Chapter II: Preface: To the New Edition

Pike's expeditions were the first military and the second governmental explorations which were pushed to any considerable extent in our then newly acquired territory of Louisiana. The name and fame of the brilliant young soldier who impersonated the authority of the United States over all the ground between British and Spanish possessions are thus inseparably linked with those of Lewis and Clark in the beginning of our history of the Great West--a West so great that it reached from the Mississippi to the Pacific. The two movements were similar in scope and plan; both were in the nature of claiming possession of property; they were alike fruitful of permanent good results; but they differed entirely in the circumstances under which each was devised, and to a marked degree in their respective purposes. Lewis and Clark's enterprise originated with the President of the United States; and though both of the men to whom that most memorable exploration was confided were officers of the regular army, their military organization was entirely subservient to affairs of state, being simply designed to secure the most efficient discipline in the discharge of certain civilian duties. Jefferson had invested heavily in real estate; the Louisiana purchase had been made with the people's money; he naturally wished to know what sort of a bargain he had made with Napoleon; so he sent Lewis and Clark to explore the vast extent of country he had bought. While their faces were still fixed on the setting sun, which for them still dipped behind the shining snow-caps, Pike set forth on his first journey northward; while they were homeward bound from the South Sea by way of the mighty Missouri and the rugged Roche Jaune, he was pressing on his second way toward the Mexican mountains. Both his expeditions originated with the commander-in-chief of the army; both were as strictly military in method as in purpose. Pike was the simon-pure and simple soldier, who had been ordered by his general to carry our flag among British traders and Sioux, Ojibways, and other Indians of the Northwest, in the first instance; in the second place, to display that emblem of authority among the Osages, Pawnees, and Comanches, and plant that standard of the republic on the still disputed boundary of New Spain in the Southwest. All else that he accomplished was incidental to Wilkinson's main aim. How daring were Pike's exploits, these volumes testify. Their moral effect was enormous; their results proved far-reaching; and some of these are still in evidence of intrepid adventure pushed to successful issue.

If the record of Pike's expeditions be overshadowed by the history of still greater and partly prior achievement, we may remember that its luster is dimmed only in comparison with the incomparable story of Lewis and Clark. If this witness of arduous duty ardently done in the service of his country stand dumb before that startling tragedy which set the seal of sacrifice upon a devoted life, we may reflect that such a consummation of noble aspirations but capped the climax of unswerving patriotism and unwavering fidelity to lofty ideals when it transfigured the already celebrated explorer into a national hero and a popular idol. Pike's personality is not less picturesque than is his career unique; our interest in his character becomes vivid as we study its manifestations, and perhaps even outgrows that regard we may bestow upon those of his achievements which have passed into permanent history. The present volumes tell his own story, in his own way; they are autobiographical in all that relates to the principal incidents and most stirring scenes of his life, before that final catastrophe which turned the tide of international warfare. If the narrative never halted at the point of an unaccustomed pen it would not be Pike's, and it would lack a certain quality which not even a Biddle could impart to the more polished and finished history of Lewis and Clark. It now seems probable that both books will endure, side by side, so long as any interest in the beginnings of our Great West finds a place in the hearts of the people.

Pike anticipated Lewis and Clark by about four years in bringing the results of his partly simultaneous explorations before the public. Since the first appearance of his work, there has never been a time when it has not been cited by scholars as an original authority in the many matters of historical, geographical, ethnological, and related interests of which it treats. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that Pike has never been so widely or so well known as he deserves to be in his double character of traveler and author. The soldier could hardly desire greater fame than fell to the happy lot of the hero of York, victorious in death; but what of his life? Who was this General Pike before that? Who was Lieutenant or Captain Pike--where did he go exploring--what did he discover--how should we know? In searching contemporaneous records of the War of 1812 for biographical data in the preparation of the Memoir which introduces these volumes, it was always the great soldier--General Pike--whom I found, with scant recognition, if anything more than mere mention, of the still greater explorer--the youthful, the dashing and winning, the ardent and enthusiastic lieutenant, who dreamed of glory till his dream came true. The fact would seem to be that Pike's death on the field of battle, under exceptionally thrilling circumstances, obscured rather than accentuated those earlier exploits which set his title to fame in the clearest and truest light. Probably no good general would have failed in what Pike accomplished on the day of his death; but how many subalterns in their twenties have won imperishable renown by achievements in the field of exploration? One purpose I had in view in preparing a new edition of this work will have been subserved if I have succeeded in eliminating a certain popular aberration, in calculating aright the parallax of Pike as viewed from different standpoints, and in thus placing his name in proper historical perspective.

Nearly or quite all that an editor might be expected to say in his preface concerning the subject-matter of his author will be found to have been said already in one place or another in the course of the extensive and minute commentary which appears upon almost every page of the present edition. Nevertheless, so few are the persons who have any clear or coherent ideas on the subject of Pike's performances, that it will be to consult the convenience of most readers who may take up this book to give here a brief statement of his journeyings.

Pike conducted two entirely separate and distinct expeditions. One of them, in 1805-6, was from St. Louis by way of the Mississippi to the headwaters of this river, and return--for the most part by the same way he went. This round trip, which I have called the "Mississippi Voyage," forms Pt. 1 of his book. The other expedition was taken westward from St. Louis into the interior parts of the then Louisiana, to the sources of the Arkansaw river, and among the Rocky mountains of present Colorado. In so far as Pike protracted this exploration of his own volition, it forms Pt. 2 of his book, which I have designated the "Arkansaw Journey." But at one point in the course of this journey Pike was captured by the Spaniards, and conducted against his will by a roundabout way through Mexico to the then Spanish-American boundary between Texas and Louisiana. This episode, unflattering to Pike's sensibilities, if not wholly unforeseen by him, he saw fit to make the subject of Pt. 3 of his book; I have entitled it the "Mexican Tour."

