I Don't Think So...

Fremont responded to Catro's demand by taking 60 of his men to the top of Hawk's Peak in the Gabilan Mountain overlooking Santa Clara Valley and erected a statue of himself along with the United States flag.   (I told you that you would come to look at Fremont differently!)  From there, he proceeded to taunt the Mexicans with boasts of military might.  He saw California as his, the way Jackson saw Florida and Houston saw Texas as their own.

Without orders, and as an active military officer, Fremont had entered a foreign country at that time, and committed what amounted to an act of war.  Fremont remained on Hawk's Peak for 3 days until the flag fell to the ground causing Fremont to abandon the position because he saw that as a "bad omen".

Hightailing it to Oregon without interference and in a towering rage, Captain Walker severed all ties with Fremont on the spot. and was later to say "Fremont, morally and physically was the most complete coward I ever knew.  I would say that he was as timid as a woman if I were not casting an unmerited reproach on that sex."

Next time...Fremont Finally Gets His

---------------------

This Day in History: On Nov.17, 1856, the United States gained control over the Gadsden Purchase with the establishment of Fort Buchanan. Named for the recently elected President, Fort Buchanan was located on the Sonoita River in present-day southern Arizona.

Trouble in California

Somewhere between Utah and California the party split up with Walker taking the pack mules, furs and horses through Walker Pass,  and Fremont going through Oregon, both agreeing to meet up in California. Captain Walker's party had a good trip through the Sierra and was waiting on Fremont for almost a month.  Walker went north to find Fremont (who claimed it was Walker who got lost).

The Mexican authorities  allowed Fremont's expedition under the title "scientific expedition" even though Fremont had no orders to be in California at all.  Walker was there as a free trapper/trader. 

About this time, rumors were  circulating that the United States and Mexico would soon be at war.  There were some 500 American settlers in California at that time, with the Indian population about 7000.  Col. Jose Catro was the local military commander and decided Fremont's "scientific expedition" was really a United States spy mission.  He ordered Fremont out of California immediately and began gathering regular military troops to enforce his demand.  Did John Charles Fremont helped incite the war with Mexico?  History doesn't say but from the story here, it sure didn't help.

Next time...I Don't Think So

-----------------------------------
This Day in History:  On October 13, 1909,  the Ballinger-Pinchot scandal erupts when Colliers magazine accuses Secretary of the Interior Richard Ballinger, an appointee of President Taft,  of shady dealings in Alaskan coal lands. It is, in essence, a conflict rooted in contrasting ideas about how to best use and conserve western natural resources.