CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA. 425 
an apology for being called a bandit, in the insulting 
proclamation posted by Castro, when his patriots drove 
Fremont to Oregon. 
The commodore directed Colonel Fremont to increase 
his force and post it in garrisons in the different places. 
Fifty were to be placed in the city of the Angels under 
Captain Gillespie, fifty at Monterey, fifty at San Fran¬ 
cisco, and twenty-five at Santa Barbara. He embarked 
for San Francisco to recruit, making in the meanwhile a 
temporary disposition of his forces. During his absence, 
on the 23d of September, a Californian army invested the 
City of the Angels, and by their superior numbers caused 
Captain Gillespie to surrender the city. He marched 
with his force to San Pedro, and there embarked for 
Monterey. The gallant youth who commanded at Santa 
Barbara, Lieutenant Talbot, was next attacked, but not 
so easily got rid of. He had nine men under his com¬ 
mand, and with these he held the town until he was 
completely besieged. Determined not to surrender, he 
evacuated the place, made his way through the enemy 
to the mountains of the vicinity, and remained there, suf¬ 
fering from cold and hunger, eight days, constantly soli¬ 
cited by the enemy to surrender. A detachment of forty 
men advanced to take him, but was driven back. They 
then offered to permit him to retire if he would pledge 
himself and his men to neutrality during the war, but 
he boldly replied that he preferred to fight. He re¬ 
mained like a tiger in his lair, until they set fire to the 
grass and bushes around him and burned him out. tie 
then commenced a march of five hundred miles to Mon¬ 
terey afoot, where his arrival caused the utmost joy to 
all the Americans, with whom he was a great favorite, 
and who had been informed by the Californians that he 
and his men were all slain. 
Colonel Fremont had made an effort to go from San 
Francisco to the relief of Captain Gillespie, but he was 
