d supplies. Why the Government revoked this permission
almost as soon as granted, ordering him and his men to quit the
country at once or they would be sent as prisoners to Mexico, is a
source of much controversy between historians of that day and this.
Fremont could not retreat into the desert with his scanty outfit. A
rude fort was built at once on Hawk's Peak, some thirty miles from
Monterey, and the Stars and Stripes flung out, Fremont and his men
ready to take the consequences of such defiance. When they withdrew,
as they did in a few days, overtures from the Mexicans followed
them, even a proposition from the Spanish officer that Fremont
should join with him and declare the country independent of Mexico.
Fremont moved northward. He had reached Tlamath Lake when overtaken
by a special messenger from Washington, the bearer of a despatch
which had been memorized by the messenger to prevent its falling
into the hands of the Mexicans, and which Fremont interpreted to
mean that it was the wish of the Cabinet that he should aid in
taking and holding California, in the event of any occurrence which
he thought justification for so doing. The English must not
strengthen their foothold on the coast. Someone must look after the
interest of the United States; he was on the ground. If a crisis
came he must act without written authority, promptly and
discreetly--"Get it honestly if you can--_but get it_." He returned
at once to California, and found it in a revolutionary state. The
American settlers had hoisted what was called the Bear Flag, and
were eager to fight for the overthrow of the Mexican authority in
California.

It is a long story, that of the conquest of California. Fremont's
right to be called the Conqueror or the Emancipator is bitterly
disputed by some, who claim that he attacked the Californians by
irregular warfare, and so thwarted the conciliatory designs of the
Government. Be that as it may, by July 5, 1846, the Bear Flag
insurgents under Fremont had declared their independence of Mexico,
and Fremont had been appointed Governor of California, and had
hauled down the Bear Flag and raised the Stars and Stripes. A
constitution had been drawn up and the territory declared to be in
the possession of the United States. January, 1847, "the enemy"
capitulated to Fremont. "The celerity and boldness of his movements
in the conduct of the affair were only surpassed," says a
contemporary, "by the moderation and clemency