DTVTSTON ONK — PRK-PASADKNTAN. lOI 



creants. They appreciated this chivalric sentiment and courtesy on his 

 part, and became true and loyal citizens of the United States, many of them 

 afterward holding important offices under the new order of government. 



In his report to the Navy Department at Washington, Commodore 

 Stockton wrote: "By the capitulation we have recovered the gun taken bj^ 

 the insurgents at the sad defeat of Gen. Kearny at San Pasqual." The 

 other historic cannon called the "Woman's gun," was also delivered up to 

 Fremont at this time, and afterward used in three other battles of the United 

 States against Mexico to-wit : Mazatlan, Urios Palos Prietos, and San Jose 

 in Lower California. A document produced in evidence at the trial of Fre- 

 mont in Washington, in November, December, January, 1847-48, spoke of 

 Fremont arriving at Los Angeles January 13, 1847, "with 400 mounted 

 riflemen, and six pieces of artillery, including among the latter two pieces 

 lately in possession of the Californians.'' These were the only cannon the 

 Californians had for use in any of the battles, while Stockton had six and 

 Fremont four to use against them. These two cannon were with the Mexi- 

 cans in their camp at South Pasadena ; and in the ensuing month of March 

 Fremont's battalion was on duty at San Gabriel, occupied the old Mission 

 court as barracks, and had their six cannon, including these two, there. 

 [See Bigelow's Life of Fremont, pp. 311-12-13]. 



While Fremont served as Governor of California under Commodore 

 Stockton's appointment, he occupied Gov. Pio Pico's residence fronting the 

 plaza ; and in regard to this I have a letter from Mrs. Fremont dated Los 

 Angeles, November 14, 1894, in which she says : 



"Don Abel Stearns had his lien on that Pico mansion used by Gen. 

 Fremont as headquarters. I wish you could identify and fix the place ; for 

 other houses in a then unbuilt part of the town, southwest, have been pho- 

 tographed and sold to tourists as the old ' headquarters ' — especially one on 

 Main street, a one-story adobe with a fine pepper tree, a kind of tree un- 

 known here forty years ago.* Gen. Fremont himself had trouble identify- 

 ing the old Pico house when he showed it to me in 1888. But it was then 

 converted into a great granary and its upper floor built out over what had 

 been a surrounding gallery. It was almost in line with the old church at 

 the plaza ; in line with his fort on the hill ; ' ' etc. 



As Mrs. Fremont requested, I have learned positively from old Spanish 

 people who were here at the time, and also from Americans who have lived 

 here ever since 1847, just where Gov. Pico's residence was. It stood on the 

 south side of the Plaza, fronting north, and extended from Los Angeles 

 street west to Sanchez street, at rear of the old Pico hotel, now called "Na- 

 tional." The fire engine house there occupies part of the ground, the old 

 Pico adobe having been torn away. All that still remains of the old walls 

 occupied by Pico as the last Mexican governor, and by Col. Fremont as the 



*The house referred to was away out at Thirteenth street, nearly two miles " out of town " at that 

 time — a house that Fremont probably never saw at all. I have seeu those pictures myself, with their 

 false label, and denounced it as a fraud. 