I. In July, 1805, Pike was ordered by General Wilkinson to explore and report upon the Mississippi river from St. Louis to its source, select sites for military posts, treat with the Indians, make peace if possible between the Sioux and Ojibways, and find out what he could about the British traders who still occupied posts in our newly acquired territory. Excepting these establishments of the Northwest Company, there were then no white settlements on or near the river beyond the village of Prairie du Chien, and our flag had never flown in that quarter. Pike navigated his boats to the vicinity of present Little Falls, but could get them no further. He there built a stockade, in which some of his men were left for the winter, and with the rest pushed on by land along the river to Lower Red Cedar Lake--Sandy lake--Grand rapids and Pokegama falls--mouth of Leech Lake river--up the latter to Leech lake--and thence to Upper Red Cedar (now Cass) lake, at the mouth of Turtle river. This was the furthest point he reached. He considered the Leech Lake drainage-area--which I have called the Pikean source--to be the true origin of the Mississippi, and remained in ignorance of the fact that this river flowed into Cass lake from such lakes as Bemidji and Itasca, though these and others were already known to some of the whites. Returning from Cass to Leech lake, and thence, by a more direct overland route than he had before taken, to the Mississippi in the vicinity of Lower Red Cedar lake, he descended the river to his stockade, picked up the men who had wintered there, and as soon as the ice broke up started in boats for St. Louis, which he reached in safety with all his party in April, 1806.

II. In July, 1806, Pike left St. Louis on his second expedition. He ascended the Missouri to the Osage, and the latter to the villages of the Indians of that name. Thence he continued westward overland, entered Kansas, and proceeded to the Pawnee village on the Republican river, near the present Kansas-Nebraska line. Turning southward, he reached the Arkansaw river at the present site of Great Bend. There he dispatched his junior officer, Lieutenant Wilkinson, with a few men, to descend the Arkansaw, while with the rest of his company he ascended the same river into Colorado, as far as Pueblo. From this point he made an unsuccessful side-trip which had for its object the ascent of the since famous peak which bears his name, and returned to his camp at Pueblo. Thence pushing up the Arkansaw, he was halted by the Grand cañon, at the site of present Cañon City. He then made a detour to the right, which took him up Oil creek into South Park. He traversed this park, along the South Platte and some of its tributaries, left it by way of Trout Creek pass, and was thus again brought to the Arkansaw. He pushed up this river till he viewed its sources, in the vicinity of present Leadville, turned about, and with great difficulty descended it to the very camp he had left at Cañon City. This part of his journey was not accomplished without much hardship, and ended in chagrin; for he had fancied himself on the headwaters of that Red river whose sources he had been pointedly instructed to discover. Nothing was known at that time, to Americans, of the origin of that great branch of the Mississippi which was called Red river lower down; nor was it known till years afterward that what the Spaniards had called high up by a name equivalent to Red river was really that main fork of the Arkansaw which is now designated the Canadian river, whose sources are in the mountains not far from Santa Fé. _This_ was the river which Pike might have found, had his search been more fortunately directed, though neither he nor any other American was aware of that fact at the time. Nevertheless, he determined to carry out his orders to the letter, and with more courage than discretion pushed southward from his camp at Cañon City to discover an elusive Red river. He passed up that tributary of the Arkansaw which is now called Grape creek, and thus into the Wet Mountain valley. There the party suffered almost incredibly from cold and hunger; some of the men were frozen and crippled for life. But Pike managed to extricate himself and most of his companions from their perilous situation by crossing the Sangre de Cristo range through the Sand Hill pass into the San Luis valley, where he found himself on the Rio Grande del Norte. He descended this river to the Rio Conejos, and there established himself in a stockade--in part at least for the purpose of tarrying while he sent a small party back for those of the men who had been left behind, both at Cañon City and in Wet Mountain valley.

The secret which underlay Pike's ostensible instructions from General Wilkinson, and the mystery which is supposed to have enshrouded his movements on this portion of his second expedition, are fully discussed in my notes, at various points in Pike's narrative or in my Memoir, where the subject obtrudes. Without going into any particulars here, it is to be said simply that Pike may have been ordered to proceed to Santa Fé--or as near that capital of Spanish New Mexico as he could go with the force at his command--without being informed of whatever ulterior designs the general of the army may have entertained.

III. Pike was captured in his stockade, with the few men he had left about him, by Spanish dragoons, under the orders of General Allencaster, then governor of New Mexico. The message he received from his captors was disguised under the form of a polite invitation to visit the governor at Santa Fé. On the 27th of February, 1807, he left his post as a prisoner in the hands of a half-hostile foreign power, accompanied by the remnant of his men. They were treated with great forbearance--nay, with distinguished consideration; nevertheless, Pike was brought to book before the authorities, and required to explain how he had happened to invade Spanish territory with an armed force. Governor Allencaster then ordered him to report to General Salcedo at Chihuahua; he was accordingly escorted by the military down the Rio Grande from Santa Fé to El Paso, and thence by the usual route southward, in what was then New Biscay, to the first named city. From this capital he was conducted, still under guard, through a portion of what is now the State of Durango, around by the Bolson de Mapimi, thence northward throughout Coahuila, and so on to San Antonio. Continuing through Texas, he was finally delivered out of the hands of his Spanish hosts and captors, on crossing the river which in part bounds our present State of Louisiana; and ended his long peregrination at Natchitoches, among his own countrymen.

At this point the author's narrative ends abruptly, so far as any itinerary of his movements is concerned. We are not even told what became of the men who did not accompany him to Natchitoches--those who were left behind when he started from the Rio Conejos, either at that point, or in the Wet Mountain valley, or on the Arkansaw. It had been understood, and was fully expected, that they were all to follow him through Mexico under Spanish escort. It is probable that they did so, and that all were finally restored to the United States. But at the last word we have on the subject from Pike himself, eight persons were still detained in Mexico. (See p. 855.)

* * * * *

If the reader will now turn to p. xxxvi, he will find there and on some following pages an analysis of the original edition of Pike's work, together with an exposition of the wholly exceptional editorial difficulty of reproducing such a complicated affair in anything like good book form. The author, like many another gallant soldier, versed in the arts of war, was quite innocent of literary strategy, though capable of heading an impetuous assault upon the parts of speech. He may have acquired an impression, by no means confined to his own profession, that a book is made by putting manuscript in a printing-press and stirring it about with a composing-stick, which, like a magic wand that some kind fairy waves in an enchanted castle, will transfigure the homeliness of the pen into a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Pike seems to have labored under some such delusion in preparing his copious materials for the press, and no one appears either to have advised him in these premises or to have revised the proofs. The result was innumerable errors, both of the writing and of the printing, most of which might have been eliminated with due care.

