Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-07-11
THE BEAR FLAG.

Gistory Made by the HanGers-On OF Fra.
mont's Party.
The very day, that Fremont arrived
at his camp in the Butte mountains
(now in Suffer county, there occurred
an event which had never happened
before-that is, the transferring of n
band of horses from the north to the
south side of the Bay of San Francisco.
by way of the Sacramento and San
joaquin valleys True, the north side
of the bay of San Francisco was COW
. cred with horses and cattle and some
other live stock. but the first animals
were either taken across the bay Of
San Francisco one by one. in small
boats, or they were made to swim by
the side OF boats across the straits of
Carquinez, one at a time.
Fremont, hearing Of the passing of
that band of horses by Suffers fort,
sent men who overlook them at the
Costume river and took them awav
from the lieutenant and soldiers in
charge. taking about one hundred and
fifty head of horses and sending in
solent and vulgar messages to Castro
These were not Fremont's exploring
party men, but some men who had
Joined him on his way back to Oregon.
The horses were brought to Fremont's
camp, which he had moved lower
down in the valley.
The taking of these horses was GER
tainly an act of war, but Fremont had
not at that date, nor had anyone,
heard OF actual war or of the declare.
ton of war by the United States
against Mexico. and Fremont did not
pretend to do what he did in the name
of the United States, but he vaguely
intimated that it was necessary be-
cause OF threats against Americans by
Castro. / don't know that Castro did
make threats; he was too sensible a
fellow to make threats; but we never
dreamed of any danger; we felt as safe
there in the Sacramento valley as we
do now.
There were always rumors of Ameri-
cans being driven out of California,
but we did not apprehend anything at
all, or pay any attention to it. We got
used to those things. We felt no in
security by reason of any threatened
attack of native Californians. They
had no forces and no money. Castro
had magnetism and could throw the
WHOlc COdSL VI california INTO excite.
ment in a week.
Almost as soon as the captured horses
reached Fremont's camp he sent a
small force mot his own exploring
party, but those who had focked to
his camp to Sonoma and captured and
brought as prisoners to Suffers fort
Gen. Vallejo. his secretary. Victor
Prudone; his brother, Salvador VAL
1ejo, and their brother-in-Iaw, Jacob
p. Leese.
The war now was on. Native Cali
fornians were in great excitement and
beginning to show resistance on the
north side of the bay. A few men,
left at Sonoma when the prisoners
were taken, had a skirmish near Peta-
luna ranch. One American, who was
sent to Fitch's ranch. Russian river,
for powder was killed on the way.
On my arrival in Sonoma there was
flag on the old Mexican flagstaff. /
paid little attention to it, nor did any
one else as far as 1 know. 1t had a
design of some kind on it, which the
Mexicans called cochino. The boys,
however, told me at the time how it
happened to be there. It was the re-
suit of mere sport or pastime of the
men. The man in charge of the small
force there was William 3. Ide. He
had nothing to do with it. One of the
men had suggested that they put up
flag on the old Mexican flagstaff. An.
other suggested that they paint some
thing on it. This was related to me
by the men themselves at the time.
One said: paint grizzly bear" An
other said: paint him standing up
with his paw raised. about to crush a
coyote" But no one was artist enough
for the task-Overland Monthly.