A memorial and biographical history of northern California, illustrated. Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy...and biographical mention of many of its most eminent pioneers and also of prominent citizens of today, Part 7

Author: Lewis Publishing Company. cn
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1000

USA > California > A memorial and biographical history of northern California, illustrated. Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy...and biographical mention of many of its most eminent pioneers and also of prominent citizens of today > Part 7

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You will afterward wait on the Alcalde, or presiding civil officer of Sonoma, and inform him of what has beeu done (at the instance of Don Guadalupe Vallejo), com- municating any satisfactory assurances which you may have received from the insurgent chief calculated to allay the general apprehension; after which, when suf- ficiently recruited, you will return to this ship and render to me a written report.

Respectfully, I am, sir, your obedient servant,

(Signed) JOHN B. MONTGOMERY,

Commander. To Lieutenant John S. Missroon, Executive Officer United States Ship Portsmouth.

APPENDAGE TO MR. MISSROON'S ORDER.

DEAR SIR :- As an appendage to the orders handed you last evening, I wish you to endeavor in as forcible a manner as possible, to represent to the person or persons of the insurgent party with whom you may confer at Sonoma and to impress their minds with a sense of the advantages which will accrue to their cause (whatever its intrinsic merits may be) from pursuing a course of kind and benevolent treatment of prisoners, as well as toward the defenseless inhabitants of the country generally, with whom they may have to do, and endeavor, as far as propriety will permit, to obtain a promise of kind and

HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

humane treatment toward General Vallejo and his com- panions in their possession as prisoners.

I am, sir, respectfully, your obedient servant. (Signed) JOHN B. MONTGOMERY,

Commander.

To Lieutenant John S. Missroon, United States Ship Portsmouth.

Report of Lieutenant Missroon on his return from Sonoma, with accompanying documents B.

UNITED STATES SHIP PORTSMOUTH, SAN FRANCISCO, June 17, 1846.

SIR :- In pursuance of your order of the 16th instant, to proceed to Sonoma and endeavor by all proper means in my power to secure to the female and unoffending por- tion of the population of that district some degree of security for their persons and property during the occu- pancy of the place hy certain insurgents, chiefly foreign- ers, I have the honor to report, in obedience to that order, that I left the ship on the day of receiving your instruc- tions, and reached the town ahout sunset, where I found about twenty-five men under arms, and having six or seven pieces of artillery with several hundred stand of arms. The whole party is only thirty-five.

I waited upon the commanding officer, Wm. B. Ide, and received from him both verbal and written assurances of his intention to maintain order and to respect both the persons and property of all persons residing within the limits of his command. He also handed me a copy of a proclamation which he had issued on the day after his occupation of the town, and which I herewith present to you, marked " A," in which you will observe that these promises of protection are set forth in explicit terms, and which I would remark to you, seemed to me to have fully assured the inhabitants of their safety, although Sonoma is evidently under martial law.

By this proclamation you will also observe that Califor- nia is declared to he an independent republic. The insurgent party has hoisted a flag with a white field, with a border or stripe of red on its lower part, and having a star and hear upon it.

I informed the commanding officer of the state of terror into which his movement upon Sonoma had thrown the inhabitants in and about the Yerba Buena, as directed by my instructions.

I then waited upon the Alcalde of the place, informed him through my interpreter that my visit was entirely of a peaceful character, and that it had been induced by the message which my commander had received from the late Mexican commander, General Vallejo, now a pris- oner in the hands of the insurgents, asking his (my com- mander's) interference for the protection of females and unoffending inhabitants; that assurances of respect and protection were freely given me by the commanding officer of the party under arms, and that I explicity made it known to him, for the information of the surrounding country, that my commander disclaimed any and all interference in the matter other than what was dicta ed by motives of humanity.

After these interviews I then called upon the family of General Vallejo and moderated their distress, by the assurance of safety for the General, which I had received, and informing them that the prisoners were held as hostages

Having completed the object for which I went to Sonoma, I left the place yesterday with the thanks of both parties, about meridian, and reached the ship about sunset. Before taking my departure I deemed it best to reassure the Alcalde, in order to prevent any necessity for future explanation, which is so apt to grow out of a business transacted with Mexicans, especially through an interpreter. I therefore addressed the letter marked " B," appending to it the written pledge, or a copy of the pledge, which I had obtained from the commander of the

foreigners in possession of the place, and which I here- with hand you a copy of.

