Gold! (4 page)

John Sutter had chosen to ally himself for monetary gain with the government of Mexico. Never mind that Sutter did more business with American settlers than with any other group of people, or that he could never in his wildest dreams imagine himself firing on an American soldier. Sutter was a Mexican citizen, and his fort was, technically, Mexican property. Frémont promptly took it over and raised the American flag.

It was a crowning moment as one king began the process of usurping another. Like Sutter, Frémont knew that part of that process was accumulating real estate. The land, itself, would prove to be invaluable. Frémont purchased large tracts of land fifty miles outside of Sacramento, along the American River.

While he was at Sutter's Fort, Frémont made James Marshall's acquaintance. Marshall became one of the volunteers whom Frémont recruited for the next part of his drive to have all of California securely under U.S. control. Sutter
may have been thinking that his luck had run out with the detested Frémont's annexation of his fort and the loss of his wheelwright to Frémont's blandishments.

As luck would have it, the winter of 1846 was settling in hard. The passes through the northern mountains had cut off a wagon train full of settlers. They were stranded in the northern snows. That natural disaster was about to give Sutter's Fort reams of free publicity in Eastern newspapers, the same ones he advertised in.

The California Star
newspaper was the first to report on the incident:

Distressing News

by Capt. J. A. Sutter's launch which arrived here a few days since from Fort Sacramento—we received a letter from a friend at that place, containing a most distressing account of the situation of the emigrants in the mountains, who were prevented from crossing them by the snow,—and of a party of eleven who attempted to come into the valley on foot. The writer, who is well qualified to judge, is of the opinion that the whole party might have reached the California valley before the first fall of snow, if the men had exerted themselves as they should have done. Nothing but a contrary and contentious disposition on the part of some of the men belonging to the party prevented them from getting in as soon as any of the first companies.

The following particulars we extracted from the letter:

“The company is composed of twenty three waggons [sic], and is a part of Col. Russell's company that left the rendezvous on Indian Creek near the Missouri line on the 13th day of May last. They arrived at Fort Bridger in good time, some two weeks earlier than the last company on the road. From that point they took the new road by the south end of the Great Salt Lake, which was then being marked out by some seventy five waggons [sic] with Messrs. Hastings and Headspath as pilots.

“They followed on in the train until they were near the Weber River canion [sic], and within some 4 or 5 days travel of the leading waggons [sic], when they stopped and sent on three men (Messrs. Reed, Stanton and Pike) to the first company to request Mr. Hastings to go back and show them the pack trail from the Red Fork of Weber River to the Lake. Mr. H. went back and showed them the trail, and then returned to our company, all of which time we remained in camp, waiting for Mr. Hastings to show us the rout.

“They then commenced making the new road over the Lake on the pack trail, so as to avoid the Weber river canion [sic], and Mr. Reed and others, who left the company, and came in for assistance, informed me that they were sixteen days making the road, as the men would not work one quarter of
their time. Had they gone on the road that we had made for them, they would have easily overtaken us before we reached the old road on Mary's river.

“They were then but some 4 of 5 days travel behind the first waggons [sic], which were travelling [sic] slow, on account of being obliged to make an entire new rout for several hundred miles through heavy sage and over mountains, and delayed four days by the guides hunting out passes in the mountains, and these waggons [sic] arrived at the settlement about the first of October. Had they gone around the old road, the north end of the Great Salt Lake, they would have been in the first of September.

“After crossing the long drive of 75 miles without water or grass, and suffering much from loss of oxen, they sent on two men (Messrs. Stanton and McCutcher). They left the company recruiting on the second long drive of 35 miles, and came in to Capt. J. A. Sutter's Fort, and asked for assistance.

