order to Lieutenant Francisco de Arce to remove a number of government horses from the Mission San Rafael to his headquarters at Santa Clara. Davis thus describes what then occurred:

"The officer, with a guard of fourteen men, proceeded to execute the order, and was compelled to cross the Sacramento river at New Helvetia, now Sacramento, the nearest point at which the horses could swim the stream. On his way he was seen by an Indian, who reported to the American settlers that two or three hundred armed men were advancing up the valley. At this time Captain Fremont, with his exploring party, was encamped at the Buttes, near the confluence of the Feather and Sacramento rivers, about sixty miles above Sutter's Fort. It was inferred by the settlers that the Californian force was marching north to attack Fremont. The alarm was immediately spread throughout the valley, and most of the settlers joined Fremont at his camp. There they met William Knight, who stated that he had seen the party of Californians in charge of the horses, and that de Arce had told him that Castro had sent for the horses for the purpose of mounting a battalion of two hundred men to march against the Americans settled in the Sacramento Valley and to expel them from the country; that then he proposed to fortify the Bear River pass in the mountains and prevent the further ingress of immigrants from the United States. After consultation it was resolved that a force should pursue the Californians and capture the horses, so as to weaken Castro and for the time frustrate his designs. Twelve men volunteered for the expedition, and Ezekial Merritt, the eldest of the party, was chosen captain. At daylight on the 10th of June, 1846, they surprised the Californians, who surrendered without resistance, and the horses were taken. De Arce and his men were permitted to go on without further molestation. The revolutionary movement on the part of the Americans was then fairly commenced. The party being increased to thirty-three, still under the command of Merritt, marched to Sonoma, and on the morning of the 14th of June captured and took possession of that town and military post. They made prisoners of General M. G. Vallejo, his brother Salvador, and Victor Prudon, and had them conveyed to Sutter's Fort at Sacramento for safe-keeping. As nearly as can be ascertained, the names of the members of the Bear Flag party are:

"From Sacramento Valley-Ezekial Merritt, Robert Semple, Henry L.

Ford, Samuel Gibson, Granville P. Swift, William Dickey, Henry Booker, John Potter, William B. Ide, William Fallon, William M. Scott, Henry Beason, William Anderson, James A. Jones, W. Barti, or 'Old Red,' and Samuel Neal.

"From Napa Valley-Benjamin Dewell, Harvey Porterfield, John Grigsby, Frank Grigsby, William B. Elliott, Ab Elliott, William Knight, David Hudson, Franklin Bedwell, Joseph Wood, William Hargrave, Andrew Kelsey, Horace Sanders, John H. Kelly, John Gibbs, Thomas Cowie, and George Fowler.

"A garrison of about eighteen men, under the command of William B. Ide, was left at Sonoma, and in a few days it was increased to about forty. On the 18th of June, Ide, with the consent of the garrison, issued a proclamation setting forth the objects for which the party had gathered and the principles that would be adhered to in the event of success. About the same time the Bear Flag was hoisted by the revolutionists.

"Robert Semple, one of the members of the party, became editor of the first newspaper published in California. The Californian, the initial number of which was issued at Monterey on August 15, 1846. In the second issue of his paper, on the 22nd, he commenced the publication of a series of articles on the history of the revolution, and in the issue of February 13, 1847, the following, in part, appeared: 'On the 14th of June, 1846, a party of Americans, without a leader, gathered and took possession of the fortified town of Sonoma, on the north side of the bay of San Francisco, and made prisoners of three Mexican officers-a general, a lieutenantcolonel, and captain. On the same day there was a partial organization under the name of the Republic of California, and agreed to hoist a flag made of a piece of white cotton cloth with one red stripe on the bottom, and on the white a grizzly bear, with a single star in front of him. It was painted, or rather, stained, with lampblack and poke berries. Along the top were the words, Republic of California.'"

The author of the present work has not seen so comprehensive an account in so compact a space elsewhere as in the foregoing. It covers the field fully relative to the Bear Flag episode, but it may be well to give the following from the great Tuthill, master writer on Californian subjects: "Fremont himself, accompanied by Kit Carson, Lieutenant Gillespie, and

half a score of others, crossed in a launch to the old fort near the presidio, spiked its ten guns, and returned to Sonoma. There on the 5th of July, 1846, he calied the whole force together, and recommended an immediate declaration of independence. All present united to make such a declaration, and with the same unanimity entrusted to Fremont the direction of affairs. Thus the bear party was absorbed into the battalion, whose roll-call showed one hundred and sixty mounted riflemen."

THE CONQUEST PROPER.

