The fall of the Alamo was however merely a question of time. Little by little the walls were battered down, and finally the Mexicans were ready to storm. On they came, a great charging mass. The American riflemen shot them down by scores, but when one Mexican fell another took his place. One by one the fearless defenders fell. The last man to go down was Davy Crockett. It is said that he stood with his back to the wall, fighting to the last, and that the Mexicans, afraid to meet him hand to hand, shot him down from a distance. JOHN C. FREMONT, THE PATHFINDER OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS [Sidenote: =His father a French refugee=] =144. A Great Explorer.= Fremont's father was a Frenchman who was driven to America by the terrible French Revolution. John Charles Fremont was born at Savannah (1813) while his parents were on a journey through the South. His father died soon after, and his mother went to live in Charleston, South Carolina. [Sidenote: =Goes to South America=] After a time at a good school, Fremont entered the junior class in Charleston College (1828). After leaving college he spent two and a half years on a voyage to South America. [Sidenote: =Becomes a civil engineer=] On his return he joined a company of engineers sent by the governor to explore the mountains between South Carolina and Tennessee, in order to find a suitable place for a railroad. This work was through a region rough, wild, and full of beauty. It gave young Fremont a taste for exploration which never left him. Fremont's longing for a wild life was gratified when he was made assistant to a famous Frenchman who was exploring the wild region between the upper Missouri River and Canada. [Illustration: THE PATHWAYS OF THE EARLY EXPLORERS OF THE WEST] [Sidenote: =Marries Senator Benton's daughter=] After this work Fremont returned to Washington and later married Jessie Benton, the daughter of the senator from Missouri. Thomas H. Benton was a great friend of President Jackson. Fremont was now related to a powerful man who was deeply interested in the growth of the "Great West." Benton's repeated speeches on the "West" and on the "Oregon Country" called attention to the importance of the Pacific slope. [Illustration: JOHN C. FREMONT _After a photograph from life_] [Sidenote: =Receives permission to explore South Pass=] In 1842 Fremont, now a lieutenant of engineers, received permission from the government to explore the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains. With a party made up largely of French Canadians, and assisted by that famous guide, Kit Carson, he passed up the Kansas River, crossed to the Platte, went up this river, and thus reached the South Pass. [Sidenote: =Unfurls the Stars and Stripes on Fremonts Peak=]