In the original edition, which has never before been reprinted in full, or in anything like its own make-up, the three separate itineraries above noted followed one another consecutively, with only the interruption of certain meteorological tables. These itineraries made about one-half of the volume in bulk, but perhaps only about one-third of the total _ems_. They were called "Parts," respectively enumerated I., II., III., and were the only portions of the whole which were printed in large type, as the main "body" of the work. The greater remainder of the author's materials were then thrown into the form of three Appendixes, one for each of the three foregoing Parts, each one being necessarily displaced from its proper connection, and all being set in small type. The contents of these Appendixes were miscellaneous and multifarious, but reducible in the main to two sorts: (1) Formal retraversing of the ground gone over in the itineraries, with reference to geography, ethnology, commerce, military and political topics, and related matters which came under Pike's observation; (2) Letters and other documents upon a variety of subjects, representing what may be regarded as the officialities of Pike's Expeditions.

The determination to edit Pike with the omission of nothing whatever which the work originally contained, and to preserve as far as seemed reasonably possible the shape in which it came from his own hand, involved a problem whose solution was one of no ordinary difficulty. The division of the book into three Parts was perfectly sound, and by all means to be preserved. The main departure from Pike's plan that seemed to be required was simply to bring each Appendix into direct connection with its own Part, and set it in uniform typography, as being of equal value and interest with the itinerary. Having made these transpositions, I found it an easy matter to introduce chapter-heads which should co-ordinate the whole of the contents. Each of the three itineraries could be conveniently divided into three chapters, covering as many stages of the several journeys; and in like manner it was found that the contents of each of the three Appendixes could be naturally grouped under a few heads, thus carrying out the plan of chaptering the whole book. To effect this result required no change whatever in the course of the itineraries, and in the appendicial matters involved only some few unimportant transpositions, mainly for the purpose of rearranging the official correspondence in the chronological sequence of the letters and other documents of which it consisted. But even in this small matter I have been at the pains of pointing out the position which each separate piece occupied in the original edition--perhaps with needless scrupulosity. A glance at the tables of contents of this edition will show how well or ill the remodeling has been done.

The transpositions thus effected, together with the repeatedly broken and sometimes blank pagination of the original, made it obviously impossible to indicate in this edition the former numeration of the pages. Otherwise, in editing Pike's text, I have been guided by the same principles which I applied to my recent redaction of Lewis and Clark. I do not think that any editor may feel free to rewrite his author. It would be an unwarrantable liberty to sacrifice an author's individuality upon the altar of literary style. And especially in the case of an old book--one whose intrinsic merits survive what are "the defects of its qualities," and thus cause it to reappear in a new guise--is it desirable that the reader should feel sure he is offered a genuine text. At the same time, the essentials of genuineness are different from its factitious ear-marks, and may be preserved with fidelity by an editor who, nevertheless, feels free to disregard non-essentials. Pike's is both a rare and a curious book; yet we need not venerate its abounding misprints, or burn the incense of admiration in the face of its frequently solecistic grammar, or even kowtow to its peculiar punctuation. Such things as these are assuredly among the non-essentials of a pure text, always amenable to editorial revision, and always open to the welcome attentions of a friendly printer. But for the rest, as I lately said on a similar occasion, "I have punctiliously preserved the orthography of proper names in all their variance and eccentricity; and wherever I have amplified any statement in the text, or diverted the sense of a passage by a hair's breadth, square brackets indicate the fact."

A few words may be expected in this connection upon the new matter, by the introduction of which the single volume of Pike has been extended to three volumes, thus more than doubling the original text. I have seldom, if ever, studied a work whose author seemed to me in so great need of an interpreter. Pike was not always precise in his statements of fact, and sometimes failed to convey his own meaning with entire lucidity. Much was thus left to be supplied by the imagination of the reader, or to be clarified by the exercise of his critical faculties, whether or no he were sufficiently informed in the premises to follow his author intelligently. In subjecting the text to a scrutiny, perhaps exceptionally close and rigid, I have desired in the first place to inform myself of the exact significance which the author intended his words to have, thus putting myself as nearly as possible in his place, and always, as I trust, in full sympathy with him, however diverse from his views any of my own opinions may have been. Coming to such understanding of the work in hand--one whose accomplishment is now nearly a century old--my duty seemed to be to criticise the subject-matter from the standpoint of to-day, however copious might prove to be the additional information required, or to whatever extent the resulting commentary might be protracted. This part of my work is represented by the notes with which the present edition has been freighted, and which are typographically distinguished from the main text. These notes bespeak their own variety and perhaps comprehensiveness; but of their value or interest it is not for me to express any opinion.

Aside from this main exercise of an editorial function to the best of my ability, I have been induced to add another to the several good memoirs of Pike which we already possessed--notably Whiting's and Greely's. In the preparation of this I have been able to avail myself of much hitherto unpublished documentary material and other sources of information which have not before been utilized for this purpose. Under the circumstances of its present connection this biography could be prepared with little regard to Pike as an explorer, for these volumes cover all such ground; and thus I could dwell for the most part upon other aspects of his life and character, such as those which led up to his conspicuous adventures, and especially those of the War of 1812 which closed with his death a career of military honor and renown.

At the time when Pike first appeared in print, it was the fashion to regard an index to a book rather as an elegant superfluity, or a luxury of leisurely authorship, than as the imperative obligation and absolute necessity which we now find it to be, whenever anything else than fiction or poetry becomes a candidate for public favor. Pike has never been indexed before; and many who now see how lengthy is the list of proper names of persons, places, and other things, may for the first time become aware of the extent and variety of information of which this author's work has proved to be either the prolific source or the pregnant occasion.

