FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Aug. 6, 1904. 
JOOSHAN TOURIST 
Trails of the Pathfinders —XIII. 
Zebulon H. Pike. — I. 
Side by side in fact — though by no means in popular 
estimation — with the heroic explorers, Lewis and Clark, 
stands Zebulon M. Pike, the young soldier, who -first 
reached the sources of the Mississippi, later those of the 
Arkansas, and who was one of the first genuine Ameri- 
cans to see the Spanish City of the Holy Faith. Born in 
New Jersey in 1779, Pike entered the army in his father's 
regiment about the year 1794. In July, 1805, a lieutenant, 
he was detailed, by order of General James Wilkinson, to 
explore the sources of the Mississippi. From this expedi- 
tion he returned in 1806, and shortly afterward set out 
on an expedition up the Kansas River to the country of 
the Osages, and thence to the Kitkahahk village of the 
Pawnees, then on the Republican River. From here he 
went westward to the sources of the Arkansas River, in 
what is now Colorado. On this expedition he approached 
Santa Fe, was taken by the Spaniards, and was escorted 
south through Mexico and what is now Texas to the 
Spanish-American boundary on the borders of the present 
State of Louisiana, where he was set free. 
It would be perhaps difficult to point out, since Revolu- 
tionary times, a more heroic figure than that of Pike, or 
to name a man who has done more for his country. It is 
chiefly as an explorer that we must now consider him, and 
must briefly tell the history of his journeyings for two 
years through that country which was then Louisiana; 
yet his subsequent and involuntary wanderings through 
Mexico and Texas cannot be separated from his earlier 
travels. Some time after his return from the Southwest, 
he wrote a book, which was issued four years before 
the journal of Lewis and Clark. In reviewing his life of 
exploration, we shall in large measure let him tell his 
own story.* 
On the 9th of August, 1805, with one sergeant, two cor- 
porals, and seventeen privates, Pike started from St. 
Louis up the Missouri River in a keel boat seventy feet 
long and provisioned for four months. The water was 
swift, the way hard, and they had much foul weather, 
which held them back, and made their days and nights 
uncomfortable. Occasionally they saw camps of Indians 
fishing, and passed the farm of some Frenchmen, lately 
transferred without his knowledge or_ consent from alle- 
giance to old France to citizenship in the new United 
States. 
One of Pike's especial duties was to conciliate the In- 
dians he met, and, so far as possible, to arrange for peace 
between warring aboriginal tribes. On the 20th he came 
to a Sac village, where he had a talk with the Indians, 
who> listened to him respectfully, and appeared to agree to 
what he said. Further along he met villages of the Rey- 
nards, or Foxes, showing that at this time the Sacs and 
Foxes were living separately, though allies. 
The way was long, and progress, though often cover- 
ing thirty or forty miles a day, was slow, owing to the 
windings of the river. Pike was now approaching that 
debatable land over which the Sioux and Sauteurs or 
Ojibwas were continualb'- fighting backward and forward. 
He tells of meeting, September 1, Mons. Dubuque, who 
told him that these tribes were then engaged in active 
hostilities, and, among other things, that a war party 
"composed of Sacs, Reynards, and Puants (Winneba- 
goes), of 200 warriors, had embarked on an expedition 
against the Sauteurs, but they had heard that the chief, 
having had an unfavorable dream, persuaded the party to 
return, and that I would meet them on my voyage." This 
is interesting, as showing that at this time the Sacs and 
Foxes, who are of Algonquian stock, had allied themselves 
with the Winnebagoes of Siouan stock, against people of 
their own race. 
Indians were abundant here, and were always on the 
lookout for enemies. The firing of guns by Pike's party, 
who had landed to shoot wild pigeons, was the signal for 
some Indians in the neighborhood to rush to their canoes 
and hastily embark. Indeed, Pike was told that all the 
Indians had a dread of Americans, whom they believed 
to be very quarrelsome, very brave, and very much de- 
voted to going to war; a reputation which had undoubt- 
edly reached the savages through the English and French 
traders. 
A little further along, the Ouisconsing River was 
reached, and they met the ^ols Avoin Indians, the 
Menomirtees, a tribe still existing at Green Bay, Wiscon- 
sin. Further on he had a, meeting with a number of 
Sioux, and Pike reports the council : 
"On the arrival opposite the lodges, the men were 
paraded on the bank with their guns_ in their hands. They 
saluted us with ball with what might be termed three 
rounds, which I returned with three rounds from each 
boat with my blunderbusses. This . salute, although noth- 
ing to soldiers accustomed to fire, would not be so agree- 
*As an author, Pike shows himself much less expert in literature 
than he no doubt was on the prairie and among the mountains. 
