June 18; 54, July 20; 56, Aug. 22, 1846; 63, Jan. 14, 1847. 13Crampton to Palmerston, nos. 35, 63, 1848. 76P. Pico to Relac., June 29, 1846. 76Id., proclams., May [13]; June 23, 1846. 76Vallejo, Nov. 24, 1845. 76Pico, May 25, 1846. 76J. Castro, Mar. 5; Apr. 1,2; May 30, 1846. 76Castro and Alvarado, May 30, 1845.
XVII. THE CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA
1. Frémont's clash with Castro. 13Forbes to Barron, Jan. 26. Sen. 1; 29, 2, pp. 50-1. Benton, View, ii, 580, 688. 67Abert to Frémont, Feb. 12, 1845. 13Pakenham, no. 130, 1846. 13Forbes to Calif. govt., Feb. 28. 62Adj. gen. to Benton, Nov. 2, 1847. 75J. Castro to P. Pico, Jan. 30, 1846. 75Frémont to J. Castro, Jan. 29. 247Larkin's memoranda and correspondence with Frémont and others on the subject. 52Id., nos. 36, 38, Mar. 5, 27; 41, Apr. 17, 1846; 63, Jan. 14, 1847. 3Alvarado, Hist. de Calif., 239. Phelps, Fore and Aft, 279. Bancroft, Pac. States, xvii, 4-23. Frémont, Mems., i, 454-70. Id., Geog. Memoir. Niles, Nov. 21, 1846, pp. 188-9. Diario, Apr. 24. Sen. 33; 30, 1, pp. 372-4 (Frémont here states that he was given permission to explore south of the Colorado, and was on his way to do so when stopped by Castro. This permission does not appear in the documents of March, 1846. It may have been given very incidentally, and this may have been the cause of the trouble). Bandini, Calif., 139. Sen. Report 75; 30, 1, pp. 12, 16. Richman, Calif., 308. Tuthill, Calif. 163. Sherman, Sloat, xv. Cong. Globe, 30, 1, pp. 604-5. Kelsey, Consulate, 96. 76Castro, Mar. 6; Apr. 1. 76Larkin to alcalde, Mar. 10. Journ. Mil. Serv. Instit., xxxi. 711.
Rives (U. S. and Mexico, ii, 172-3) decides roundly against Frémont, and cites for support a letter from the prefect to Larkin demanding the reason for Frémont's movements; but it was perfectly in accord with Mexican methods that such a letter should have been written purely to satisfy the authorities at Mexico.
2. Gillespie's mission. Cong. Globe, 30, 1, p. 605. 247Gillespie to Larkin, May 24. 13J. A. to A. Forbes, July 9. Polk, Diary, Oct. 30, 1845. 247Leidesdorff to Larkin, Apr. 25, 1846. Buchanan to Larkin, Oct. 17, 1845. Atlantic Monthly, Oct., 1890, pp. 548, ete. Sen. 33; 30, 1, 873. Ho. Report 817; 30, 1. Sen. Report 75; 30, 1, pp. 12, 30. Frémont, Mems., i, 489. Century Mag., N. S., xix, 923. Calif. Hist. Soc. Papers, i, pt. 1 (1887), pp. 69-72. 52Larkin, no. 44, June 1. 52Id. to Stearns et al., Apr. 17. Benton, View, ii, 689. Cooke, Conquest, 203-4. Royce, Bidwell.
Gillespie took to Frémont a letter of introduction from Buchanan and letters from Frémont's father-in-law, Senator Benton. The former was entirely non-committal; and the latter, while very likely they contained veiled allusions to conversations in which the desire of the administration to acquire California had been mentioned, must have been like it in that respect, else Gillespie would not have dared to carry them through Mexico.
3. The evidence on this point, including Frémont's positive statements made not long after the event, is conclusive (Polk, Diary, March 21, 1848; Senate Report 75; 30, 1, pp. 13, 32; 132Benton, Feb. 18, 1848; Ho. Report 817; 30, 1, p. 4; 52Larkin to P. Pico, July 5, 1846 Speaking in the Senate, April 10, 1848 (Cong. Globe, 30, 1, p. 604), Benton, though feeling extremely bitter toward Polk and no doubt fully informed by his son-in-law and client regarding all the facts, did not intimate that any