The Forty-Niners | Page 8

closed. The easy-going Californians accepted the apology promptly and
cherished no rancor for the mistake.
In the meantime Thomas O. Larkin, a very substantial citizen of long
standing in the country, had been appointed consul, and in addition
received a sum of six dollars a day to act as secret agent. It was hoped
that his great influence would avail to inspire the Californians with a
desire for peaceful annexation to the United States. In case that policy
failed, he was to use all means to separate them from Mexico, and so
isolate them from their natural alliances. He was furthermore to
persuade them that England, France, and Russia had sinister designs on

their liberty. It was hoped that his good offices would slowly influence
public opinion, and that, on the declaration of open war with Mexico,
the United States flag could be hoisted in California not only without
opposition but with the consent and approval of the inhabitants. This
type of peaceful conquest had a very good chance of success. Larkin
possessed the confidence of the better class of Californians and he did
his duty faithfully.
Just at this moment a picturesque, gallant, ambitious, dashing, and
rather unscrupulous character appeared inopportunely on the horizon.
His name was John C. Frémont. He was the son of a French father and
a Virginia mother. He was thirty-two years old, and was married to the
daughter of Thomas H. Benton, United States Senator from Missouri
and a man of great influence in the country. Possessed of an
adventurous spirit, considerable initiative, and great persistence
Frémont had already performed the feat of crossing the Sierra Nevadas
by way of Carson River and Johnson Pass, and had also explored the
Columbia River and various parts of the Northwest. Frémont now
entered California by way of Walker Lake and the Truckee, and
reached Sutter's Fort in 1845. He then turned southward to meet a
division of his party under Joseph Walker.
His expedition was friendly in character, with the object of surveying a
route westward to the Pacific, and then northward to Oregon. It
supposedly possessed no military importance whatever. But his turning
south to meet Walker instead of north, where ostensibly his duty called
him, immediately aroused the suspicions of the Californians. Though
ordered to leave the district, he refused compliance, and retired to a
place called Gavilán Peak, where he erected fortifications and raised
the United States flag. Probably Frémont's intentions were perfectly
friendly and peaceful. He made, however, a serious blunder in
withdrawing within fortifications. After various threats by the
Californians but no performance in the way of attack, he withdrew and
proceeded by slow marches to Sutter's Fort and thence towards the
north. Near Klamath Lake he was overtaken by Lieutenant Gillespie,
who delivered to him certain letters and papers. Frémont thereupon
calmly turned south with the pick of his men.

In the meantime the Spanish sub-prefect, Guerrero, had sent word to
Larkin that "a multitude of foreigners, having come into California and
bought property, a right of naturalized foreigners only, he was under
necessity of notifying the authorities in each town to inform such
purchasers that the transactions were invalid, and that they themselves
were subject to be expelled." This action at once caused widespread
consternation among the settlers. They remembered the deportation of
Graham and his party some years before, and were both alarmed and
thoroughly convinced that defensive measures were necessary.
Frémont's return at precisely this moment seemed to them very
significant. He was a United States army officer at the head of a
government expedition. When on his way to the North he had been
overtaken by Gillespie, an officer of the United States Navy. Gillespie
had delivered to him certain papers, whereupon he had immediately
returned. There seemed no other interpretation of these facts than that
the Government at Washington was prepared to uphold by force the
American settlers in California.
This reasoning, logical as it seems, proves mistaken in the perspective
of the years. Gillespie, it is true, delivered some letters to Frémont, but
it is extremely unlikely they contained instructions having to do with
interference in Californian affairs. Gillespie, at the same time that he
brought these dispatches to Frémont, brought also instructions to
Larkin creating the confidential agency above described, and these
instructions specifically forbade interference with Californian affairs. It
is unreasonable to suppose that contradictory dispatches were sent to
one or another of these two men. Many years later Frémont admitted
that the dispatch to Larkin was what had been communicated to him by
Gillespie. His words are: "This officer [Gillespie] informed me also
that he was directed by the Secretary of State to acquaint me with his
instructions to the consular agent, Mr. Larkin." Reading Frémont's
character, understanding his ambitions, interpreting his later