give suc- cess and honor to the administration of his rival. liciiu raove- nienta in Europe. CHAPTER VII. Historical account current — Changes iu the immediate Piist of Europe and America, beaiing upon tlie future of the American Republic — Late improvements, and their Tendencies to promote Peace. 1818. Changes in Europe affect America. In 1848, rcpub- Grand repub- licanism secmed in the ascendant. France expelled Louis Philippe, and declared a republic. Hungary threw off the Austrian yoke, and Rome expelled the Pope. But the gold of freedom had in it the base alloy of so- cialism ; and good men preferred the family unbroken, with despotism in the state, rather than liberty in the state without the family union. This, with other causes combining, has brought Europe back to utter subjugation. By the aid of Russia, Hungary fell before Austria. By the shrewd policy of Louis Napoleon, Franco has re- stored the empire, and placed him at its head. He, while President of the French republic, restored the Pope ; and has since, by his troops, guarded him in Rome. That the success an3 popularity of our republican institutions have been the primary cause of uprisings against the divine right of kings, none will dispute. Our institutions are therefore necessarily objects of the dread and animosity of those sovereigns. The fact that opinion now rules, where once it was ''""*"""*■ force, makes the task of the historian more difficult; EUROPEAN EXPECTATIONS. 267 while, to the casual observer, his labors become less in- I85g. teresting. But important national changes must be re- corded, although they afford no striking narratives of war; and the historian is bound not merely to give facts J^^^^ with their dates, but to use his best judgment to trace out their causes and their consequences. " History," says Noah Webster, in his definition of the word, " is a narrative of events, in the order in which they happened, with their causes and effects." Having shown its cause, we assume the fact, denied by none, of the hostility of Causes 01 the Eurooean absolutists to American free institutions. One of siamiers to the consequences of this is, thatthey encourage, in slander '<:;; i-j;.^Jf;_' against us, a subjugated press ; in hopes thus to counter- act those republican tendencies of their people, by which they are threatened with change ; and by which also European monarchs now lose, every year, nearly half a million of their subjects, who emigrate hither. Prompt to believe what they desired, and probably, in a measure, themselves deceived by slanders got up to deceive others, the absolutists of Europe have been in the constant expectation, that the American government would, through its feebleness, fall into anarchy and sub- (t Tlie his- seauent despotism;! and to aid the supposed natural torian Allison ^ '^ . antl others tendency, they have disgorged upon us their convicts i.avejissened and their paupers. The majority of the inmates of our ^'-'XaV^'* states' prisons are foreigners. But there is room for p^^'^^J;/^"" more, and we trust there is still efficiency in law, to punish offenders of every name, whenever they deserve it. We hope, that not yet will the foes of freedom be gratified, by seeing its boasted area, become the area of crime, " unwhipped of justice." 268 FLATTERERS DECEIVE. 185 2. Our enemies sometimes do us service by helping us Tenrienpyof ^o Understand our true position. We are i.v danger of tree "0VL*rn~ ments to ANARCHY. It is the rock on which free governments anarchy. have heretofore been wrecked ; and it is that breaker for which American statesmen should keep up a sleepless watch. Riots, robberies, and assassinations are too fre- quent in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other places ; and during the two last years, they have in- creased. The unsound part of the emigration which we receive from Europe accounts only in part for the fact. There is reason to fear, that bribery of one kind or an- other is creeping into our elections. Those, who thus buy a seat in any legislative body, whether in city, state, or nation, may not be too good to work for themselves and sell their vote when there. The mass of the people, however, especially the independent farmers of the country, are wholly above being bribed with money. But they are sovereigns ; and they share the common fate of sovereigns, to be deceived by flatterers, who teach that sovereign power and sovereign wisdom are ever identical ; and the nearer to themselves they keep the power, and the more they control their agents, the safer will be the nation.* Hence arrangements have been made in some of our slates, which, by destroying or weakening the independence of the judiciary, have in- creased the tendency to anarchy. An important feature of the present time is that of * Does a man act on tliis principle in his private affairs ? Be- cause he has power over liis mind, body, and estate, does he sup- pose that the less he trusts his minister, doctor, and lawyer, and the oftener he changes them, the better it will be for him*? THE NATIONAL JUDICIARY. 