Note 28 — XVII THE CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA 1846–1847

Frémont’s methods were unscrupulous. He promised the men large pay, and took horses, saddles, etc., where he could get them (Sen. Report 75; 30, 1, particularly Wilson, p. 42). Probably he intended to pacify the owners later by paying liberally. Apparently one must accept the explanation of his policy proposed in the text, or ascribe to him a tenderness not suggested by his choice of a profession and his conduct in June, or accuse him—as did many at the time—of a cowardice that would explain, after all, only a part of the facts.