He had no skilled historian to write the tale of what he had 
done, as had Lewis and Clark. He painfully wrote out his 
own story, and how badlyit was done, we may learn by a study 
of the more modern "Expeditions of Zebulon M. Pike," which 
work was published in 1895, under the able editorship of the 
late Dr. Elliott Coues. Those who are interested in Pike's ex- 
plorations must study Dr. Coues' volumes, which for clearness 
and fullness of historical and geographical data, and for general 
interest, stmd high apaong the stories of Arasrieajx history. 
able to many people, as the Indians had all been drinking, 
and as some of them even tried their dexterity, to see how 
near the boat they could strike. They may, indeed, be said 
to have struck on every side of us. When landed, I had 
my pistols in my belt and sword in hand. I was met on 
the bank by the chief, and invited to his lodge. As soon 
as my guards were formed and sentinels posted, I ac- 
companied him. Some of my men who were going up 
with me I caused to leave their arms behind as a mark of 
confidence. At the chief's lodge I found a clean mat and 
pillow for me to sit on, and the before-mentioned pipe on 
a pair of small crutches before me. The chief sat on my 
right, my interpreter and Mr. Frazer on my left. After 
smoking, the chief spoke to the following purport: 
" 'That notwithstanding he had seen me at the Prairie 
(du Chien), he was happy to take me by the hand among 
his own people, and there show his young men the respect 
due to their new father (President Jefferson). That, 
when at St. Louis in the spring, his father (General Wil- 
kinson) had told him that if he looked down the river 
he would see one of his young warriors (Pike) coming 
up. He now found it true, and he was happy to see me, 
who knew the Great Spirit was the father of all, both the 
white and the red people, and if one died the other could 
not live long. That he had never been at war with their 
new father, and hoped always to preserve the same under- 
standing that now existed. That he now presented me 
with a pipe, to show to the upper bands as a token of our 
good understanding, and that they might see his work and 
imitate his conduct. That he had gone to St. Louis on a 
shameful visit, to carry a murderer, but that we had given 
the man his life, and he thanked us for it. That he had 
provided something to eat, but he supposed I could not 
eat it, and if not, to give it to my young men.' 
"I replied, 'That although I had told him at the Prairie 
my business up the Mississippi, I would again relate it to 
him.' I then mentioned the different objects I had in 
view with regard to the savages who had fallen under our 
protection by our late purchase from the Spaniards ; the 
different posts to be established; the objects of these posts 
as related to them, supplying them with necesaries, having 
officers and agents of Government near them to attend 
to their business; and above all, to endeavor to make 
peace between the Sioux and Sauteurs. 'That if it was pos- 
sible on my return I should bring some of the Sauteurs 
down with me, and take with me some of the Sioux chiefs 
to St. Louis, there to settle the long and bloody war which 
had existed between the two nations. That I accepted his 
pipe with pleasure, as the gift of a great man, the chief of 
four bands, and a brother; that it should be used as he 
desired.' I then eat of the dinner he had provided, which 
was very grateful. It was wild rye [rice] and venison, 
of which I sent four bowls to my men. 
"I afterward went to a dance, the performance of which 
was attended with many curious maneuvers. Men and 
women danced indiscriminately. They were all dressed 
in the gayest manner ; each had in the hand a small skin 
of some description, and would frequently run up, point 
their skin, and give a puff with their breath, when the 
person blown at, whether man or woman, would fall, and 
appear to be almost lifeless, or in great agony, but would 
recover slowly, rise, and join the dance. This they called 
their great medicine, or, as I understood the word, dance 
of religion, the Indians believing that they actually puffed 
something into each others' bodies which occasioned the 
falling, etc. It is not every person who is admitted ; per- 
sons wishing to join them must first make valuable 
presents to the society to the amount of $40 or $50, give a 
feast, and then be admitted with great ceremony. "Mr. 
Frazer informed me that he was once in the lodge with 
some young men who did not belong to the club; when 
one of the dancers came in they immediately threw their 
blankets over him and forced him out of the lodge; he 
laughed, but the young Indians called him a fool, and said 
'he did not know what the dancer might blow into his 
body.' 
"I returned to my boat, sent for the chief, and presented 
him with two carrots of tobacco, four knives, half a pound 
of vermilion, and one quart of -salt. Mr. Frazer asked 
liberty to present them some rum; we made up a keg be- 
tween us of eight gallons — two gallons of whiskey, the 
rest water. Mr. Frazer informed the chief that he dare 
not give them any without my permission. The chief 
thanked me for all my presents, and said 'they must come 
free, as he did not ask for them.' I replied that 'to those 
who did not ask for anything, I gave freely; but to those 
who asked for much, I gave only a little or none.' 
"We embarked about half-past three o'clock, came three 
miles, and camped on the west side. Mr. Frazer we left 
behind, but he came up with his two peroques about dusk. 
It commenced raining very hard. In the night a peroque 
arrived from the lodges at his camp. During our stay at 
their camp there were soldiers appointed to keep the 
crowd from my boats, who executed their duty with vigi- 
lance and rigor, driving men, women, and children back 
whenever they came near my boats. At my departure, 
their soldiers said, 'As I had shaken hands with their 
chief, they must shake hands with my soldiers.' In. which 
request I willingly indulged them." 