269 voluntary associations for specified good objects. Many 1852. of these societies, as their members collect to celebrate voluntary assouiatious. their anniversaries — and especially as the several re- Some of the ligious communions meet by their delegates in conven- most iiromi- tion, synod, or convocation — present delightful spectacles are the mis- of legislative bodies, engaged in high debate. These |^^|f^' '^'^^ are so many fountains of conservative influence, which '^^^p'J'r^aie operate to keep the under-current of American public "cLue"."^ sentiment, favorable to public virtue and obedience to law. The national judiciary remains permanent and inde- pendent, — the stay, support, and regulator of the Ameri- can government. Its decisions are paramount to those of any other court. They are final, and they command obedience ; and the persons of the judges are held in high and deserved respect. So long as this remains, anarchy, though it may visit, will not find a home in America. It was confidently expected in Europe that our great republic would come to an end by division whenever the slavery question had its crisis. It came in 1850, and we stood the shock.* In the mean time, the splendid * Some suppose the crisis not yet past. From the London Times of Jan. 12, 1853, we quote the following : — " The federal union of America is at this moment only preserved by the Fugitive Slave- law — a desperate expedient. * * * By this frail thread hangs the American Union." Now if those British politicians who hold su5fi opinions concerning our Union mean to do the fair thing, and in reality wish us well, let them inquire what have been, and what ought to be, their measures, direct and indirect, in regard to tliis Fugitive Slave-law, upon which, as they profess to be- 270 A HIGH POSITION. 18.53. achieA'craents of the war with Mexico vindicated our military prowess. The peace quieted us in the pos- session of Texas, and added to our territory the wilds of New Mexico and California. Gold was discovered ; and those wilds rose up before us, a great commercial em- pire on the Pacific. While we were fearing, on ac- count of the influx of British convicts, they were kept (Gold discov- ^t home, by the discovery of gold in Australia. The tran- tiaiia— 51 sit between the new and old states has been facilitated millions al- ready ijrought by a railroad over a part of the isthmus of Panama ; and to England. Jan. 1, 1853.) things are now in a train which promises to open, within ten years, a direct communication by railroad and tele- graph from the Atlantic to the Pacific ; a passage to the East Indies such as Columbus never dreamed of! And thus by a good Providence, and against all evil machi- nations and prognostics, our eagle standard yet floats unrent; and now, from ocean to ocean. Whether or not the absolutists of Europe will change their course with these changing circumstances, it be- hooves American politicians well to consider ; and not to rest in the expectation that the future will remain as the past. In regard to the southern and central powers of 1852. Europe, unless they succeed in utterly defaming us, any This year, the . , . , i ■ i German emi- armics they might send to mvade us, would, as the ships gralion ^'roat- er than the whosc iron spilvcs Were drawn out by the fabled maer- Irish.) ... netic island, fall to pieces by the attraction of our free and popular institutions. Their soldiers would desert, lievc, oiir national existence depends. It depends ratlier on this — OUR PEorLE Lovi; Tin; Union, and will preserve it. ENGLAND. ^'^ and join their friends already here by voluntary emigra- 1853. tion. It is not so with Russia, — whose dominions in Asia approach those in America, and those our own. Her citizens hold their Czar in religious veneration, and re- gard the soil of their own country as too sacred to be abandoned. In the account current of America with England, there is much on each side of the ledger. America credits England with being her mother, but she charges her with havino- aiven her too frequent cause to use to her the Ian- guage of her poet Savage, " Thou mother and no mother." We derive our literature from her ; and however she may ^^^^^ vilify contemn, and irritate us,* still her very soil— her i^^^uS „,„,,, slie be little battle-fields, whereon our forefathers fought — her streams i^yed in re- and mountains, made classic by her noble poets, whose blood perchance we share— that soil is dear to us, as no other land but our own can ever be. In reo-ard to commercial relations, America is Eng- land's best customer ; and, as a statesman of her own remarked,! " England could as little afford to destroy (t^irg.Jo^;;p'' New York as Liverpool." Again, in the condemnation Hov^sant for liberalism, England shares with America; and she ^^^^^^y^'^ has reason to believe, that if our republic could be over- ^;^^^'';^) borne, the free representative portion of her own govern- ment must soon follow. But then Britain has monarchi- * A friend who has just returned from England writes thus, un- der date Jan. 7, 1853 :— Having had constant access to all the leading newspapers of that country, I find there is nearly as much difference of opinion as with us, and their papers are full of mutual recriminations ; all, however, agree in vilifying us. 272 DOUBLE-MINDED. 