“Capt. Sutter in his usual prompt and generous manner, furnished them with 7 of his best mules and two of his favorite Indian vaqueros, and all of the flour and beef that they wanted. Mr. C. S. Stanton, a young gentlemen from Syracuse, New York, took charge of the vaqueros and provisions, and returned to the company. Afterwards, Mr. Reed came in almost exhausted from starvation; he was supplied with a still larger number of horses
and mules and all the provisions he could take. He returned as far as the Bear River valley, and found snow so deep, that he could not get to the company. He cached the provisions at that place and returned.

“Since that time (the middle of November), we heard nothing of the company, until last week, when a messenger was sent down from Capt. Wm. Johnson's settlement, with the astounding information that five women and two men had arrived at that point entirely naked, their feet frost bitten—and informed them that the company arrived within three miles of the small log cabin near Trucky's Lake on the east side of the mountains, and found the snow so deep that they could not travel, and fearing starvation, sixteen of the strongest (11 males and 5 females) agreed to start for the settlement on foot. Scantily clothed and provided with provisions they commenced that horrid journey over the mountains that Napoleon's fete on the Alps was child's play compared with.

“After wandering about a number of days bewildered in the snow, their provisions gave out, and long hunger made it necessary to resort to that horrid recourse casting lots to see who should give up life, that their bodies might be used for food for the remainder. But at this time the weaker began to die which rendered it unnecessary to take life, and as they died the company went into camp and
made meat of the dead bodies of their companions
.

Nine of the men died and seven of them were eaten by their companions—The first person that died was Mr. C. S. Stanton, the young man who so generously returned to the company with Capt. Sutter's two Indian vaqueros and provisions; his body was left on the snow. The last two that died was Capt. Sutter's two Indian vaqueros and their bodies were used as food by the seven that came in. The company left behind, numbers sixty odd souls; ten men, the balance women and children. They are in camp about 100 miles from Johnson's, the first house after leaving the mountains, or 150 from fort Sacramento. They say that Capt. Sutter's seven mules were stolen by the Indians a few days after they reached the company, which had provisions sufficient to last them until the middle of February.

The party that came in were at one time 36 hours in a snow storm without fire; they had but three quilts in the company. I could state several most horrid circumstances connected with this affair such as one of the women being obliged to eat part of the body of her father and brother, another saw her husband's heart cooked & eaten, which would be more suitable for a hangman's journal than the columns of a family newspaper.

I have not had the satisfaction of seeing any one of the party that has arrived; but when I do, I will get more of the particulars and send them to you.”

As soon as we received the information we drew up the appeal of which I enclose you a copy, calling
a meeting in the armory of the Fort, explained the object of the meeting and solicited the names of all that would go.
We were only able to raise seven here
,—they started this morning for Johnson's to join the party raised there.

Capt. J. A. Sutter in his usual generous manner ordered his overseer to give this brave band of men all the provisions they could carry. They took as much beef, bread, and sugar as they thought they could carry and started in good spirits on their long and perilous trip. Capt. Kern the commander of the Sacramento District, will go up as far as Johnson's to-morrow to assist in starting the party, and may go as far as the Bear River Valley.

It's interesting how no place in the story is the name “Donner” mentioned, though this is the first public report of what became known as the “Donner Party.” That was the name bestowed by sensationalistic frontier newspapers to that party of westward-traveling migrants who included the families of brothers George and Jacob Donner. During the winter of 1846–1847 they became trapped in the Sierra Nevada by the early winter.

Most lived in makeshift cabins; others in canvas huts that did little to keep out the elements. One by one the would-be settlers died, until finally survivors resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. As the above account makes clear, even Sutter's rescuers were not immune to the weather and that most basic of survival instincts.

Even as outside help was trying to come to their assistance, the Donner Party did its best to endure in subzero temperatures. Patrick Breen, who was born in Ireland and came to the United States in 1828, was one member of the Donner Party. Eight of the others were his wife and seven children, with whom he began the overland trek from Iowa on April 5, 1846, to California. Even as conditions deteriorated with the weather, Breen continued to keep a diary.

