212 ELDORADO 



tols, and a rifle. Castro now came dashing on with 

 cavalry, infantry and artillery, but, making a few 

 "brave" demonstrations of an attack, galloped off with- 

 out coming within range of Fremont's bullets. Castro 

 issued bullentin after bulletin stating the terrible de- 

 struction he would visit on the little band, but always 

 kept out of rifle range of the entrenchments on the 

 "Peak." After four days of this kind of fighting, Fre- 

 mont broke camp and started on his journey towards 

 Oregon. As his force deliberately took up its line of 

 march, Castro was no where to be seen. Among the 

 officers of a British ship, which happened to be at Mon- 

 terey, and who saw Fremont enter the place with his 

 company, was Lieutenant Walpole, who gave his im- 

 pressions of their appearance in a book he published on 

 his reutrn to England, entitled "Four Years in the 

 Pacific." He wrote : "Captain Fremont and his party 

 arrived. They naturally excited curiosity. Here were 

 true trappers, the class that produced the heroes of 

 Fennimore Cooper's best works. These men had 

 passed years in the wilds, living upon their own re- 

 sources. They were .a curious set. A vast cloud of 

 dust first appeared, and then in a long file tliis wildest, 

 wild party. Fremont rode ahead, a spare, active-look- 

 ing man, with such an eye ! He was dressed in a blouse 

 and leggings and wore a felt hat. After him came five 

 Delaware Indians, who were his body guard, and have 

 been with him through all his wanderings ; they had 

 charge of two luggage horses. The rest, many of them 

 blacker than the Indians, rode two and two, rifle held 

 l)y one hand across the pommel of the saddle. Thirty- 



