marched north toward Oregon, but turned back from Klamath Lake on receiving a visit from Gillespie, a secret agent of the United States. The settlers about the fort became convinced from his actions that war had broken out, and some of them decided that it would be the proper thing for them to declare California independent of Mexico. This they did at Sonoma, June 14, 1846, raising the famous lone star flag with the rudely painted figure of a bear upon it (the "Bear Flag").
The war of conquest. Now followed an armed conflict, which might perhaps have been avoided, between the United States and the Calif ornians. Fremont took a prominent part in it, as did also Commodore Stockton of the American fleet. The United States government sent General Kearny to California by way of Santa Fe, and after a few months of fighting the territory came definitely into American hands. When the treaty of peace was signed, February 2, 1848, the conquest was confirmed to us. A military government had already been established, the laws changed somewhat in accordance with American ideas, and a new system of administration substituted for that formerly maintained by Mexico.
The gold discovery. It was expected that these changes would promote the prosperity of California, which might at last hope to become a rival of Oregon upon the Pacific coast.^ But no one dreamed of the
1 When the Bear Flag Revolt occurred, Captain Sutter (who was a German Swiss and never mastered the English language