It only remains, sir, for me to add that, so far as I could judge and observe, the utmost harmony and good order prevail in the camp, and that I have every reason to be- lieve that the pledges of kind treatment toward all who may fall into their hands will be faithfully observed.

Respectfully, sir, your obedient servant, (Sigued) J. S. MISSROON,

First Lieutenant United States ship Portsmouth.

To Commander Jno. B. Montgomery, commanding United States ship Portsmouth, Bay of San Francisco. Document B, accompanying the foregoing report.

SONOMA, June 17, 1846.

SIR :- As you were informed yesterday, through my interpreter, my visit to this place is of a strictly media- torial character, and was induced by the application of General Vallejo through his messenger, Señor Rosa, to Captain Montgomery, requesting of him to adopt meas- ures for the protection of the females and peaceable inhabitants of Sonoma.

I have the pleasure to assure you of the intention of the foreigners now in arms and occupying Sonoma, to respect the persons of all individuals and their property, who do not take up arms against them, and I leave with you a copy of the pledge which the commander of the party has voluntarily given to me, with a view to the pacification of all alarm.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

(Signed) J. S. MISSROON,

Lieutenant United States Navy.

TO THE ALCALDE OF SONOMA.

I pledge myself that I will use my utmost exertion to restrain and prevent the men in arms under my command, all of whom present acknowledge my authority and approve the measure of forbearance and humanity, from perpetrating any violence, or in any manner molesting the peaceable inhabitants, in person or property, of California, while we continue in arms for the liberty of California.

(Signed) WM. B. IDE, Commander.

Witness to the above signature,

(Signed), J. S MISSROON,

Lieutenant United States Navy, and Executive Officer of the United States Ship Portsmouth.

SONOMA, June 17, 1846.

The revolutionists were now master of the situation, having control of nine cannons and about two hundred mnskets. While William B. Ide, then the leader of the Bear Flag party, may have been a man of some eccentricity of character, he seems to have been a man of con- siderable culture, and there is little room for doubt that he shaped and controlled, to a large degree, the conduct of those under him. It was no sinecure position, this of Commander Ide. It is true, the prisoners sent to Sacramento were taken charge of by General Fremont, under the saving elanse that he had nothing to do with their arrest; and it is also true that Commander

HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

Montgomery of the Portsmouth in an unofficial way, and in obedience to the dictates of human- ity, sent Lieutenant Missroon to Sonoma, to counsel moderation and kindness on the part of the revolutionists toward the vanquished; but in neither case was there aught said or done that could be construed into leaving the door ajar for a safe retreat of the Bear Flag party out of their difficulty should their rebellion prove abortive. To stand their ground and successfully maintain their position under snch adverse circumstances required not only nerve but real heroism.

That they knew that they were acting outside of the pale of any responsible anthority is ap- parent from the fact that one of the very first matters to claim their consideration was the adoption of a flag. There is little question that the bear flag was made on the day of the taking of Sonoma, although it is quite possible it was not completed so as to be hoisted until the morning of the 15th of June. As there has been much controversy as to how and by whom that flag was made, we give place to the follow- ing, which we believe to be authentic:

Wm. L. Todd, in a letter to the editor of the Los Angeles Express, under date of January 11, 1878, gives the following version of the construction of the bear flag:

Your letter of the 9th inst. came duly to hand, and in answer I have to say in regard to the making of the ori- ginal bear flag of California at Sonoma, in 1846, that when the Americans, who had taken up arms against the Spanish regime, had determined what kind of a flag should be adopted, the following persons performed the work: Granville P. Swift, Peter Storm, Henry L. Ford and myself; we procured in the house where we made onr headquarters, a piece of new unbleached cotton domestic, not quite a yard wide, with stripes of red flannel abont four inches wide, furnished by Mrs. John Sears, on the lower side of the canvas. On the upper left- hand corner was a star, aud in the center was the image made to represent a gizzly bear passant, so common in this country at the time. The bear and star were painted with paint made of linseed oil and Venetian red or Spanish brown. Underneath the bear were the words " California Republic." The other person engaged with ine got the materials together, while I acted as artist. The forms the bear and star and the letters were first lined ont with pen and ink by myself, and the two forms were filled in with the red paint, but the letters with ink. The flag mentioned by Mr. Hittell with the bear rampant, was made, as I always understood, at Santa Barbara, and was painted black. Allow me to say, that at that time there was not a wheelwright shop in Cali-

fornia. The flag I painted I saw in the rooms of the Cali- fornia Pioneers in San Francisco, in 1870, and the secre- tary will show it to any person who will call on him at any time. If it is the one that I painted, it will be known by a mistake in tinting out the words "California Re- public." The letters were first lined out with a pen, and I left out the letter I, and lined out the letter C in its place. But afterward I lined out the letter I over the C so that the last syllable of " Republic " looks as if the two last letters were blended. Yours respectfully, WM. L. TODD.