1851. cal and aristocratical elements; and the popularity of our institutions among her own people is such, that yearly a number equal to a great city's population leave their land, and make this their country. Yet in hei general tone of feeling, England, as America, sympa- 1850. *^^^^s '^^^^ ^^^ oppressed, and hates the oppressor. (Haynan The treatment which the Hungarian /Marshal Havnau nearly killed '^ -^ ''y^'^'^ ^"^°''''- received in a London brewery, September, 1850, and "brewery 'of ^^^^ ardent satisfaction of the whole populace, came near day & Per"! ^° breeding a quarrcl between Great Britain and Austria, Ills, on on.)j^g shown in the subsequent correspondence of Prince Schwartzenburg and Lord Palmerston. Should England be attacked in earnest, and the battle of freedom besin to there, she would doubtless be defended by her western daughter. And should America be called to suffer for the sake of human rights and human liberty, we believe that she would stand by us. Yet, — would she not wil- lingly check our rising strength, and, to prevent the pos- sibility that it might, especially on the ocean, hereafter overshadow her, — divide us among ourselves, regard- less of the evils she would thus entail upon us ?* * The editor of the London Times, commenting on the fact dis closed by the Cuban papers (communicated to Congress by Pres Fillmore), that American statesmen have all along been jealous ot England, has a special exclamation that the name of "W'eUington should have occurred in this connection. Perhaps his amazement would be less, if he should examine the John Henry papers made public by Mr. Madison in 1812, and now in the archives at Wash ington. In the plot to divide this country, therein disclosed, is the name of him who has since been called, from his inflexibility, " The Iron Duke." So a late article in the National Intelhgencer affirms. tendencies to peace. 273 Events have recently passed, and are now in 1853. PROGRESS, WHICH TEND TO PeACE. The earnest religious faith in Christ, to which this country owes its first settlement, its free institutions, its noble free schools open to all, and the strength of its original stamina of character, has now in a great de- gree emerged from the mist of Gallic infidelity, which, about the time of the French revolution in 1790, began to sweep over this land. For a time, the political jour- nals of the United States, and the halls of legislation, so far from exhibiting reverence to the Lord that bought them, scarce made mention of God and his providence ; — ever piously referred to by Washington and his com- patriots. Thus it was with, the rulers, and the mass of the people were well pleased. But in the mean time, our free system of religion was working well. A clergy. Excellent in- generally of pure and holy men — poor, yet making many ^ Tmerkan^ rich — furnished with nothing for the moral combat but ''^"'sy- the sword of the spirit and the helmet of salvation, met and fought this infidelity ; and now it cowers, and, com- paratively speaking, hides its diminished head. Within the range of this consecrated influence, there is a society especially devoted to peoxe^ who are united in the great object with good men in Europe, and whose doctrines have made no inconsiderable impression. Elihu Burritt in this country, and Mr. Cobden in Eng- p^^^^ ^^ land, are prominent members. The last Congress of the Fra^ktort-on- Peace Society was held in Germany, at Frankfort-on- * ^"' '''"^' the-Maine. Among the conservative influences of America stands that of the mass of her intelligent women ; and the pro- 274 IMPROVEMENTS. 18S3. portion of such, is greater in this nation, than in any Soumi infli^ other, of ancient or modern times. PubUc opinion has {.'■-neraiity of hcrc sanctioncd improved seminaries for their learning, women, where their intellect is developed ; while their moral, physical, and feminine qualities are not neglected. Women control much properly. From these causes, female influence here is great, though generally noise- less ; and as the influence of the gentler sex increases, a tendency to war, other things being equal, will diminish. Improve- Improvements have been made in weapons of destruc- meiits 111 the '■ ■* teila "' "^- ^^^^ ' ^^^ ''*^'^ become less willing to fight, as death by fighting becomes more jjrohable. Of these improve- ments, the most prominent is the revolver, invented in this country. There are others in abeyance, such as the torpedo, which the pressure of an invasion would bring forth, from " Yankee ingenuity ;" an arm Avhich the United States are well known to possess. Steam, and electricity, and cheap postage have aflbrded facilities for the collection and diflusion of knowledge which no former period has enjoyed. Newspapers have grown in number, in size, in editorial labor and ability (several editors being required for one great paper), almost as fast as that known world whose news they daily chronicle, — and they print their news^with almost the lightning rapidity with which they collect it. These pa- WflTusion of pers are sold for little, and conveyed by the mails almost knowledge by the increaseof gratuitously ; and they disseminate a vast amount of newapaperd. knowledge. As man's intellect exjmnds, he will become less and less willing