men followed on their trail as far as the head of the Sacramento valley, where, his horses being jaded and the Indians proving hostile, he fortified himself with four of his men and sent the fifth, named Samuel Neal, ahead to overtake Fremont. Neal had scarcely started when he was attacked by the Indians and ran great risk of being killed by their arrows. But, by dint of hard riding and firing his rifle and pistols to right and left, he managed to pass them, and after a long and laborious trip reached Fremont's camp, where he fell from his horse in a state of exhaustion and had barely strength to describe Gillespie's situation and danger. Fremont immediately called for his trustiest men and started on the back trail to relieve Gillespie, whom he reached at dusk. The Indians were apparently not aware of his arrival or the accession of force he brought with him. That night they attacked the camp; but they were met by much more deadly arms than their own and repulsed with loss. Their chief or leader alone continued to fight and did so with desperation, yelling aloud and dancing from side to side to escape the aim of the American rifles, while he discharged his arrows with the rapidity of thought. But at length he too was brought down; and the fight, as well as the danger, was over.1

What Gillespie's dispatches consisted of has not been divulged; but they were sufficient to induce Fremont to turn around at once and retrace his steps, as has been seen, to the Marysville Buttes. There he camped and there a most extraordinary series of strategetical moves took place. In the above mentioned account which Benton published, it was stated that Fremont returned with the avowed purpose of "turning upon his pursuers, instantly fighting them without regard to numbers, and seeking safety for himself and party and the American settlers by overturning the Mexican government in California." It was also stated in the same account that on July 4, after the northern side of the bay of San Francisco had been cleared of the Californians, Fremont called the Americans together at Sonoma; addressed them; recommended a declaration of independence; and that independence was then and there declared, and war proclaimed. It cannot be believed that a man of Benton's character would have intentionally so completely misrepresented 1 Cutts, 48-50.

Cutts, 152, 153.

the facts. He must either have misunderstood the reports made to him, or been misinformed as to what really took place. There was no truth in either of the statements. On the contrary, when independence was declared Fremont was still assiduously pursuing his policy of provoking an attack and at the same time keeping up appearances.

A little book published in 1880, entitled "A Biographical Sketch of the Life of William B. Ide," who was the real head of the bear-flag party and the author of the declaration of independence at Sonoma, contains a rambling but evidently truthful letter by Ide himself in reference to the circumstances and gives many of the particulars of Fremont's proceedings at this period. Ide was a native of Massachusetts, born in 1796. He was a carpenter by trade; married in 1820; had six children, moved west in 1833; went first to Kentucky, thence to Ohio and thence to Illinois; and in 1845, with his wife and family, joined a train of about a hundred wagons and emigrated to the shores of the Pacific. His objective point on starting was Oregon; but on his way he changed his plans and headed for California. Towards the end of October, after much labor and difficulty in crossing the Sierra Nevada, he arrived at Sutter's fort; and, after roaming for a few weeks, built a cabin and settled down on the west bank of the Sacramento river in what is now Tehama county. From that place, in the spring of 1846, he moved down the west bank of the river into a new cabin in what is now Colusa county; and there he was on June 6 when Fremont established his camp at the Buttes near the mouth of the Rio de las Plumas or Feather river.

On June 8, Ide received a written notice to the effect that a body of Spaniards, two hundred and fifty in number, was on the way to the Sacramento valley destroying crops, burning houses and driving off cattle, and inviting every freeman in the valley to come to Fremont's camp immediately. The notice was not signed; but it was well understood from whom it came and what it meant; and it was also known that a similar notice was sent to all the Americans in the region round about. Ide immediately upon receiving it seized his arms; gave some hurried directions to his family; mounted a horse, and set off for Fre

there found a number of Americans and heard Fremont's plan of operations, which was that a dozen Americans who had nothing to lose but everything to gain should be selected to commit depredations upon Castro and the Californians; that they should make prisoners of some of the principal men in the country and thus provoke Castro to strike the first blow against the United States, and that they should seize horses enough to be enabled if necessary, after bringing on a war, to march back to the United States. The advantages to be derived from the plan were that, if the Californians could be provoked into attacking the forces of the United States, war would be sure to follow; and the certain result would be the conquest of California by the Americans. At the same time, if they had horses enough, all parties involved having the means of rapid locomotion could keep out of harm's way by marching back to the United States until it would be safe to return.