On the occasion of the Centennial exercises, held at Santa Rosa on the 4th of July, 1876, General M. G. Vallejo made the following statement in reference to the capture of Sonoma in 1846 by the Americans:

I have now to say something of the epoch which inau- gnrated a new era for this country. A little before dawn on June 14, 1846, a party of hunters and trappers, with some foreign settlers, under command of Captain Merritt, Doctor Semple and William B. Ide, surrounded my resi- deuce at Sonoma, and without firing a shot, made a prisoner of myself, then commander of the northern frontier; of Lientenant-Colonel Victor Prudon, Captain Salvador Val- lejo, and Jacob l'. Leese. I should bere state that down to October, 1845, I had maintained at my own expense a respectable garrison at Sonoma, which often, in union with the settlers, did good service in campaign against the Indians; but at last, tired of spending money which the Mexican Government never refunded, I disbanded the force, and most of the soldiers who had constituted it left Sonoma. Thus in June, 1846, the Plaza was entirely unprotected, although there were ten war pieces of artil- lery, with other arms and munitions of war. The parties who unfurled the bear flag were well aware that Sonoma was withont defense, and lost no time in taking advantage of this fact, and carrying out their plans. Years before I had urgently represented to the government of Mexico the necessity of stationing a sufficent force on the frontier, else Sonoma would be lost, which would be equivalent to eaving the rest of the country an easy prey to the in- vader. What think you, my friends, were the instructions sent me in reply to my repeated demands for means to fortify the country? These instructions were that I should at once force the immigrants to recross the Sierra Nevada, and depart from the territory of the Republic. To say nothing of the inhumanity of these orders, their execution was physically impossible-first, because the immigrants came in autumn when snow covered the Sierra so quickly as to make a return impracticable. Under the circumstances, not only I, but Commandante General Castro, resolved to provide the immigrants with letters of security, that they might remain temporarily in the country. We always made a show of authority, but well convinced all the time that we had had no power to resist the invasion which was coming upon us. With the frankness of a soldier I can assure you that the Amer- ican immigrants never had cause to complain of the treatment they received at the hands of either authorities or citizens. They carried us as prisoners to Sacramento, and kept us in a calahoose for sixty days or more, until the United States made itself respected, and the honor- able and humane Commodore Stockton returned us to our hearths.

On the seizure of their prisoners the revolutionists at once took steps to appoint a captain who was found in the person of John Grigsby, for Ezekiel Merritt wished not to retain the permanent command; a meeting was then called at the barracks, situated at the northeast corner of

HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

the Plaza, under the presidency of William B. Ide, Dr. Robert Semple being secretary. At this conference Semple urged the independence of the country, stating that having once commenced they must proceed, for to turn back was certain death. Before the dissolution of the convention, however, rumors were rife that secret emissaries were being dispatched to the Mexican ranch- eros, to inform them of the recent occurrences, therefore to prevent any attempt at a rescue it was deemed best to transfer their prisoners to Sutter's Fort, where the danger of such would be less.

In order that the conquest of California should be accomplished in a decent and orderly way and the record thereof be properly handed down to future generations, Captain William B. Ide formulated the following declaration of pur- poses which was dnly published to the world on the 18th of June:

A proclamation to all persons and citizens of the district of Sonoma requesting them to remain at peace and follow their rightful occupations without fear of molestation.

The commander-in-chief of the troops assembled at the fortress of Sonoma gives his inviolable pledge to all per- sons in California, not found under arms, that they shall not be disturbed in their persons, their property, or social relation, one with another, by men under his command.