All of the plates which illustrated the original edition of Pike have been reproduced in facsimile. They consist of a portrait of the author and six maps. To these are now added a facsimile of an autograph letter, and a new map, both prepared expressly for the present edition. The letter requires no further remark than that it is believed to be the first one ever published, and that it is also printed in its proper connection in the text of my Memoir, with many other hitherto unpublished documents. The new map, which I have legended as a Historico-geographical Chart of the Upper Mississippi River, has been compiled and drawn under my direction by Mr. Daniel W. Cronin, a skillful draughtsman of the U. S. Geological Survey, and is copyrighted by my publisher. It is based primarily upon the Map of the Mississippi River from Lake Itasca to the Falls of St. Anthony, compiled from surveys and reconnoissances made under the direction of Major F. U. Farquhar and Captain Charles J. Allen, U. S. A., and from the U. S. Land Surveys, published in fifteen sheets, on the scale of inch to mile, by the Engineer Department of the Army, in 1881. The hydrographic data from this source are supplemented from the latest map of Minnesota published by the U. S. General Land Office, from the sectional maps of Minnesota and of the Upper Mississippi lately issued by Jewett and Son of St. Paul, and from various other sources, in protracting the branches of the main stream and locating the lakes, etc., beyond the area shown on the Engineer charts. The Jewett maps are the best ones I have seen among those published by private enterprise; the map of Minnesota for which a certain Chicago firm is responsible is the worst of all those which have appeared of late years. My corner-map of the Infant Mississippi or "Cradled Hercules," on a much larger scale than the rest, is reduced from Brower's map of the Itasca State Park, with the author's kind permission; the names given to the numerous features of the Itascan source of the Mississippi are those now officially recognized, with the addition of a few which I have myself bestowed in the course of my notes on Pike, among other results of my recent tour of observation. In lettering the main part of this chart, my idea was, first, to illustrate Pike, by marking his camps with their dates, along the river, and also his trail, where he went overland; it is believed that this has been done with all the accuracy that a map of this scale permits, except for the route from Leech lake back to the Mississippi, which has never been--and probably never will be--ascertained with all desirable exactitude. Secondly, I intended to give the actual present names of all the natural and artificial features which are delineated; and thirdly, to add to these designations all the synonymy and other historical data which the map could conveniently carry. Though there is theoretically no end to the information of this kind which might be put upon a map, the practical limitations in any given case are obvious; and overcrowded lettering would be rather confusing than helpful to the reader. In general, the historical data which have been selected to be legended are in direct connection with and support of Pike's text and of my commentary thereupon. Only those who have long experienced the practical difficulty of making a good printer or draughtsman misspell words in order to reproduce historical forms literally can appreciate the obstacles to complete success in such an undertaking; but I indulge the hope that this chart, whatever its imperfections may be, will be found useful enough to warrant the great pains which have been taken to approximate accuracy.

As in editing Lewis and Clark, so in working upon Pike, I have been encouraged and assisted by many friends, not all of whom have I the pleasure of knowing personally. I am under special obligations to Mr. Alfred J. Hill of St. Paul, Minn., whose knowledge of the history and geography of the Upper Mississippi region is not less accurate than extensive. Mr. Hill has been good enough to accompany me throughout Pt. 1 of the work, and give me the benefit of his close scrutiny of the press-proofs, in the form of constant suggestion and criticism, besides frequent references to other available sources of information which I might have overlooked. His valued co-operation to this extent increases very appreciably the confidence which the reader may feel in all that relates to the Mississippi Voyage.[NP-1] Mr. R. I. Holcombe, county historian of Missouri, now of the U. S. Marshal's office in St. Paul, has criticised those pages of Pt. 2 which relate to the Osage river. The same friendly attentions have been bestowed upon the whole of Pike's route in Colorado by Mr. Wm. M. Maguire of Denver; and upon various points concerning the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona, by Mr. F. W. Hodge of the U. S. Bureau of Ethnology. Hon. J. V. Brower of St. Paul, Commissioner of the Itasca State Park, has made me free to use his map of the park in connection with the new historico-geographical chart of the Upper Mississippi. The Hon. the Secretaries of War and of State have granted permission to examine official archives of their respective Departments; this research, in the War Department, has been facilitated by Mr. John Tweedale, Chief Clerk, and Mr. David Fitz Gerald, Librarian; in the State Department, by Mr. W. W. Rockhill, Chief Clerk; Mr. Andrew H. Allen, Chief of the Bureau of Rolls and Library, and Mr. Walter Manton of the same Bureau. Gen. A. W. Greely, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army; Gen. T. L. Casey, late Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army, and Mr. W. W. Winship, Chief Draughtsman of the same; Major J. W. Powell, late Director of the U. S. Geological Survey, and Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution; Mr. Henry Gannett and Mr. A. H. Thompson of the same Survey; Prof. G. Brown Goode, Director of the U. S. National Museum, and Prof. Otis T. Mason of that Museum; Prof. Harry King, of the U. S. General Land Office; Hon. D. M. Browning, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and Mr. R. F. Thompson of the same Bureau; Mr. L. O. Howard, Chief of the Division of Entomology of the U. S. Department of Agriculture; Mr. A. R. Spofford, Librarian of Congress; Prof. N. H. Winchell, Director of the Geological Survey of Minnesota; Hon. Charles Aldrich, Curator of the Iowa State Historical Department; Mr. R. G. Thwaites, Secretary of the Historical Society of Wisconsin; Mr. D. L. Kingsbury, Acting Secretary of the Historical Society of Minnesota; Hon. C. C. James, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Ontario, and Hon. A. Blue of the Bureau of Mines of Ontario, have each rendered valued official or personal favors, or both. I am also indebted in various ways, most of which are indicated in their respective connections in the course of my notes, to ex-President Benjamin Harrison; Mr. W. H. Harrison of North Bend, O.; Mrs. B. H. Eaton of El Paso, Tex.; Governor A. W. McIntire of Colorado; R. T. Durrett, LL. D., of Louisville, Ky.; Prof. E. D. Cope of Philadelphia; Mr. James Bain, Jr., of the Public Library of Toronto; Mr. L. P. Sylvain, Assistant Librarian of Parliament, Ottawa; Lieutenant J. R. Williams of the Third Artillery, U. S. A.; Lieutenant H. M. Chittenden of the Corps of Engineers, U. S. A.; Rev. O. S. Bunting of Trenton, N. J.; Prof. J. D. Butler of Madison, Wis.; Mr. W. P. Garrison of the New York Nation; Judge Thos. H. Bacon of Hannibal, Mo.; Judge Nathan Richardson of Little Falls, Minn.; Mr. Charles Hallock of Hallock, Minn.; Mr. H. D. Harrower of New York, N. Y.; Mr. T. H. Lewis of St. Paul, Minn.; Mr. C. H. Small of Pueblo, Col.; Mr. Geo. R. Buckman of Colorado Springs, Col.; Mr. D. Bosse of Great Bend, Kas., and Mr. Luther R. Smith of Washington, D. C. Mrs. Mary B. Anderson of Washington, D. C., has taken great pains in preparing under my direction an index, of somewhat unusual extent and special difficulty, which I am led to believe will be found exceptionally accurate. Mr. Robert M. Trulan and Mr. H. E. Gore-Kelly of the Mershon Printing Company, Rahway, N. J., have read the proofs with untiring zeal as well as professional skill. Mr. Francis P. Harper has set no limit to the extent to which my editorial work might be protracted, leaving the substance of these volumes entirely to my discretion; and I have returned the compliment by deferring to his judgment in all that relates to the manufacture of a book which may be found worthy to stand by the side of Lewis and Clark.

