The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Volume 1 (of 3)

Chapter III: Part III: , being the Mexican Tour: Pike's Itinerary, pp (1)

Text size

205-277; p. 278 blank; one blank leaf; Meteorological
Table, one unpaged leaf.

Appendix to Part I., pp. 1-66 (last not numbered) + 2 folding
Tables; contains Documents Nos. 1-18, and some others (No.
18, pp. 41-66, is Observations, etc., on the Mississippi
Voyage); the folders are Tables C and F (other tables being
on pages), respectively to face p. 40 and p. 66.

Appendix to Part II., pp. 1-53 (p. 54 blank), + 1 folding
Table to face p. 53; contains (No. 1) A Dissertation, etc.,
on the Arkansaw Journey, pp. 1-18; (No. 2) Lieut.
Wilkinson's Report on his Arkansaw Expedition, pp. 19-32;
and other Documents to No. 15.

Appendix to Part III., pp. 1-87 (p. 88 blank); contains
(No. 1) Geographical, Statistical, and General
Observations, etc., on the Mexican Tour, pp. 1-51, by far
the most important thing in the book; No. 2, pp. 52, 53, a
certain Vocabulary belonging to the Mississippi Voyage, and
therefore to App. to Part I.; with other Documents to No.
19.

Map, Falls of St. Anthony, page size.

Map, Mississippi river, about 29⅞ × 9 inches.

Map, the First Part of Pike's Chart of Louisiana, folding,
about 17½ × 17½ inches, called Plate I.

Map, the Second Part of Pike's Chart of Louisiana, folding,
about 17 × 15½ inches, called Plate II.

Map, Internal Provinces of New Spain, about 18¼ × 17¾
inches.

Map, Sketch of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, about 15⅝ ×
12⅞ inches.

Total pages 8 + 278 + 10 + 4 + 66 + 54 + 88 = 508, some not paginated,
a few blank; 5 sets of pagination. Inserts 1 portrait, 3
folding tables, 6 maps (5 folding) = 10. Folders all may be
found in a separate vol. in some copies.

It has been said, "The pen is mightier than the sword." Pike's pen proved mightier than his sword, and pistols too, in putting bookmaking to confusion and editors to despair. It would be hard to find a match for the disorder in which Pike's materials were set forth in print, especially in the several Appendixes: Even the patient printer would not let it go without published apology. No editor has hitherto been found expert or rash enough to reproduce anything like the original arrangement of the "Parts," "Appendixes" with their numerous pieces, folding "Tables," etc. The English editor, who first undertook to bring something like cosmos out of this chaos, created a new book by weaving as much as he could of the matter of the Appendixes into the main text, or into footnotes thereto, thereby greatly reducing the bulk of the appendicial texts. But these contained documents which proved refractory to such treatment; the plan could not be fully carried out, for there was a residuum which still called for an Appendix. In fact, the real bulk of Pike's cargo is in these Appendixes; his Itineraries--the only portions of his book which were printed in large type, as main text--being less important, if not less interesting, than the rest of the freight. In approaching my own editorial labors, my intention was to adhere as closely as possible to the arrangement of the original. This I flatter myself I have succeeded in doing, with a few important exceptions to which attention is pointedly directed in my notes. These transpositions, with the introduction of chapter-heads, and co-ordination of all of the original book in uniform typography, have probably effected the required result.

In 1811 Pike's work was also published, from another MS. copy, with many modifications, in a handsome quarto edition, as follows:

_[1811.]--Exploratory Travels | through the | Western
Territories | of | North America: | comprising a | Voyage
from St. Louis, on the Mississippi, | to the | Source of
that River, | and a | Journey through the Interior of
Louisiana, | and the | North-eastern Provinces of New
Spain. | Performed in the years 1805, 1806, 1807, by Order
of the Government of the United States. | ---- | By Zebulon
Montgomery Pike, | Major 6th Regt. United States Infantry.
| ---- | London: | Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme,
and Brown, | Paternoster-Row. | ---- | 1811. |_

One vol., 4to. Half-title, 1 leaf, verso blank; title, 1
leaf, verso blank; advertisement, dated Jan. 28th, 1811,
and signed Thomas Rees, pp. v-ix; Congressional matters
taken from the App. to Part III. of the orig. ed., pp.
xi-xviii; contents, pp. xix, xx; main text, pp. 1-390;
Appendix, pp. 391-436; colophon, J. G. Barnard, Printer,
Skinner-street, London. The copy examined has only two
maps--the Mississippi, reduced to 4to page size; Louisiana
and New Mexico, prepared by putting together two of Pike's
orig. maps and reducing the result to 10⅛ × 13⅞
inches. Folding tables reset to page size.