For many years it has been held by some writers that the Bear Flag Revolution was a logical forerunner of the conquest proper, in the sense that Fremont's secret orders were legitimate antecedents of all that followed, a part of one plan, in fact. It would be a gross blunder to assume that Commodore Sloat, who raised the American flag over Monterey on July 7, was acting in concert with Fremont, or that he really knew what Fremont's actions meant. Lucia Norman properly says:

"Colonel Fremont and Commodore Sloat, being ignorant of the actual existence of war between Mexico and the United States, and having acted without direct instructions from Washington, were each inclined, should any blame be attached to them, to throw the responsibility upon the other. Colonel Fremont claimed to have acted in self-defense; Commodore Sloat, from false ideas of Fremont's position, and also to guard the Californians from the English, who had placed a squadron upon the coast to seize any opportunity that might offer of adding the country to the possessions of the crown."

There has undoubtedly been much falsehood concerning the purposes of Admiral Seymour, referred to by Miss Norman. The presence of the British admiral in Pacific waters, with the Collingwood, has been misconstrued, if we may believe the correctness of recent developments. The admiral was not on the coast with aggressive intentions, nor was he dispatched to look for an opportunity to seize anything. And there is strong evidence that Sloat and Fremont were working at cross purposes, neither knowing anything of the other's instructions and plans.

The following conclusions seem to be based on sufficient evidence: Fremont's primary conduct was unofficial, and until later developments in

the course of the Mexican quarrel the California revolution had no color of sanction from the central government. From the outset the navy was withcut definite or even vague instructions to co-operate with Fremont. It has long been held that Fremont received secret instructions from the government authorizing him to do all that was done toward reducing the natives to subjugation. The story runs to the effect that on the shores of the greater Klamath Lake, in Oregon, Fremont was handed dispatches by Lieutenant Gillespie, who had crossed the continent to convey a message that would authorize the aggressiveness that followed. It is now known that the lieutenant did bring messages and that, acting under instructions, he had committed them to memory-but it is also known-thanks to the indefatigable energy of Royce!—that the messages did not warrant what occurred. Gillespie merely made Fremont acquainted with the contents of a message to United States Consul Larkin, and there was never a message to Fremont that authorized him to become a conqueror.

Royce and others conclude that the policy of the United States throughout the conquest was tricky, infinitely petty and far beneath the dignity of a great nation. Royce subinitted all the evidence to Fremont himself in his latter years, and after a thorough examination and refreshing of his memory the general was not able to extricate himself from the unpleasant position of having been a false hero this far--his acts were accidental and unauthorized, and he and his men did the natives a grave injustice.

To recur to the revolution proper it may be stated briefly that, after raising the American flag and issuing a proclamation on July 7, Commodore Sloat almost immediately resigned his command at Monterey to Commodore Robert F. Stockton, who had gone to Monterey on the frigate Congress. Robert Ritchie thus summarizes for this work the main events of the conquest from that time forward:

"To Stockton Fremont reported with his riflemen and ex-Independents and by Stockton was created major of the band, which was known as the California Battalion. Stockton abandoned the project entertained by Sloat of making terms with Pico and Castro and determined to compel their surrender by force of arms. He therefore dispatched Fremont by sea to San Diego, following himself with the Congress, which put into San Pedro harbor.

"Stockton treated contemptuously a message from Castro, praying for terms, and with his force of marines and six small guns pushed on to conflict with the Californians. But Castro and Pico fled without awaiting an attack, and Stockton, after having joined forces with Fremont, entered Los Angeles on August 13 and ran up the flag. All opposition to American rule seemingly at an end, Stockton now created Fremont provisional governor of California. Lieutenant Gillespie was left in command of Los Angeles with a garrison of only forty men, a nominal garrison was stationed at Santa Barbara and Stockton and Fremont took their departure for the north.

"Scarcely had the tiny army of occupation been withdrawn when Lieutenant J. M. Flores of the native Californian forces broke his parole, organized a considerable body of malcontents and on September 23 attacked Los Angeles and forced the capitulation of Gillespie. Santa Barbara was likewise quickly recaptured and the whole south was aflame with rebellion.

"A messenger, spurring his jaded steeds all the way from Los Angeles to San Francisco without a day's rest, brought the news of the uprising to Commodore Stockton. Opposed to the pitiful handful of men left to garrison the southern cities were from 1200 to 1400 armed and mounted Californians, who were now complete masters of the country which had seemed to be so easily subdued. Stockton and Fremont were a thousand miles away. With their number of less than a thousand men and with no means of obtaining reinforcements from the east the new Territory of California seemed lost to the Union.

"Lost it would have been had not Stockton and Fremont acted with great promptness and daring. Stockton immediately dispatched Captain Mervine with the frigate Savannah to stem the tide until he could appear on the scene with fresh troops. Fremont was sent to Santa Barbara with 160 hastily enlisted troops, while Stockton himself set out for San Pedro. Fremont failed to reach Santa Barbara when expected, but put in to Monterey for more men. After a trying march over the Santa Inez Mountains in the midst of winter, Fremont, with 50 men, again took possession of Santa Barbara and pursued his march south.

"Stockton, meanwhile, had proceeded to San Diego, built a temporary fort and was anxiously awaiting relief from Fremont. Help from an unex