to submit questions of right and jus- tice, to the blind arbitration of brute force and indiscrimi- nate carnage. SOCIAL IM'LUEN'CES. 275 The natural selfishness of man, which leads to ani- 1853. mosity and war, is best opposed by whatever promotes its counter principle, — which is what our Saviour made the essence of his religion, — Love to God and Love to Man. Of the influence of direct religious instruction we have already spoken. All those improvements of the times, such as telegraphic communication, cheap post- age, and railroad travelling, which tend to increase amity and a qukh sympathy among men, promote a temper of mind which seeks peace, and not war. Close affinities, 'i'eiidcnoies of whether of business or of friendship, between individuals tiie circum- stances ot tlie of diflerent states and nations, — not only by association, times to ' •/ ■' peace. make those states and nations dear, — but they elevate the general tone of moral feeling, and thus raise man above the savage thirst for blood. The rapid communi- cation of the daily news of the world produces sympa- thy with the distresses of all ; — and whom we pity we love. Locomotion by steam and cheap postage tends to keep in life the natural and friendly affections. Families among us are divided by long distances throughout our far-reaching states ; and when, in former times, a man would write from the west, describing his hardships to his brother in the east, " Every letter from you costs me a bushel of corn," his relatives Avould naturally wait long before they wrote. Then it took weeks to visit ; and often those of the same family, once parted, saw each other no more ; and their children grew up as entire strangers. Thus the tender charities of blood and kin- dred died out, and gave place to a more concentrated 276 INTERNATIONAL AMITY. 1849. selfishness. Now, the depressing tax on written affec- tion is taken off; and we go rapidly by steam, wherever our affections may carry us. And by means of modern improvements in navigation,* and arrangements respecting transatlantic postage, the same things happen in regard to our adopted citizens, and the relatives they leave behind them in Europe. Loco- motion has come to be reckoned not by miles, but by time ; and that is not now the half of what it was Porai con- ^"''^"ty years ago. A postal convention with England EigianVml ^^^ ratified in London, Jan. 26, 1849, by which written *^''- correspondence is greatly facilitated. There have been among our Irish citizens distinguished professional men ; but generally, they labor, and are often the kind domes- tics on whom our family comforts depend. These have not the means of visiting their friends, but they send their earnings to Ireland to bring them here ; and they gladly come when sent for. When our minister to Ensland. Mr. Abbott Lawrence, visited the Irish in their own island, that warm-hearted people received and treated him as a father. It is computed, that, of money earned * On the lltli of January, 1853 (since these last pages have been in the liands of the printer), occurred at Jfew York the suc- cessful trial of the caloric ship Ericsson ; by which the fact ia established, tliat atmosphrric air, operated on by a machinery wrought with great skill, by which it is suddenly condensed and then suddenly expanded by heat, is a motive power ; and it is hoped by all, and confidently believed by Capt. Ericsson, its inventor, a native Swede, that it will possess all the efficiency of steam, with- out its danger and expense. If this should, after the trial of ocean voyages, prove to be the case, its introduction will, like that of steam, become a memorable epoch. THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 277 by the laboring Irish in America, five millions have al- 1853. ready been sent to Ireland to bring over their relations. Five miiUoM sent by Irish Next to Ireland, Germany has furnished to this country servants to bring over the greatest number of emigrants. Many of them are their reia- persons of education, who come not empty-handed. They also communicate with their friends in Germany, and ^hat they say will be believed, and whom they love will be beloved. Thus we see that by the good Providence of God, arrangements made chiefly in reference to business, operate to increase man's home-bred happiness, enlarge his private affections, and promote political concord among states and nations. A. S. BARNES & COMPANY'S PUBLICATIONS. Will ard's History of the United States. WILLARD'S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES, OR KEPtBI>IC OF A3IERICA. With a Chronological Table and a Series of Progressive Maps, designed for High Schools and Academies, and also for Public and Private Li- braries. In 1 vol., 8vo. Price $1 60. WILLARD'S HISTORY OFTHE UNITED STATES, ABSSIBGED FOB SCHOOI.S. This -work has attained a popularity unequalled by any other School History now before the public. 