86 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



portraits of various chiefs, who have been at St. Louis to conclude 

 treaties with the governor, who is also Indian agent. Among the 

 remarkable things in natural history, we noticed an alligator, eight 

 feet long; a pelican; the horns of a wild goat, shot by the governor 

 in his tour among the Rocky Mountains; the horns of a mountain-ram 

 and those of an elk; several bearskins, among others, of the white 

 bear; buffalo, elk and skunk, which were sewed together in a robe; 

 skins of martins, ferrets, etc., etc. Moreover, several petrifications 

 of wood, and animal subjects, among others, of elephant's teeth; a 

 piece of rock-salt, tolerably white, yet not shooting in crystals, as 

 the English; various crystals; a large piece of rock crystal; very 

 handsome small agates, which are here taken for cornelians, etc. 

 Among the curiosities, the most remarkable were two canoes, the one 

 of animal-hide, the other of tree-bark; a peace-belt, which consists 

 of a white girdle, set with glass beads two hands breadth wide; far- 

 ther, snow shoes; nets which are drawn over an oval frame; also the 

 rackets, which they use in playing their game of ball, etc., etc." 



Soon after the purchase of Louisiana steps were taken 

 by the government to explore the then unknown wilds of 

 our western country. The name of Zebulon Montgomery 

 Pike 4 will always be associated with those of Lewis and 

 Clark in the history of early explorations beyond the 

 Mississippi. Pike's expedition to the source of the Mis- 

 sissippi and his expedition to the sources of the Arkan- 

 sas river and the Eocky Mountains of Colorado were the 

 first military and the second governmental explorations 

 which penetrated to any considerable extent our newly 

 acquired territory of Louisiana. 



In July, 1805, Pike was ordered to explore and report 

 upon the Mississippi river from St. Louis to its source, 



* Pike, Z. M. An account of expeditions to the sources of the Mis- 

 sissippi, and through the western parts of Louisiana, to the sources 

 of the Arkansas and Pierre Jaun rivers, performed by order of the 

 government of the United States during the years 1805, 1806, and 

 1807; and a tour through the interior parts of New Spain, when con- 

 ducted through these provinces by order of the Captain General, in 

 1807. 1810. 



Whiting, Henry. Life of Z. M. Pike. Spark's Lib. Amer. Biog. 5: 

 219-317. 1848. 



Greely, A. W. Zebulon Montgomery Pike, explorer of the sources 

 of the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers. Men of Achievement. Ex- 

 plorers and Travellers. 163-193. 1893. 



Coues, Elliott. The expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike. 1895. 