ELLIOTT COUES.

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
WASHINGTON, D. C.,
_June 30th, 1895_.

FOOTNOTE:

[NP-1] Since these words were penned Mr. Hill has made the long portage, alas! His death occurred at St. Paul, on the 15th inst.

MEMOIR OF

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE.

BY ELLIOTT COUES.

The best Life of Pike we have had is that which was prepared by Henry Whiting and published in 1845 in Jared Sparks' Library of American Biography, vol. xv. (or new series vol. v.), pp. 217-314. This excellent memoir might be now reproduced, were it not mainly occupied with the account of those expeditions to which these volumes are devoted, and thus for the most part superfluous in the present connection. It still continues to be a main source of our information concerning the events of Pike's life before and after those exploits of 1805-7 which immortalized his name, and is particularly valuable in all that relates to his closing career, as the biographer was himself a distinguished soldier and competent military critic.[M-1]

But I have much new matter to offer, derived from a thorough examination of the archives of the War Department, which include many original and hitherto unpublished documents in Pike's case,[M-2] from diligent search among contemporaneous records of the war of 1812-15, and from various other sources.

* * * * *

The Pike family resided in New Jersey for several generations. One Captain John Pike acquired his military title in Indian warfare. Zebulon Pike, the father of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, had been a captain in the Revolutionary army, and had served in the levies of 1791, when he was made a captain of infantry Mar. 5th, 1792; he was assigned to the Third sub-Legion Sept. 4th, 1792, and to the 3d Infantry Nov. 1st, 1796; he became major Mar. 21st, 1800, and was transferred to the 1st Infantry Apr. 1st, 1802; he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel July 10th, 1812, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1815. He died July 27th, 1834. His son, Zebulon Montgomery, was born at Lamberton, afterward a south part of Trenton, N. J., Jan. 5th, 1779.[M-3]

During Zebulon Montgomery's childhood his parents removed to a place in Bucks Co., Pa., near the Delaware river, and thence to Easton, Pa. Whiting says that he was remembered by some of his schoolmates who were living in 1845, "as a boy of slender form, very fair complexion, gentle and retiring disposition, but of resolute spirit. Instances are mentioned in which his combative energies were put to a test, which would reflect no discredit upon his subsequent career." He had only a common school education, which appears to have been as slight in quality as it was short in duration, though he was at one time under the tuition of a Mr. Wall, a person of local repute in mathematics. He entered the army as a raw, shy country youth, of the most slender acquirements in any direction, whose main making of a man was ambition.

The records of young Pike's earliest military service are variant in some particulars not of much consequence. In one of his letters, printed beyond, p. lxv, he says that he entered the army when he was 15 years old. This would be in or about 1794, and doubtless refers to his cadetship. According to his biographer, he entered his father's company as a cadet, date not given; was commissioned as an ensign of the 2d Infantry Mar. 3d, 1799; promoted to be a first lieutenant in the same regiment Apr. 24th, 1800, and arranged to the 1st Infantry in 1802. In Heitman's Historical Register[M-4] it appears that Zebulon Montgomery Pike, of New Jersey, was first appointed from New Jersey to be a second lieutenant of the 2d Infantry, Mar. 3d, 1799; was next promoted to be first lieutenant of the same regiment, Nov. 1st, 1799; and then transferred to the 1st Infantry, Apr. 1st, 1802. Whatever may have been the facts in the discrepant cases of the earlier dates, there is no uncertainty from April 1st, 1802, when the name and rank became First Lieutenant Z. M. Pike, 1st Regiment of U. S. Infantry. It was as such that this young officer was first detailed for detached service in the exploration of the Mississippi, by order of General James Wilkinson, dated from the Commanding General's headquarters at St. Louis, Mo., July 30th, 1805.

Pike had not before been distinguished from any other meritorious and zealous subaltern, though his qualities had already attracted favorable attention. His selection by General Wilkinson for this duty was the beginning of all his greatness. The letter in which the detail was made will be found elsewhere (vol. ii, pp. 842-844). The principal other dates of Pike's brief but brilliant military career may be conveniently given here, though in so doing I anticipate events which will come up again in their regular order: His promotion to a captaincy in his regiment occurred by routine Aug. 12th, 1806, when he was voyaging up the Osage, early in his second expedition. He became major of the 6th Infantry May 3d, 1808, in less than a year after his return from his tour in Mexico--a journey which was directly continuous with his second, or Arkansaw expedition, but one which, having been involuntarily performed, he chose to separate formally from the other, and to make known as his "third" expedition. He became the lieutenant-colonel of the 4th Infantry Dec. 31st, 1809. From Apr. 3d, 1812, to July 3d of that year, he was on duty as deputy quartermaster-general. He became the colonel of the 15th Infantry July 6th, 1812, and was appointed to be brigadier-general Mar. 12th, 1813. But before this appointment was confirmed General Pike had been killed at the head of the troops he led to the assault on York, Upper Canada, April 27th, 1813, aged 34 years, 3 months, 22 days.

