FIRE ON THE MOUNTAINS.—EMIGRANTS.—PISTOLS AND PILLOWS.—LEADERS OF THE INSURRECTION.—CALIFORNIA PLOUGH.—DEFEAT AT SAN PEDRO.—COL. FREMONT’S BAND.—THE MALEK ADHEL.—MONTEREY THREATENED.—SOLDIER OUTWITTED.—RAISING MEN.—BRIDEGROOM.—CULPRITS.
Monday, Oct. 12. A wide conflagration is sweeping over the hills which encircle the bay of Monterey. The forests, and the grass with which they are feathered, are as dry as tinder, and the flame rolls on with its line of fire clearly and fearfully defined. This has become still more grand and awful since the night set in. The clouds seem to float in an atmosphere of fire; and the billows, as they roll to the rock-bound shore, are crested with flame. The birds are flying from their crackling covert, and the wolves go howling over the hills. It is a type of that final conflagration in which the great frame of nature will at last sink.
Tuesday, Oct. 13. Emigrants from the United States are still pouring into the rich valley of the Sacramento. A letter from one of them says:—“It may not be uninteresting to you to know that the emigrants by land the present season far exceed the expectation of the most sanguine. No less than two thousand are now in the interior, and within a hundred miles of the settlements. They bring with them a large amount of intelligence, wealth, and industry, all of which are greatly needed in their new home. The Mormons alone have a train of more than three hundred wagons.”
These emigrants will change the face of California. We shall soon have not only the fruits of nature, but of human industry. We shall soon be able to get a ball of butter without churning it on the back of a wild colt; and a potatoe without weighing it as if it were a doubloon. Were it possible for a man to live without the trouble of drawing his breath, I should look for this pleasing phenomenon in California.
Wednesday, Oct. 14. The success of the insurgents at the south has emboldened the reckless here. Bands have been gathering in the vicinity to make a night assault on Monterey. Their plan is to capture or drive out the small American force here, and plunder the town. Those engaged in it are men of desperate fortunes. The streets to-day have been barricaded, and the true and trusty among the citizens have been formed into a night patrol. I sleep with my rifle at my bedside, and with two pistols under my pillow. My servant, who is a brave little fellow, is also armed to the teeth. He ought to be brave, for he was born in St. Helena, close to the tomb of Napoleon, and must have caught some fire from the hero’s ashes. My house has grated windows, and an entrance that is easily defended against odds, so that we shall probably make a pretty good fight of it. One thing is certain, neither of us go out alive. I will not be taken, tortured, and hacked to pieces, as two of our countrymen were a few months since.
Thursday, Oct. 15. No assault yet; but a company of horsemen have been seen to-day crossing the southern plain, and winding off behind the hills at the west. They have, as a messenger informs us, joined another party much larger than their own, and are now encamped in the woods. The citizens here who have been true to our flag, feel deeply alarmed; and in truth they have some occasion, for if the town is sacked they will be among the first sufferers. I have sent an express to Com. Stockton, who is at San Francisco, where he has been engaged in raising and dispatching a heavy force for San Pedro. He will be here with the Congress as fast as the winds and waves can bring him.
Friday, Oct. 16. Our relief has come. The Congress arrived to-day, and the commodore immediately landed, under Capt. Maddox, U. S. marine corps, a sufficient force to repel any attack that may be made. Our friends now breathe more freely. They may go outside the town without the fear of having their retreat cut off by a flying horseman, and sleep at night without the apprehension of awaking under a flaming roof. The noble tars of the Congress, when they saw our flag still flying on the fort, hailed it with three stout cheers, which were heard over all Monterey. They feared, and not without reason, that it had been captured; and when they saw it still streaming on the wind, their enthusiasm and joy broke forth.
Saturday, Oct. 17. As soon as the intelligence of the insurrection below reached Com. Stockton, he dispatched the Savannah to San Pedro; and sent fast in her wake a quick coaster, with Col. Fremont and two hundred riflemen on board, who are to land in the night at Santa Barbara, and take the place by surprise. This was managed with so much celerity and secrecy, that the disaffected here are still ignorant of the fact.
What will be the surprise of the insurgents at los Angeles, if defeated by the forces of the Savannah, to find their retreat cut off by the riflemen of Col. Fremont! Between these two fires there will be little chance of escape. Not a few of them have given their parol of honor that they will not, on pain of death, take up arms against the United States. They are now in the field, and their treachery may cost them their lives. It is painful, but may be necessary to make examples of them. California will never have any repose while they are in it. They have headed every revolution that has taken place for years, and they have now headed their last.
Sunday, Oct. 18. I issued, a few days since, an ordinance against gambling—a vice which shows itself here more on the Sabbath than any other day of the week. The effect of it has been to drive the gamblers from the town into the bushes. I have been informed this evening, that in a ravine, at a short distance, some thirty individuals have been engaged through the day in this desperate play. They selected a spot deeply embowered in shade, and escaped the eye of my constables. But there is an eye from the glance of which the gloom of the forest and even the recesses of night afford no refuge.