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Show v fORMY LIFE ENDED. , and Checkered Career of the S Geral John 0. Fremont, . ' the Pathfinder. J DEVICES AS AN EXPLORE, , est of California rremont'B 2ei Eomantio Marriage-His 1 Xate Yean. John C. Fremont, who died in "A 0ity the other day, was born . 1?w at Savannah, Ga. His "toU'ouie from France and mar- ViHnian. Ho died when John ' S5 years old, and tho widow ft children to Charleston, S. C. "tke boy remained for more than ttm of ago he entered . nL. There he was an excellent 'hut his infractions of discipline marked that he received numer- 'irnings aud was then expelled. f T this he went in a naval vessel, itchez, for a two years' cruise to midshipmen. When he returned oltr of Charleston college relent- ignoring bis army relations altogether. In the spring of 1847 the government dectd,d in favor of Gen. Kearnv, and tt TJ1! 861 out OTland for the United States accompanied by Fremont whose position was anything but agree' able. When they reached Fort Leavenworth Leaven-worth he was put under arrest and ordered or-dered to report in person at Washington, where he was tried by court martial charged with "mutiny," "disobedience of the. command of a superior officer"' and "conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline." He was found guilty and sentenced to le. dismissed dis-missed from the service, but a majority of tho court recommended him to the clemency of the president, who refused to confirm the verdict, of "mntinv" but approved the rest, and' remitted the penalty. pen-alty. Fremont at ouco resigned his commission, commis-sion, and in the fall of tho game year (1848) set out on a fourth expedition across the continent at his own expense. He reached the Sacramento in tho spring of 1849. This ended for a time Fremont's Fre-mont's explorations. His efforts and his sufferings together with their results became well known all over the United States, and gained for the explorer the title of "Pathfinder." Ho bought the Mariposa estate, a large tract of land containing gold mines, and organized tho Mariposa Gold Mining company. The legislature of California elected him to the United States senate, and he took his seat in ISM. His term in the senate had been determined deter-mined by lot to he a short one, and expired ex-pired March 4, 1851. He was a Free Soiler, his party was yet in its infancy, and he was not re-elected. He devoted himself to his private affairs for a while and visited Europe. Learning in 1853 that congress had made an appropriation for three railroad routes from the Mississippi Missis-sippi to the Pacific ocean he returned and fitted out an expedition. He finally reached Calif ornia, having found passes through the mountains. Then he went to New York with his family where he took up his residence. Meanwhile the Free Soilers had organized organ-ized the Republican party, and it was hunting for a leader. The choice fell upon Fremont, and in June, 1850, he was nominated for president, and in the subsequent sub-sequent campaign defeated by Buchanan. Buch-anan. As the pathfinder, as leader of the Republican Re-publican party in 1850, it was to be expected ex-pected that Fremont would have a very important command when the war broke i: i gave him ,gree. Go-, Go-, Baltimore sed an ex-lation ex-lation for ;sor in the I Sta tes ua-id ua-id was ap-i ap-i to a ship, -dined his lintment, ver, to go nrrey for a Ki rail- out four years later. TheBlairs, of St. Louis, brought the matter mat-ter to Mr. Lincoln's Lin-coln's notice.who recognizing the claim appointed Fremont a major general in the regular army , and gave him charge of the western lieut. fremont, ' 'the department, with pathfinder." headquarters at St. Louis. Fremont was in Europe at the time, but arrived in New York about the 1st of July, 1801, and on the 20th of the month reached St. Louis. Five weeks after taking command Fremont issued a proclamation assuming assum-ing the government of the state and announcing an-nouncing that he would emancipate the slaves. President Lincoln wrote him approving all of the proclamation except the emancipation clause, which he annulled. an-nulled. This difference, however, did not result in Fremont relinquishing his command, but a great deal of complaint was made of his administration as inefficient inef-ficient and very extravagant. Mr. Cameron, Cam-eron, then secretary of war, looked into the matter, and on his report Fremont waa relieved on the 2d of November, 1861, after having held it ninety-eight days. In 1803 President Lincoln instituted the mountain department, consisting of portions of West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, and placed Fremont in command. In the early part of June he was engaged with Gen. Stonewall Jackson Jack-son in a series of skirmishes which lasted for eight days. Tho campaign was ended by' tho battle of Cross Keys on June 8, and Jackson withdrew. Two weeks later the president placed Gen. Pope in charge of tho Army of Virginia, including Fremont's corps, whereupon Fremont asked to be relieved. His request was granted. This ended Fremont's career in the war. In tie spring of 1804 the question came up as to Mr. Lincoln's re-election. There were three parties in the field, the Democrats, Dem-ocrats, Republicans and the Republicans who were dissatisfied with Mr. Lincoln's administration. These based their opposition oppo-sition on the claim that the war had not lieen prosecuted with vigor. They