Pike was. now journeying through the country passed 
over forty years before by Carver, and' he was evidently 
familiar with his journeyings. Of, La Crosse prairie he 
says : 
"On this prairie Mr, Frazer showed me some holes dug 
by the Sioux when in expectation of an attack, into which 
they first put their women and children, and then crawl 
themselves. They were generally round and about ten feet 
in diameter, but some were half-moons and quite a breast- 
work. _ This I understood was the chief work, which was 
the principal redoubt. Their modes of constructing them 
are, the moment they apprehend or discover an enemy 
on the prairie, they commence digging; with their knives, 
tomahawks, and a wooden ladle ; and in an incredibly 
short space of time they have a hole sufficiently deep to 
cover themselves and their families from the balls or ar- 
rows of the enemy. They (enemies) have no idea of tak- 
ing these subterraneous redoubts by storm, as they would 
probably lose a great number of men in the attack ; and 
although they might be successful in the event, it would 
be considered a very imprudent action." 
Heretofore but little food had been killed by the expe- 
dition, except pigeons; but they were now getting into a 
country where there was more or less game. On Septem- 
ber 14, Pike, who had gone ashore with three others of his 
party to hunt, saw abundant sign of elk, but failed to see 
any of them, though his men saw three from the boat; 
and from this time forth more or less mention is made of 
game by short entries, such as, "Saw three bear swimming 
over the river." "Killed a deer," "Killed three geese and 
a raccoon," and other similar notes. 
On the 23d of September Pike held a council with the 
Sioux, who, hearing by a rumor of his arrival in the 
country, returned from a war party on which they had 
set out. He talked with these Sioux about many sub- 
jects, of which the principal one was the granting by the 
Indians of a site near the Falls of St. Anthony for a mili- 
tary post, as well as the establishment of peace between 
the Ojibways and Sioux. Three important chiefs 
named Little Crow, Risen Moose, and the Son of Pinchow, 
replied, promising him about a hundred thousand acres of 
land, as well as a safe conduct for himself and such 
Ojibwa chiefs as he might bring back with him. They 
were doubtful, however, about the prospects of making a 
peace with their old-time enemies. The treaty, or grant, 
was drawn up and signed, and the Sioux returned to their 
homes. 
The following day the flag from Pike's boat was miss- 
ing. This he naturally regarded as a very serious mis- 
fortune. He punished his sentry, and calling up his 
friend, Risen Moose, told him of the trouble, and urged . 
him to try to recover the flag, for he was not by any 
means sure that it had not been stolen by an Indian. 
However, the next day he was called out of bed by Little 
Crow, some of whose people had found the flag floating 
in the water below their village, and believing that this 
must mean that the white men had been attacked, Little 
Crow had come up to see what the matter was. The ap- 
pearance of the flag at Little Crow's village had put an 
end to a quarrel which was in progress between his people 
and those of a chief called White Goose. Pike says : 
''The parties were charging their guns, and preparing for 
action, when lo ! the flag appeared like a messenger of 
peace sent to prevent their bloody purposes. They were 
all astonished to see it. The staff was broken. Then Petit 
Corbeau arose and spoke to this effect : 'That a thing so 
sacred had not been taken from my boat without violence ; 
that it would be proper for them to hush all private ani- 
mosities until they had revenged the cause of their eldest 
brother; that he would immediately go up to St. Peter's 
to know what dogs had done that thing, in order to take 
steps to get satisfaction of those who had done the mis- 
chief.' They all listened to this reasoning; he immediately 
had the flag put out to dry, and embarked for my camp. 
I was much concerned to hear of the blood likely to have 
been shed, and gave him five yards of blue stroud, three 
yards of calico, one handkerchief, one carrot of tobacco, 
and one knife, in order to make peace among his people. 
He promised to send my flag by land to the falls, and 
make peace with Outard Blanche." The flag was returned 
two days later by two young Indians, who had brought it 
overland. 
It was now October, and clear weather, the thermome- 
ter falling sometimes to zero. Hitherto the principal 
food killed had been geese, swans, and prairie chickens ; 
but on October 6 Pike saw his first elk— two droves of 
them. As they kept on up the river, geese, ducks, and 
grouse, with occasionally a deer, continued to be secured. 
Frequently Pike found hanging to the branches of the 
trees sacrifices left there by the Indians. These were 
sometimes bits of cloth, or articles of clothing, or painted 
skins. As the weather grew colder, and ice began to be 
met with, Pike began to think of a place where he should 
winter. The boats were getting very leaky, and the men, 
terribly overworked, were losing strength and becoming 
inefficient. He therefore determined to make a permanent 
camp, afterward called Pike's Fort, and to leave a part 
of his men there in block-houses while he proceeded up 
the river; but before the separation took place, there was 
much to be done. Happily, the country abounded in 
game, so that for those who were to be left behind there 
would be no danger of starvation. Pike went out one 
morning and killed four bears, while his hunters killed 
three deer. . . ' v ' .'. ~ .' . , . 
■Log houses were built, and several small canoes were 
made for travel on the river. But after his canoes were 
launched and loaded, one of them sank and wet his am- 
munition, and in endeavoring to dry the powder in pots 
he blew up the powder and the tent in which he was 