Ide says that Fremont rehearsed the plan to him, as they were sitting in Fremont's tent on the evening of June 10, and asked his opinion of it; and that he answered that it would be a long time before he would consent to join a set of irresponsible persons to first commit an outrage and then dishonorably run away and leave others to settle the difficulty and suffer the consequences. He further says that Fremont remonstrated against this reply and the reflection that there was anything dishonorable about his plan and then went on to observe that the American immigrants had received great indignities at the hands of Castro and would be justified in any measures they might adopt; but that, if they waited too long, they might find themselves in the position that Graham and his party had been in some years before. Ide rejoined that he meant no personal reflection; that Fremont as an officer of the United States was supposed to be acting in obedience to his instructions; but that he and his comrades, though outside the protection of the United States flag, still cherished the American name, and that their honor as Americans was dearer to them than any rewards of falsehood and treachery. Upon this, Fremont became exasperated and, hastily rising and exclaiming, "I will not suffer such language in my camp: it is disorganizing," left the tent.

There was at this time a band of some two hundred and fifty

Californian horses being conducted by an officer named Francisco de Arce and fourteen men from the north of the bay around by the way of the Sacramento valley to Castro's camp then at Santa Clara; and a party of twelve Americans under the lead of Ezekiel Merritt had already been ordered to go out for the purpose of seizing them. Soon after Fremont left his tent, as above stated, Lieutenant King made his appearance and, taking Ide and his companions to another tent, asked what they proposed to do in case the horses should be seized? They answered that if a breach were once made, as it would involve them all in its consequences, there would be no use considering the question as to its propriety. All that would remain to be done would be to widen the breach, so as to leave no one on the outside. They would make a rush for Sonoma and not think of flying the country or giving up while they had an arm to fight or a voice to cry for independence. The United States might have cause for war but that was nothing to them-they themselves had cause for war and blood too. King cried "Good" and ran out to repeat the sentiment. "Good! Hurrah for Independence!" shouted the whole camp. There was much excitement and great enthusiasm; and several of Fremont's men and among them the scout Kit Carson, according to Ide's statement, then and there asked for their discharge from the exploring expedition, so that they might join the movement for independence. But Fremont peremptorily refused his consent and stated that he was not at liberty to afford either aid or assistance or suffer any of his men to do so; that he needed all his force for his journey to the United States; that he did not ask any help from the immigrants; that he was able by himself to fight and whip Castro if he chose; but that he should not do so unless first attacked by him; and that in any event he would within two weeks at furthest be on his march homeward.

Scarcely were these statements made, when a cry was raised that the horses were coming; and soon afterwards Merritt and his party rode up with their booty. They reported that they had surprised the Californian guard and captured the whole band at the Cosumnes river; that after the capture they had for the sake of fair-play offered to give the Californians their arms. and fight them, which offer however was declined; and that they

had then given to each Californian his arms and two horses, with a request that he should in return tell Castro, "if he wanted his horses, to come and take them." This conduct Fremont highly approved; and the horses, which were acknowledged to be the prizes of the captors, were turned over to the care of Fremont for safe keeping until such time as the further parts of the plan of provocation could be carried out.

The "breach" between the American immigrants and the Californians having thus been made, no time was lost in widening it. The next move was to seize the principal men at the military post of Sonoma. Though it was then midnight, a hurried consultation was held. The Californians, who had been in charge of the horses and who had been released, would doubtless spread intelligence of the rising of the Americans in every direction; and, unless the contemplated seizure were made at once and in advance of the intelligence, Sonoma might be alarmed and could not be taken by surprise. There was therefore no time to be lost. By sunrise, June 11, thirteen chosen men, Merritt and Ide among them, armed with rifles and pistols and mounted on fresh horses, started from Fremont's camp; crossed the Sacramento river at the mouth of the Feather, and made their way to Gordon's ranch on Cache creek. Gordon gave them a bullock, upon which they made their supper. Again mounting and making their way over the first range of mountains by night, they arrived the next day at Barnett's ranch. Barnett also gave them a bullock, which they killed and ate. In that neighborhood there were a number of newlyarrived American immigrants, and the remainder of the day was spent in gathering recruits amongst them. On the morning of June 13 the party consisted of thirty-two men; but a day had been lost in swelling the ranks. Some were for resting still longer and recruiting still more. Others, representing the dangers of delay, were for immediate action. The latter prevailed; and the whole party moved off, by a trail apart from the traveled road, with the object of reaching their destination unobserved and accomplishing their purpose before dawn the next morning.1

The recognized leader of the party at this time, in so far as it 1 Life of Ide, 112–121.