1 vol., 12mo. Price 65 cents. This history, now brought down to July, 1851, has been before the public twenty- three years. During that period the record of current historical events has been made as they occurred, or while they were fresh in the writer's mind ; and at differ- ent times added to the work, which has thus been kept up to present time. That this history has been written with an unprejudiced, a conscientious, and, in the main, a successful research for truth, is evident from the fact, that it is now used, and quoted as authority, by the pvUpit, the press, and the bar, — in legislative halls, and courts of justice. When cotemporary history circulates unchallenged, amidst the actors of the scenes It narrates,— that is evidence of its veracity. When we go a step further, and pro- duce the positive endorsement of some among those actors, of the most eminent and best qualified to judge, and that given while yet the events are fresh in their memories, our history, thus endorsed, may fearlessly claim to be settled upon a foun- dation which the futui'e can never shake. Such evidence we now produce. Our first authority is Daniel Webster, than whom no man living better understands the whole history of his country ; and it is thus written in a letter to the author, dated from that Senate Chamber, whence his words went forth to the confines of civilization, " I cannot better express my sense of the value of your history of the United Slates, than by saying 1 keep it near me, as a book of reference, accurate in facts and dates." The next presented, is the unimpeachable testimony of an eminent patriot of New York, Mr. Dickenson, late of the United States Senate. He says, in a letter to the author, " I have given your sheets an attentive perusal, and can find no suggestion of error to communicate. Having been an actor in the scenes so vividly sketched, I am cheerful to declare, that I find them truthful and complete." Lafayette himself read and criticised my history of the Revolution ; and Henry Clay, a name worthy to be mentioned in the same connection, has read and given Bome corrections on parts of the history in which he was an actor ; and the slightest suggestions by either have been carried out by the author. John Willard, of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, whose upright and fearless decisions are known far beyond its limits, thus writes to the author: " So far as my recollection serves me, these chapters are in conformity with the first great law of historic composition, trdth. John McLean, whose least merit is, that he occupies one of the first judicial positions of the nation, writes what is sufficient to affix to this portion of our history the stamp of reliability: "I have looked over your sketches, forwarded for my perusal and examination, and I find no errors to CORRKCT." Willard's Series of School Histories and Charts. W I LL A RD'S AMERICAN C H RONOGR AP H ER, DESIGNED TO ACCOMPANY WILLARD's HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. To measure time by space is universal among civilized nations , and as the hours, and minutes, and seconds of a clock measure the time of a day, so do the centuries, tens, and single years of this Chronographer, measure the time of American History. A general knowledge of chronology is as indispensable to history, as a general knowledge of latitude and longitude is to geography. But to learn single dates, apart from a general plan of chronology addressed to the eye, is as useless as to learn latitudes and longi- tudes without reference to a map. The eye is the only medium of permanent impression. The essential point in a date, is to know the relative place of an event, or how it stands in time com- pared with other important events. The scholar in the school- room, or the gentleman in his study, wants such a visible plan of time for the study of history, the same as he wants the visible plan of space, viz., a map for the study of geography, or of hooka of travels. Such is the object of Willard's Chronographer of American History. Extract from a Report of the Ward School Teacher^ Association of the City of New York. The Committee on Books of the Ward School Association respectfully report : That they have examined Mrs. Willard's History of the United States with peculiar interest, and arc free to say, that it is in their opinion decidedly the best treatise on this interesting subject that they have seen. * * As a school-book, its proper place is among the first. The language is remark- able for simplicity, perspicuity, and neatness ; youth could not be trained to a better taste for language than this is calculated to impart. The history is so written as to lead to geographical examinations, and impresses by practice the habit to read history with maps. It places at once, in the hands of American youth, the history of their country from the day of its discovery to cne present time, and exhibits a clear arrangement of all the great and good deeds of llicir ancestots, of which they now enjoy the benefits, and iiilierit the renown. The sti.iggles, sufferings, firmness, and piety of the first settlers are delineated with a masterly hand. The gradual enlargement of our dominions, and the development of our na- tional energies, are trace' with a minute accuracy, which tlie general plan of tlio work indicates. The events and achievements of the Revolution and of the last war, are brought out in a clear light, and the subsequent liistory of our national policy anJi udTnacomeint strikingly