Ex. Doc. No. 41. ' 12^ 



4 . * _ ^ 



January 15. — The details to work on the fort were by compa- 

 nies* I sent to Captain Tilghman, who commanded on the hill; to^ 

 detach one of the companies under his command to commence the 

 'vrork. He furnished, on the lethj a company of artillery (seamen 

 from the Congress,) for the day's work; which they performed 

 hravelyj and gave me great hopes of success. 



Jamtary IS, 19, and 20. — I received special orders which sepa- 

 rated me from the comir-and, and the party of topographical engi- 

 neers that had been so long under my orders. 



The battles of the 6th December, and the 8th and 9th January, 

 had forever hroken the Mexican authority in Californiaj and they. 

 Ts;ere daily coming in, in large parties, to sue for peace, and every 

 • move indicated a sincere desire on the part of the more respectable 

 portion of the Californians to yield without further struggle to the 

 United States authoritiesj yet small parties of the more desperate 

 and revengeful hung about the mounT:ains and roads; refusing or 

 hesitating to yield obedience to their leaders, who now, with great 

 unanimity, determined to lay down their arms. General Flores, 

 ^ith a small force, was known to have taken the road to Sonora* 

 It was believed he was on his way to that province, never to re- 

 turn to California. 



Leaving General Keirny at San Juan de Capristano, on his re- 

 turn to San Diego, I took three men and pushed on for the latter 

 place. Halting late in the evening at the deserted Indian ranche- 

 na of Santa Margarita, we broke open one of the Indian huts, and 

 got some corn and pumpkins for our animals. When night came 

 o^j the number of insects about the hut, and the intolerable noise 

 DQade by the wolves, kept us from sleep. The moon shone brightly, 

 ^nd about ten at night we saddled up to pursue our journey- 

 In this determination we were confirmed by the unexplained 

 niovement of several small parties of mounted Californians that 

 reconnoitred our camp; a circumstance which afforded additional 

 proof that some of the Californians were yet m arms, aftd led us 

 ^^^y reasonably to the conclusion that our only safety was in 

 changing our camp. We reached the mission of San Luis Rey, 

 and found not a Fuman being stirring Theimn«nse pile of build- 

 ^^gj illuminated by the pale cold rays of the moon, stood out in bold 

 relief on the dim horizon; a monument of the zeal of the incjefati- 

 ^^^^^ P^ests, by whom it was built. Now untenanted and deserted, 

 ottered no resting place for the weary and hungry, and we rode 



^Jj determined to halt at the first place where grass should be in 

 aWdance. ' ^ 



r ^^ ^*^ad here divides into two branches; one leads to the west, 

 or .V^^^^^^ia of San Barnardo, the other directly 'to San Diego, 

 ^r the high lands, running nearly parallel to the sea coast* The 

 ^rst Ls that by which we had marched on the Pueblo de los Ange- 

 ^^5 tearing that the hills on th^ sea coast road would embarrass the 



W^-T^* of our artillery and ox carts, 

 tr M ^\^^^* ^ gui<le, we had great difficulty in striking at night the 

 /aiJ leading over the mountains; but consulting the stars for our 

 ^Q^se, and relying upon the sagacity of my three men, who had 