I am favored by Lieutenant J. R. Williams, of the army, with the following copy of the rough draught of a hitherto unpublished letter from General John R. Williams of Detroit to Major Amos Holton, giving an interesting picture of Pike, framed in his early environment:

DETROIT, May 20, 1845.

MAJOR AMOS HOLTON,
DEAR SIR,

I have recd your esteemed favor of the 14th April last, on
the interesting subject of your contemplated publication of
a Biographical memoir, illustrative of the Character and
services of the late Brigadier Genl. Zebulon Montgomery
Pike of the U. S. Army. The half Sheet of the Albany Argus
which you designed to accompany your letter, and which
gives an account of a night battle on the Champlain
frontier, I regret to say, has not been received.

The period of my acquaintance with the subject of your
contemplated memoir, is indeed distant and remote; and
altho' those days are still cherished in my recollection as
the halcyon and pristine days of my youth and vigor, Yet, I
cannot but be truly sensible that many interesting
incidents have escaped my recollection in the lapse of
forty-five years.

Soon after my arrival at Camp Allegheny in the month of May
1800 I became acquainted with Lieut. Zebulon Montgomery
Pike of the 2d Regt. U. S. Infy, he was shortly afterwards
appointed Adjutant of the Regiment, in which Capacity he
served during the Years 1800 & 1801. No officer could be
more attentive prompt and efficient in the execution of the
several duties of his office--nor was there any more
emulous to acquire a perfect knowledge of the Military
profession, nor more zealous, ardent and persevering in the
pursuit of scientific improvement.

It was these qualities and disposition of mind that laid
the foundation of the subsequent Character and fame of
Zebulon M. Pike and would probably have introduced him had
he lived, to the highest honors, at least, in the military
profession under the Republic.

I then understood that his only means of Education had been
such as could be obtained in Garrison under the eye of his
father then Major Pike at the several posts he commanded,
notwithstanding these disadvantages he was a tolerable good
english scholar and wrote a good hand when I knew him and
had also acquired by his own persevering industry a
tolerably good knowledge of the french language--this I
know from the fact of having frequently corrected, at his
own request, several of his translations from Fenelon's
Telemachus.

Pike was very gentlemanly in his deportment--manners
agreeable & polished, rather reserved in general and
somewhat taciturn except when incited to conversation on
some topic in which he felt interest and considered worthy
of his attention he had less levity in his character than
even many of his brother officers Senior to him in Years
and Rank. His appearance was military yet somewhat peculiar
he generally leaned or inclined his head on one side so
that the tip of his Chapeau touched his right shoulder when
on parade--His Stature was about five feet eight inches
tolerably square and robust for his Age which I think must
have been Twenty Years in 1800. His Complexion was then
Ruddy, eyes blue, light hair and good features his habits
were in keeping with his character, uniformly abstemious
and temperate his attention to duty unremitted. At that
period the most vexatious evil and obstacle that attended
the maintenance of discipline in the Army was the general
and extensive use of Ardent Spirits, Whiskey among the Men
which was constantly being introduced in Camp by the Men &
Women attached to the service and other hangers on around
the Camp--On one occasion returning to Camp from Pittsburgh
about ten o'clock in the evening Pike and myself being
desirous of detecting the Soldiers in their Clandestine
manœufvres in the introduction of whiskey approaching the
Camp silently through the bushes and occasionally halting
to listen succeeded in capturing several fellows with jugs
& bottles of their favorite beverage, not however without a
race after them. On another occasion while going down the
Ohio river in flats--The flats always halted for the night
at some convenient place furnishing good ground &
conveniences for Bivouacking for the Night a guard being
mounted and Sentinels placed at suitable points around the
Camp. The Soldiers were then permitted to Land build fires
and bivouac on shore if they thought proper to do so in
preference to remaining in the flats crowded as they
were--there was about 70 men detailed for the purpose of
managing Ten flats containing the Provisions under my
Charge. The Signal for embarking in the Morning was the
Reveille at day break and the General immediately after. It
being then about the 20 December the weather was Cold and a
good deal of ice drifting in the River. The men generally
preferred the Company boats where they had to labor less
than in those of the Commissariat where they had to labor
constantly to keep up in the line agreeably to the order
regulating the movement of the troops. One morning they
appeared to be desirous of escaping from the Commissariat
boats to their respective Company boats in hopes of getting
rid of the duty to which they were detailed and left the
boats as fast as they were ordered to embark until Pike
observing their disobedience seized and threw several fire
brans at those in the Act of leaving the boats to which
they had been detailed and called to me to assist him by
which means the men were taught a lesson which was not
required to be repeated the residue of the journey down the
River.

This prompt and decided course on the part of Pike was not
only well timed but very important as it prevented much
disorder and Confusion which would inevitably have ensued
had he taken the ordinary and regular but slow steps to
punish the Mutineers, to bring them to a sense of duty. the
moment of departure had arrived, the boats were unmoored,
and those which had precedence were already under way
floating down the rapid current of the Ohio; The Colonels
boat particularly, to whom he would have had to Report was
already at some distance--The alternative then, which he
adopted as quick as lightning was not only judicious but
necessary and indispensible under the Circumstances of the
Case. It operated a Salutary and instantaneous effect upon
the insubordinate Soldiery which at once brought them to a
sense of duty and order. This circumstance in my opinion
speaks volumes in favor of Pike. The quickness and decision
which characterized the transaction furnishes an index to
his character neither to be mistaken nor misunderstood.

After our arrival at a point equidistant between Fort
Massac & the Confluence of the Ohio & Mississippi Rivers,
about eighteen miles below Fort Massac the Army landed on
the 5th January 1801 at a high Bluff on the right Bank of
the River where they encamped cleared the ground which was
covered with heavy timber laid out an encampment after the
plan of Greenville built with log huts which was named
Wilkinsonville.

Some time in the summer of 1801 he obtained a furlow to
visit Cincinnati as it was believed, on a matrimonial
expedition at which time he was married to his present
relict Mrs. Pike.