He also solemnly declares his object to be: First, to defend himself and companions in arms, who were in- vited to this country by a promise of lands on which to settle themselves and families; wbo were also promised a Republican government ; when, having arrived in Cali- fornia, they were denied the privilege of buying or rent- ing lands of their friends, who instead of being allowed to participate in or being protected by a Republican government, were oppressed by military despotism ; who were even threatened by proclamation by the chief officers of the aforesaid despotism with extermination if they should not depart out of the country, leaving all their property, arms and beasts of burden; and thus de- prived of their means of flight or defense, were to be driven through deserts inhabited by hostile Indians, to certain destruction.

To overthrow a government which has seized upon the prosperity of the mission for its individual aggrandize- ment; which has ruined and shamefully oppressed the laboring people of California by enormous exactions on goods imported into the country, is the determined pur. pose of the brave men who are associated under my command.

I also solemnly declare my object, in the second place, to be to invite all peaceable and good citizens of Califor- nia who are friendly to the maintenance of good order and equal rights, and I do bereby invite them to repair to my camp at Sonoma without delay to assist us in estab- lishing and perpetuating a Republican government, which shall secure to all civil and religious liberty ; which shall encourage virtue and literature; which shall leave unshackled by fetters agriculture, commerce and manufactures.

l further declare that I rely upon the rectitude of our intentions, the favor of heaven and the bravery of those who are bound and associated with me by principles self- preservation, by the love of the truth and the hatred of lyrauny, for my hopes of success.

1 furthermore declare that I believe that a government to be prosperous and happy must originate with the peo-

ple who are friendly to its existence, that the citizens are its guardiaos, the officers its servants, its glory its reward. WILLIAM B. IDE.

Thus far the revolution had been a bloodless one, but it was not destined to continue so to the end. There were two occurrences of thrill- ing character that came in quick succession -- the killing of Cowie and Fowler and the battle of Olompali. As Robert A. Thompson, who has gathered inneh of the early history of So- noma County, got his information about the battle referred to from one of the participants therein, we here incorporate his graphie account of those two events.

About this time one of the most distressing events of the revolution occurred. It was dis- covered that the garrison had an insufficient supply of powder. It was known that Moses Carson, at the Fitch ranch, on Russian River, had some on hand. Two men named T. Cowie and -- Fowler, who had joined the party in Napa, volunteered to go and get the powder. They imprudently took the main traveled road, or returned to it near Santa Rosa, and were captured by a scouting party, or, rather, a rov- ing band of cut-throats and thieves under the lead of Juan Padillo. The two men were kept in the Carillo house all night. The next morn- ing they were taken. up the little valley, near the present county farin, were first inhumanly treated, and then shot. Not satisfied with this, their bodies were mutilated in a horrid manner and were then thrown into a ditch. An Indian named Chanate, who knew the men, told Moses Carson of their fate and condition, and he camne and buried them under a pine tree, piling up a few roeks to mark the spot.

Finding that Cowie and Fowler did not re- turn, there was much uneasiness in Sonoma. A party was sent up the valley to make inquiry, who learned the circuinstances of their cruel murder and mutilation. Two others of the party, who were out in search of horses, had been taken, and it was feared that they, too, would be killed.

The Bear Flag men were not of the class to

HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

suffer any indignity, much less a horrid outrage like this. It demanded instant and exemplary punishment. Volunteers were called for to go in search of the murderers. The whole garri- son volunteered. All could not go. Twenty- three were selected and put under command of Lieutenant W. L. Ford. Among the number was Frank Bidwell, to whom the writer is in- debted for this account of the pursuit. Captain Ford and his command came first to Santa Rosa. Padillo had fled. From Santa Rosa he went to the Roblar de la Miseria, Padillo's ranch. He was there told by some Indians that the maraud- ing band had gone, some three hours before, to the Laguna de San Antonio. Captain Ford pushed on to that point and bivouacked half a mile from the supposed headquarters. He charged upon the house next morning and found only four men there, whom he took prisoners. He left some of his men to guard the prisoners and horses which he had captured.