nominated nom-inated Fremont for president and ht: accepted ac-cepted He was now before the people ior.ee more as a presidential candidate, but with a very different constitnency. From the first it was' evident that the bulk of those desiring a prosecution of the war would vote for Mr. Lincoln and the dissatisfied Repubhcans were buta handfull. Two months before the election elec-tion Fremont withdrew. . Gen. Fremont waa governor of Arizona from 1878 to 1881. and for a brief period was governor of New Mexico, to which potion he was appoint by Preaident Arthur. Subsequently he met with business disasters and was sentenced by default by the French government to too and imprisonment for fraudulent representations regarding issue of railway bonds. None of Fremont s commercial schemes was essful and fortune never came to him. Indeed the last years of his life were m shirt -contrast with his younger days. On y the other day congress recognized his services ser-vices bv placing him on the retired list as a maior general of the regular army, but" tt? honor came too late to bnng him much substantial comfort, tie leaves two sons, one of whom is in the Sr7and the other in the naval ser-See ser-See of the United States, a daughter and a widow. I After this fremokt. Iv he went in a military recon-Ince recon-Ince of the mountains of the Cher-liiuntrv-, in Georgia, North Carolina lenncssee. Is expedition developed in Fremont Ite for exploring wild countries, lined Jean Nicholas Nicollet, who liploring for the government, and I with him, in July, 1838, was com-luned com-luned a second lieutenant of topo-liical topo-liical engineers in the United States to years later Fremont went to lington with Nicollet to assist in ::g np a report of their explorations, lor Thomas Benton, of Missouri, Ihen one of the great men of the li His second daughter, Jessie, was loolgirl at Georgetown. Fremont I there one evening to a school exni-1) exni-1) and met her. She was very young ly 15 but she was old enough to be Iiraction to the young engineer offi-I offi-I An intimacy sprang up, and it was lung before Fremont and Jessie Ben-livere Ben-livere betrothed. Mrs. Benton was led to tha match. l inont was ordered off on more ex-' Isg work, probably through the in-LeofMrs. in-LeofMrs. Benton with the secre-I secre-I of war. He completed his task I unusual expedition and returned lasliington, and before another job II be arranged for him he secretly lied the lady of his love, i I mont made two expeditions under I'ucollet, and then prepared for an I '.ition which he was to lead himself, li 1842 onward he was engaged in I srloring expedition after another. Irplored the South pass of the Rocky Intains and the Wind River moun-l, moun-l, ascending to their highest point, I known as Fremont's peak. The I year, with thirty-nine men, he ex-l ex-l i the region between the Rocky litains and the Pacific, then entirely Iowa. Ho visited the Great Salt I then explored the upper tributaries le Columbia, descended its valley to I Vancouver, and returned through Ittiont unknown region leading from I wer Columbia to the upper Colli, Col-li, crossed by high and rugged Intain chains. r mado up his mind to take his I" across without a guide. Ho suc-N, suc-N, making the transit in forty days, Mng Sutters Fort, on the Sacra-l"o, Sacra-l"o, early in March. He then crossed Sierra Nevada, and after another I to Salt Lake returned to Kansas in 1. 1644, after an absence of fourteen I January, 1843, Fremont received as vard for his work the double brevet first lieutenant and captain, and in luring of the same year set out to es-.. I the great basin of the maritime re-I re-I f California and Oregon. He fed the Sierra Nevada in the dead of W to obtain supplies, and left his !'iu the valley of San Joaquin while t ent to.Monterey, then the Mexican Ital of California, to ask permission Iraeed with his exploration. " Pef-f Pef-f 'on was first granted, then revoked, I Fremont was ordered to leave tho f Ms way back to the states he met Ijtywith directions fromWashington I mm to watch over the interests of Lmted States in California. Fre-l Fre-l t at once returned, and none too f - for he found that Gen. Castro was I''1? against the settlements. The; lfloeketl to Fremont's camp, and I - accession of fore in less than j lf'ath he had freed northern Califor- j I -rum Mexican authority, fremont waa made a lieutenant colo- aa elected governor of Cali--a by the settlers on 'July 4, 1840. wng that Commodore Sloat, com-plrf com-plrf 'he United States squadron on Pacific coast, had seized Monterey, 'unt marched to join him, and . Monterey on the 19th of July m mounted riflemen. Commodore j .!' arrived at Monterey about this -with instructions to take possession tuornia. Fremont organized a to assist him, and was ap-'.J ap-'.J to command it as major. Mean-" Mean-" news came of the breaking out of wacan war. Commodore Stockton j 'in.eu Fremont military command-j nu civil governor of California, and , 13.th of January, 1847, he con- j '.Y '""tides with the Mexicans which 1 - caniitry permanently in posses- tha United States. Stephen Y. Kearnv, wno had 't, ,;ntered California with a t-I'Q dragoons, soon got into , Commodore Stockton aa to ' saonld command. The president I an tac!l anthrity to conquer the ,"al- aud organize a government, j 3 authority had come from j Jn: d Kearnv was Fremonfs '"r m the army, "it was a question ibi''!1 to v"'hom he should obey, j - - -Ecljjded to. obey Stockton. ! |