Louisiana and Aaron Burr 369 



route Pike followed the Spaniard's trail. .The Paw- 

 nees had received from Malgares Spanish flags, as 

 tokens of Spanish sovereignty. Doubtless the cere- 

 mony meant little or nothing to them ; and Pike had 

 small difficulty in getting the chiefs and warriors of 

 the village to hoist the American flag instead. But 

 they showed a very decided disinclination to let 

 him continue his journey westward. However, he 

 would not be denied. Though with perfect good 

 temper, he gave them to understand that he would 

 use force if they ventured to bar his passage; and 

 they finally let him go by. Later he had a some- 

 what similar experience with a large Pawnee war 

 party. 



The explorers had now left behind them the fer- 

 tile, tree-clad country, and had entered on the great 

 plains, across which they journeyed to the Arkansas, 

 and then up that river. Like Lewis and Clark, Pike 

 found the country literally swarming with game; 

 for all the great plains region, from the Saskatche- 

 wan to the Rio Grande, formed at this time one of 

 the finest hunting grounds to be found in the whole 

 world. At one place just on the border of the 

 plains Pike mentions that he saw from a hill buffalo, 

 elk, antelope, deer, and panther, all in sight at the 

 same moment. When he reached the plains proper 

 the three characteristic animals were the elk, ante- 

 lope, and, above all, the buffalo. 



The myriads of huge shaggy-maned bison formed 

 the chief feature in this desolate land ; no other wild 

 animal of the same size, in any part of the world, 