With fourteen men he continued the pursuit. After a brief ride of a few miles he came to the Olompali ranch, now Dr. Burdell's place, in Marin County. He saw a number of horses in a corral near the house apparently in charge of a vaquero. Ile dashed up rapidly to pre- vent the man in charge from turning them loose, as he proposed to confiscate them. Get- ting nearer he was astonished to see the Cali- fornians pouring out of the house and hastily mounting their already saddled horses. He had run upon the combined forces of Captain Joaquin de la Torre and the Santa Rosa mur- derers, numbering all told eighty-three mnen. Both parties had been surprised. Fortunately there was a willow thicket about sixty yards from the house. While the enemy were getting in motion Captain Ford ordered his inen to fall back to the brush and to dismount, tie their horses, take position in the brush, and by no means to fire until " sure of a man." There was a mountaineer in the party who went by the name of " Old Red." He was a dead shot, and was stationed in the upper end of the wood. Frank Bidwell was some distance below him. 3

The Californians, mnade bold by the supposed retreat, formed their lines, and came up hand- somely. Their advance was lead by a gallant young sergeant. All was still in the willows. The sharp crack of a rifle broke the silence, followed by a puff of smoke which burst through the brush. It was "Old Red," who could not hold his fire. This brought on the fight. Other shots came in quick succession. In a very few moments eight of the assaulting party lay dead upon the plain, two were wonnded, and a horse with an ngly bullet-hole in his neck was struggling in the field. The young sergeant was the last to fall, whereupon the whole band broke for the cover of the hills, receiving as they left a volley at long range as a parting salute. Twenty-three shots had been fired; eleven took effect. " Old Rcd's" excuse for firing so soon was, that he was " sure of a man " anywhere in range.

As soon as the fight began a woman in the house cut Todd's bonds, and he joined his com- rades before it was over. Captain Ford rested on his arms for some time thinking that the enemy would rally and renew the fight, but they made no sign. It was enough. He there- npon set out on his return to Sonoma with his rescued prisoners and his captives. The captured horses he drove before him as the spoil of war. The murder of Cowie and Fowler was avenged on the field of Olompali.

On the 20th of June, Castro made his first move in the direction of trying to recover lost gronnd north of the bay. On that date Cap- tain Joaquin de la Torre crossed the bay with about seventy Californians and being joined by Padea and Correo, took a position near San Rafael. Of these movements Fremont was speedily apprised, and now for the first time gave open recognition of the claims of the rev- olutionists upon him for active aid. On the 23d of June, Harrison Pierce, a pioncer settler of Napa Valley, made a forced ride of eighty miles to Fremont's camp announcing the pres- ence of Castro's troops on the north side of the bay and the consequent peril of those who had

HISTORY OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.

captured Sonoma. He received a promise from Fremont to come to their aid just as soon as he could put ninety men into the saddle. Pierce, with this cheering news, retraced the eighty miles formerly passed over, with but one change of horse, and soon carried the news to the little garrison at Sonoma, that Fremont was coming. On the evening of the day he had received the tidings Fremont and his men were on their way toward Sonoma. Of the make-up of Fre. mont's force, one of the party wrote as follows: " There were Americans, French. English, Swiss, Poles, Russians, Prussians, Chilians, Germans, Greeks, Austrians, Pawnees, native Indians, etc., all riding side by side and talking a polyglot lingual hash never exceeded in diversi- bility since the confusion of tongnes at the tower of Babel. Some wore the relics of their home-spun garments, some relied upon the an- telope and the bear for their wardrobe, some lightly habited in buckskin leggings and a coat of war-paint, and their weapons were equally various. There was the grim old hunter with his long heavy rifle, the farmer with his double- barreled shot-gun, the Indian with his bows and arrows; and others with horse-pistols, re- volvers, sabres, ships' cutlasses, bowie-knives, and pepper-boxes (Allen's revolvers)." Fre- mont, with his incongrnons band, made forced marches and reached Sonoma on the morning of June 25th. After a rest Fremont started for San Rafael in quest of Castro and Torre's forces. Castro had not crossed over as supposed, and Torre was invisible. A decoy letter of Torre fell into Fremont's hands, the purport of which was that Torre's force, with some other imaginary ally was to proceed against Sonoma. Fremont at once called to saddle and his com- mand went toward Sonoma as fast as muscle and tendon of mustang horses would carry them. Arrived there, Fremont became satisfied that he had been deceived, and made swift haste back toward San Rafael; but it was of no avail: the wily Torre had succeeded in getting his troops across the bay and was out of reach of the clutches of the " Path Finder."

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A memorial and biographical history of northern California, illustrated. Containing a history of this important section of the Pacific coast from the earliest period of its occupancy...and biographical mention of many of its most eminent pioneers and also of prominent citizens of today, Part 7

Author: Lewis Publishing Company. cn Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis publishing company Number of Pages: 1000

Author: Lewis Publishing Company. cn
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis publishing company
Number of Pages: 1000