During the period alluded to, the duties of the Adjutant
were arduous and unremitting--especially during the
encampment on the Allegheny in addition to guard and police
duty--We had Battalion drill twice or thrice a week and
Company drill every day; and Officer drill once or twice a
week, thus you can perceive that our time was industriously
appropriated to the acquisition of military knowledge--We
had also the advantage of being drilled by officers that
served under the gallant Genl. Wayne and who composed part
of his Army at the memorable and decisive Battle of the
20th of August 1794 at the Miami Rapids--

Colonel John Francis Hamtramck[M-5] of the 1st Regt U. S.
Infy acted as Brigadier Genl. under Genl. Wilkinson being
the senior Colonel of the U. S. Army--his remains now lie
within a stone's throw of my Office, near the Roman
Catholic Church of St Anne--As a Memorial of affection the
principal Town above this City and within the County of
Wayne bears his name Hamtramck as he was much beloved by
the inhabitants of this Country.

Allow me here to make mention of the principal Officers
composing the Command at Camp Allegheny. Colo. David
Strong, Commandg 2d Regt Infy, Major Moses Porter with his
Co. of Artillery--Major Turner Brigade Inspector Captains
Graeton, Sedgwick, Shoemaker, (Visscher, stationed at fort
Fayette) Grey, Lukens, Claiborne--Lieuts. Rand, Whipple,
Schiras, Hook, Meriwether Lewis, Wilson--John Wilson--Z. M.
Pike, Dill--& to which was added at Wilkinsonville Lieuts.
Williams, Brevoort, Hughes, Hilton Many Blue & Others
together with a Battalion of the 4th Regt. under Major
Butler--making in the aggregate a force of about 1000
effective men.[M-6]

During the summer and autumn we were visited by Genl.
Wilkinson & his staff Composed of Lieuts Walbach & Macomb &
Lieut. Colo. Williams of the Engineer Corps.[M-7] about this
period sickness among the troops and many deaths occurred
in consequence of which the Troops were removed by order
of Genl. Wilkinson to Cumberland Heights[*] a season of
inactivity and a prospect unfavorable to Military life
prevailing--many Officers resigned and sought to obtain a
livelihood by other means than the profession of arms.
These and other subsequent events are matters of history
and I shall therefore close these short notes by pointing
to the subsequent life and services of the lamented Zebulon
M. Pike.

My opportunities of acquaintance with him arose from the
Circumstance of having messed with Captain Peter Shoemaker
and himself about Eight Months without intermission we
three being the only members of the Mess.

In conclusion, it may not be inappropriate to remark that
the period alluded to was during a state of peace. Yet,
whilst the prospect lasted that the Troops might soon
expect active service against the frontiers of the then
possessions of Spain--The Zeal, Ardor, Enterprize and
ambition of our Army could not have been surpassed; and
would have sustained a comparison with the best and most
glorious days of the Revolution, or of the late War with
Britain, or the later achievements of our Braves against
the forces of Mexico.

You are at liberty to use these notes in such manner as
will meet the object you have in view.

With respectful Consideration
I am Dear Sir Your Obedt Servt
JNO. R. WILLIAMS.

MAJOR AMOS HOLTON
Washington City, D. C.

transmitted the foregoing by
Mail Augt 26th 1846.[M-8]

[*] Mr. Jefferson having been elected President of the U. S. The policy of the Government changed instead of wresting the posts on the west bank of the Mississippi from Spain by force of Arms as was previously contemplated--They were eventually obtained by peaceable & Successful negociation. (Orig. note.)

The "matrimonial expedition" to which the foregoing letter quaintly alludes was successful, like Pike's other expeditions of later date and greater celebrity. The young lieutenant was married in 1801 (day of the month not ascertained) to Clarissa Brown, daughter of General John Brown of Kentucky. Whiting says that the issue of this connection was "three daughters and one son. Only one of these children reached the maturity of life, a daughter, who married Symmes Harrison, the son of General [William Henry] Harrison, and became a widow, many years since, with several children." Whiting continues with the following statements, embodying perhaps as much as has hitherto been published of Pike's domestic relations:

Mrs. Pike withdrew to the seclusion of a family residence
[at North Bend] on the Ohio River just below Cincinnati,
soon after the fall of her gallant husband, where she has
since lived. It is well recollected by most of the officers
who served on Lake Ontario in the early part of the
campaign of 1813, that he regarded her with enthusiastic
sentiments, believing her to share in all his ardent
longings after distinction, and willing to make any
sacrifice for their fulfilment. No doubt it was with a
heart strengthened by such feelings, that she parted with
him on the eve of the expedition in which he fell; though
she may have felt, during her long widowhood, that the
sacrifice, with all its honorable alleviations, has been at
times as much as that heart could bear.

There was found an interesting memorandum on one of the
blank pages of a copy of "Dodsley's Economy of Human
Life,"[M-9] which General Pike habitually carried about
with him. After affectionately alluding to his wife, and
his son then living, he lays down two maxims, which he
wishes may ever be present to the mind of his child, "as he
rises from youth to manhood." "First: Preserve your honor
free from blemish. Second: Be always ready to die for your
country." This son was cut off too soon to exemplify the
former in his life, or the latter in his death; but the
father, in his life and in his death, exemplified them
both.

On seeking for information in regard to General Pike's daughter and her children, I first wrote to ex-President Benjamin Harrison, by whom I was favored with prompt reply, in part as follows:

674 NORTH DELAWARE STREET,
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., May 24, 1894.

MY DEAR SIR:

I have your letter of May 21st. My uncle, Symmes Harrison,
married the daughter of General Pike and left several
children; but I do not think I know of but one who
survives--William Henry Harrison, who lives in the
neighborhood of the old Pike homestead on the Ohio River,
about two and a half miles below my grandfather's old home
at North Bend.... I cannot give you the names of General
Pike's children; I was too young to have any knowledge of
them. Possibly my eldest sister, Mrs. Bettie H. Eaton, who
is now residing at El Paso, Texas, may be able to give you
some information about the Pike family.

Very truly yours,
[Signed] BENJAMIN HARRISON.

