The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-12-09
Conquest of the CALIFORNIA;.

The official paper Of the Mexican government the
Ddro del Gobierno, Of the 10th Of October contains the
Mexican account OF the conquest OF the CALIFORNIA; which
is in fact little than the annunciaton of the fact that
both provinces lost and all the authorities civil and
military, had fled, including the Governor General Don
Pio Poo The account was written by the Commandant
General Castro, the deputy governor who commenced
his troubles last winter with Capt Fremont, and who is
now among the fugitives Nothing can be more opposite
to each other, than the two dispatches which he sent to
his government at the beginning and the end of his
troubles. In the first, he had "dispersed Fremont and
his men completely that the ''prints of their hoofn
could not be found; and that they had hid IN the b
yusAes" and fled north through the "desert" The newt
despatch is dated the road for Sonora and gives notice
that Fremont and his men, with Stockton and the marines
in the CRY OF THE ANGELs-that Governor Pico
had fed towards Sonora, but that he did not know where
he had halted-that Col Alvarado and other officers
hid in the woods and that he himself, with two
soldiers three serjeants, ensgns and heutenants
in the road thirty days out from the CITY of the
Angels to Sonora, but without the means of getting
further This, we should think would be satisfaction
enough to Fremont and his men for Caso's perfdious
conduct and false procamaons OF last winter We pub
shed this last despatch and the editorial which intro
duced them in the Daily Union of Friday last and now
add transations Of two other papers from the same Off
cal communicatonone. the proclamation of Castro to
the people of the CALIFORNIA; stating the conquest of the
country and fight of the authorities the other the COPY
OF communication to the consus of France SPAIN and
Great Britain making known to them officially the said
conquest and figh-doubtless to make known to them
that their functions at end and that the United
States according to the Laws of Nations was the sover
egn of the country IT, after that any of those consuls
nterfered in what did not them their mistake be-
douby serious In giving this report of Castro to
his government, which was done rapidly as to have
reached us a week ago by the way of Mexico we must
make remark upon the extraordinary express despatched
by Commodore Stockton and Colonel Fremont to convey
the intelligence to troops in New Mexico and
overland to their government in this city, as model of
proprety and military duty in the officers who ordered it.
and Of heroic courage and fidelity in the men who exc
cuted the order Intelligence is the soul of all military
operations and Stockton and Fremont Judging that there
must be troops in New Mexico whose movements might
be affected by the state of things in California determined
to send express, through New Mexico TO the United
Staesabove four thousand miles in distance and three
thousand OF it through deserts and wilderness infested
with treacherous Indians and passing through Mexican
provinces which were the expected seat of war The en-
terprlse perilous but there were men to execue il
The famous Christopher Carson so noted in Fremonts
expeditions, and with him in all his dangers was then in
the City of the Angels He at the head of fourteen of
fremonts Veterans undertook TO bring the despacbes
their first stage to New Mexico computed at thirty
days run by the southern route (Rio Ga) which they
took. Fifty mules, three or four for each man. and
bushel of parched corn EACH was the equipment In
thrty-one days they had run the gauntlet to New
Mexico, with the loss of all the mules but eigh
teen and arrived in the valley of the upper Rio Grande
del Norte, one hundred and seventy five miles below
Santa Fe meeting at that point General Kearny with the
vanguard OF his California army. This meeting was of
lncalculable moment 1t stopped the march of the van
guard, turned back all but an escort Of one HUNDRED
Dragons for the general turned back two hundred war
ons and rendered the large force assembled in New Mey
leo Tor California dsposable for other operations on the
right CT General Taylor Seldom has il happened that
,ne value OF intelligence was more sgnally illustrated
nut we are not done with Carson yet He was to bring
the dispatches to the United States Kearny wished him
10 go back as guidehis own guide, Major Fitzpatrick
never having travelled the southern or Rio ella route
and having only general knowledge OF the country
he agreed to bring Carsons dispatches to Washington II
carson would go back sguide the exchange of duties
was made, and perhaps there hardly another man in
Tue world to whom Carson would have entrusted Ere
monts dispatches but Fitzpatrick was another peferqn of
rremonts having been with him in all his previous ex-
peduons and honorably noted in the reports Of Fra
mont and by him the dispatches were all safely deliver.