Frid 26th Froze hard last night today clear & warm Wind S: E: blowing briskly Marthas jaw swelled with the toothache; hungry times in camp, plenty hides but the folks will not eat them we eat them with a tolerable good apetite. Thanks be to Almighty God.

Amen Mrs Murphy said here yesterday that thought she would commence on Milt. & eat him. I dont that she has done so yet, it is distressing.

The Donnos [Donners] told the California folks that they commence to eat the dead people 4 days ago, if they did not succeed that day or next in finding their cattle then under ten or twelve feet of snow & did not know the spot or near it, I suppose they have done so ere this time.

Of the eighty-three members of the Donner Party who were trapped in the High Sierra, only forty-five survived to reach California. Breen and his entire family were fortunate enough to be among the survivors who staggered into Sutter's Fort after they were rescued.
But even as this story was breaking in northern California, in the southern part of the newly liberated Mexican province, the Mexican-American War was still going on.

In October 1846, insurrectionists attempted to besiege the U.S. garrison in the old pueblo of Los Angeles. It seemed that the United States had neglected, as it had almost since its inception, its intelligence services. Admiral Stockton did not know that the southern Californians still held a Spanish/Mexican identity.

There in Los Angeles, the Mexican militia handed the U.S. military an embarrassing defeat. Not only did they kick the Americans out of the pueblo, they also kept them out despite repeated attempts to reenter. In addition to regular soldiers, the Mexican militia numbered cultured, well-educated, well-trained
caballeros
from families of “good blood.” These were the Californios, who went back generations on California soil and who had much to lose if the Americans won.

Since 1769, Californios had lived in California. They were Spanish-speaking California natives who dated their ancestry back to the Spanish Franciscan priests, the
freys
, who built missions or churches up and down the coast. Their herculean efforts were in the service of God; they hoped to convert all the Indians to Christianity to save their souls.

The Californios had been granted their land rights by the Spanish king himself, and were later acknowledged by their Mexican conquerors. They had carved out of the virgin country huge ranchos, or cattle ranches, up and
down the coast. Besides raising cattle, the ranchos also had a terrific cattle hide and tallow trade. Some of the ranchos made excellent wines; others grew citrus oranges and lemons that attracted an international trade.

By 1849, two hundred Californio families owned approximately fourteen million acres of prime California land. But there was no guarantee that the Americans, despite protestations to the contrary, would continue to honor the Spanish land grants, which took in millions of miles of California's prime lands.

Frémont and the California volunteers, including wheelwright James Marshall, were on the move. Riding south to Los Angeles, they were to be one of the cavalry units that, along with infantry, artillery, and naval forces, would combine to assault the Los Angeles pueblo where the Mexican militia was still holding out.

By January 8, 1847, Frémont had not yet arrived. The commanding officers, Admiral Stockton and General Kearney, decided they had staged their forces long enough; they would attack without Frémont. The American forces met the Californios on January 8 and 9 at the Battles of Rio San Gabriel and La Mesa. Both times, the Californios, under the command of General José Maria Flores, failed to beat back the American advance. On January 10, just as Frémont and his volunteers finally showed up, the Americans retook Los Angeles.

The beaten militia retreated into the shadow of the San Fernando Valley, near a little settlement later named Pasadena. As they did, Frémont marched his men farther west and occupied Mission San Fernando. Frémont knew
he had him, so he sent a messenger, Jesus Pico, to General Flores's camp. Frémont wanted to see if he could negotiate surrender without further bloodshed.

Realizing the hopelessness of the situation, General Flores decided to save himself. He turned over command to his executive officer, and rode south. The Mexican officers who were left decided to sue for peace. On January 14, 1847, Pico, the new commander in chief of Mexican forces in California, met Frémont at the adobe house of Tomas Feliz outside the pueblo. Signed and countersigned on Feliz's kitchen table, the treaty ended the uprising in California.