Mrs. Bettie Harrison Eaton was kind enough to reply to my further inquiries, in a letter dated El Paso, Tex., July 2d, 1894, from which I quote in substance:

My cousin's, William Henry Harrison's, mother was a
daughter of General Pike, whose maiden name was Clarissa
Harlowe Pike. She was married to my uncle, John Cleves
Symmes Harrison, but in what year I do not know. Indeed, I
know very little about the Pike family, as I always
understood that my aunt was General Pike's only child; if
he had others I never heard of them. I remember her very
slightly, as I was quite a little girl when she died. Her
mother, Mrs. General Pike, of whom I have a better memory,
was a tall, dignified, rather austere looking woman, who
always dressed in deep black, wearing always a large black
Canton crape shawl and a black crape turban on her head,
which to my childish eyes gave her a somewhat awe-inspiring
appearance. She was a highly educated and accomplished
woman, and a fine French scholar. She kept for many years a
diary, which was written in French. My cousin, to whom I
refer you, lives on the old Pike homestead, and could
probably give you the dates you wish, as he no doubt has
the family Bible, and the old graveyard where the family
are buried is on the place.

On applying to William Henry Harrison of North Bend, O., I received a brief note dated Sept. 10th, 1894, in which the following information is given: "My house burned some years ago, when all General Pike's private papers were lost. He had but one child, my mother Clara. His wife's maiden name was Clara Brown; she was the daughter of Captain John Brown of Revolutionary fame."

* * * * *

With thus much--none too complete, but all that I have in hand--concerning Pike's private life, we return to his public career. The unnumbered extant notices to which the fame that he acquired gave rise are mainly and most naturally devoted to the consideration of the Mississippian, Arkansan, and Mexican exploits which form the matter of the present volumes, but which need not occupy the present biographer, as they speak for themselves. These cover the dates of 1805-6-7; and before taking up Pike's life in 1808, we may next consider the bibliography of the books to which his expeditions gave rise.

The earliest one of these, forerunner of the regular edition of 1810, is entitled:

_An Account | of a | Voyage | up the Mississippi River,
from St. | Louis to its source; | made under the orders of
the War De- | partment, by Lieut. Pike, of the Uni- | ted
States Army, in the Years 1805 and | 1806. Compiled from
Mr. Pike's Jour- | nal. |_

Pamphlet, 8vo., pp. 1-68, no date, no author, no editor, no
publisher, no printer, no place of publication; title,
verso blank, pp. 1, 2; text, pp. 3-67, with colophon
("Finis."); p. 68 being "Extract of a letter from N.
Boilvin [Nicholas Boivin] Indian agent, | to the Secretary
of War, dated St. Louis, | Oct, 6, 1806. |"

This is an extremely rare tract. I have handled two copies, one of which I own, title page gone; the other being a perfect example in the Library of Congress at Washington. There is a third in the Ridgway Library of Philadelphia; and Sabin's Bibl. Amer. cites a fourth, in the library of the American Antiquarian Society at Worcester, Mass. These are all that I know of, though of course others exist. The authorship and circumstances of publication remain unknown, to me at least. Sabin gives the date 1807; this is probably correct, certainly true within a year, but questionable. I adopt it, in view of its probability, and in the absence of conclusive evidence against it, though Whiting says 1808. But early in 1808 Pike was already arranging for the publication of his own book, which appeared in 1810. Pike does not even allude to this publication, either in his own book, or in any of the manuscripts I have seen in which the latter is mentioned. On consultation with Mr. A. R. Spofford over the general aspect and "make-up," no definite conclusion could be reached by that exceptionally well-versed librarian. It is supposed by some, not without plausibility, to have been a government publication; but Mr. Spofford's ignorance of the fact, if it be such, is against this supposition; for a publication which he cannot recognize on sight as having been issued in Washington is unlikely. The tract looks as if it formed a part of something else; witness the peculiar set of the title page, the conclusion of the Pike matter on p. 67, and the appearance on p. 68 of the Boivin letter, having no obvious connection with the rest. However all this may really have been, there is no question of the genuineness of this unauthenticated narrative. Pike never penned it--he could not write so well as the anonymous author of this tract did. But whoever wrote it had Pike's original manuscript journal or note-book before him, and followed him closely, faithfully, and accurately. Pike's case is put in the third person by the writer, who gives in narrative form a better account of the Mississippi voyage than Pike's slender literary attainments enabled him to write for himself. This "text of 1807," as I shall call it, when I have occasion to cite it in my commentary, is an invaluable check upon Pike's own itinerary; he cannot have been unaware of its existence, and the friendly hand which thus first gave to the world the best account extant of the Mississippi voyage should not have been ignored when Pike came to write out his notes for publication in the princeps edition of his several expeditions, of date 1810.[M-10]

* * * * *

Immediately upon his escape from his Spanish captors and hosts, and his return to his native land, Pike set about writing his book. This was finished--or at any rate so far advanced that a contract for its publication had been made--early in 1808 (see letter of May 27th, 1808, beyond, p. lxi). The original edition of his Expeditions is as follows:

_[1810.]--An Account of Expeditions | to the | Sources of
the Mississippi, | and through the | Western Parts of
Louisiana, | to the Sources of the | Arkansaw, Kans, La
Platte, 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 conducted through these
Provinces, | by order of | the Captain-General, | in the
Year 1807. | ---- | By Major Z. M. Pike. | Illustrated by
maps and charts. | ---- | Philadelphia: | Published by C.
and A. Conrad, Co. No. 30, Chesnut Street. Somer- | vell &
Conrad, Petersburgh. Bonsal, Conrad, & Co. Norfolk, | and
Fielding Lucas, Jr. Baltimore. | ---- | John Binns,
Printer......1810. | One Vol. 8vo._

CONTENTS.

Portrait of Pike, frontispiece.

Title, backed with copyright, pp. [1], [2].

To the Public, being Preface by Pike and publisher's
Apology, pp. [3]-[5]; blank, p. [6].

Dedication, To the President and Members of the U. S. M. P.
S., one leaf not paginated, verso blank (= pp. 7, 8).

Part I., being the Mississippi Voyage: Pike's Itinerary,
pp. 1-105; blank, p. 106; Meteorological Tables, 5
unnumbered leaves, raising pages to 116, last blank.