portrayed, without bemg disfigured bv that iii«ge (19) WiUarcfs Series of School Histories and Charts. of party bias which is so difficult to be guarded against by historians of their own times. The uetails of the discovery of this continent by Columbus, and of the early eettlements by the Spaniards, Portuguese, and other European nations, are all of essential interest to the student of American history, and will be found sufficiently minute to render the history of the continent full and complete. The different periods of time, together with the particular dates, are distinctly set forth with statistical notes on the margin of each page,— and these afford much information without perusing the pages. The maps are beautifully executed, with the locality of places where particular events occurred, and the surrounding country particularly delineated. These are admirably calculated to make lasting impressions on the mind. The day has now arrived when every child should be acquainted with the his- tory of his country ; and your Committee rejoice that a work so fuU and clear can be placed within the reach of every one. The student wUl learn, by reading a few pages, how much reason he has to be proud of his country— of its institutions — of its founders — of its heroes and states- men : and by such lessons are we not to hope that those who come after us wn be instructed in their duties as citizens, and their obligations as patriots 1 Yom- Committee are anxious to see this work extensively used in all the schoo j in the United States. (Signed,) SENECA DURAND, EDWARD Mcelroy, JOHN WALSH. The Committee would respectfully offer the following resolution : Resolved, That Mrs. Emma Willard's History of the United States be adoplea by this Association, and its introduction into our schools earnestly recom- mended. At a meeting of the Board of the Ward School Teacners' Association, January 20th, 1847, the above Resolution was adopted.— (Copied from the Minutes.) From the Boston Traveller. We consider the work a remarkable one, in that it forms the best book for general reading and reference published, and at the same time has no equal, in our opinion, as a text-book. On this latter point, the profession which its author has so long followed with such signal success, rendered her peculiarly a fitting person to prepare a text-book. None but a practical teacher is capable of pre- paring a good school-book ; and as woman has so much to do in forming our early character, why should her influence cease at the fireside— why not en courage her to exert her talents still, in preparing school and other books for after years ? No hand can do it better. The t)T)ography of this work is altogether in good taste. From the Cincinruiti Gazette. M29. Willard's School History of the United States.— It is one of those rare things, a good school-book ; infinitely better than any of the United States Histories fitted for schools, which we have at present. It is quite full enough, and yet condensed with great care and skill. The style is clear and simple- Mrs. Willard having avoided those immense Johnsonian words which Grimsnaw and other writers for children love to put into their works, while, at the same Ura« tb«r« is nothing of the pap style about it. The arrangement is excellent (20) Willard's Series of School Histories and Charts. the chaptei-s of a good length ; every page is dated, and a marginal index makes reference easy. But the best feature in the work is its series of maps ; we have the country as it was when filled with Indians ; as granted to Gilbert ; as di vided at the time the Pilgrims came over ; as apportioned In 1643 ; the West while in possession of France ; the Atlantic coast in 1733 ; in 1763 ; as in the Revolution, with the position of the army at various points ; at the close of the Revolutionary War; during the war of 1812-15; and in 1840: making eleven most excellent maps, such as every school history should have. When we think of the unintelligible, incomplete, badly written, badly arranged, worthless work of Grimshaw which has been so long used in our schools, we feel that every scholar and teacher owes a debt of gratitude to Mrs. Willard. Miss Robins has done for English History, what Mrs. Willard has now done for Arneiican, and we trust these two works will be followed by others of as high oi higlier character. We recommend Mrs. Willard's work as better than any we know of on the same subject ; not excepting Bancroft's abridgment. This work, followed by the careful reading of Mr. Bancroft's full work, is all that would be needed up to the point where Bancroft stops ; from that point, Pitkin and Blar- Bhall imperfectly supply the place, which Bancroft and Sparks will soon fill. From the United States Gazette. Mrs. Willard is well known throughout the country as a lady of high attam mcnts, who has distinguished herself as the Principal of Female Academies, that have sent abroad some of the most accomplished females of the land. The plan of the authoress is to divide the time into periods, of which the be- ginning and the end are marke lary of Universal Biography. 23 C 74 4 o / o 0"°, ^r. '-^^n^ ° .^"^ ^o. >"j^ Or /• " " /» *^ y\ 'WW.' /\ ''-^/y^ '°'. . . BOOKBINDING O ^'^^ « • n