This is the standard English edition, prepared under the careful and able editorship of Dr. Thomas Rees, from a manuscript copy transmitted to England at the time that the original manuscript went to press in America. This edition, and not the American of 1810, is the basis of the French and Dutch versions, and is also the one which was textually reprinted as the Denver edition of 1889. Dr. Rees made Pike a much better book than the author made for himself. The very great differences from the American original, due to the English editor's literary skill, are modestly set forth in the latter's Advertisement. It appears from this that the MS. transmitted to England "was divided into six parts, comprising the three journals which follow, and the observations pertaining to each in a separate portion." As the appendicial matters were received "in the desultory manner in which they were originally composed, the editor judged it for the advantage of the work to restore them, as nearly as he possibly could, in distinct paragraphs, to the places they had first occupied in the journal, thus rendering it unnecessary to lead the reader a second time over the same ground." In other words, Dr. Rees picked the helter-skelter Appendixes to pieces, and wove most of their contents into the main text, as already said. The accounts of the Indians on the Upper Mississippi, and the Observations on New Spain, he "preserved in their original state. The Notes and Appendixes, with some variation of arrangement, have been printed after the manuscripts, but a few articles have been omitted, as containing only repetitions of what had already appeared in the body of the work. With respect to the language and style of the Author, the Editor felt he had a much more delicate task to perform than in the disposal of the materials." He therefore preserved Pike's language in substance, but corrected his grammar freely. Dr. Rees' avowal of the trouble he had with proper names of persons and places will surprise no one who reads the present edition and sees with what extraordinary perversions of Indian, French, and Spanish names both Dr. Rees and myself had to contend. Dr. Rees speaks also of the "ignorant and careless transcriber" of the copy which reached him, and observes further: "It is mortifying to find that in America, where the Author was accessible, and might readily have elucidated any accidental obscurities in his manuscript, the work has been printed in very nearly as incorrect a state as it appeared in the present editor's copy. The sheets of the American Edition reached here some time after his own had been in the printer's hands, but its numerous errors, discreditable certainly to the American press, left him little to regret that they had not arrived at an earlier period." For the rest, Dr. Rees remarks that he furnished "some cursory notes, which are distinguished by the letter E," and adds: "In the account of New Spain he has subjoined the population of several places from Humboldt's recent 'Essai Politique,' in order to furnish the reader with the means of instant comparison. It is pleasing to observe how nearly these statements agree in the most material instances; and the circumstance affords no slight evidence of the general accuracy of Major Pike's information." He is charitable enough to refrain from adding what else this circumstance evidences. Dr. Rees' further introduction to his main text consists of the Congressional papers, which in the orig. ed. form a part of the App. to Pt. 3, and which are given this prominence, apparently, to authenticate the whole work in the eyes of the English public by these officialities. In the copy of the Rees edition which I have handled I find but two maps, reduced as above said.

This was followed in 1812 by a French version, the title and collation of which are here given:

Two vols., 8vo. Vol. I., pp. i-xvi, 1-368; Vol. II., pp.
1-373, with 3 maps. In Vol. I. the half title p., backed de
l'imprimérie de L. Hausmann, Rue de la Harpe, N^o. 80, is
pp. i, ii; full title p., verso blank, is pp. iii, iv;
Préface du Traducteur, pp. v-xiv; sub-title, Voyage au
Mississippi, backed with errata, pp. xv, xvi; Avertissement
de l'auteur, pp. 1-6; Wilkinson's instructions to Pike of
July 30th, 1805, abstracted from one of the pieces of App.
to Pt. 3 of the orig. ed., pp. 7, 8; main text of the
Mississippi Voyage, pp. 9-236, ending Pt. 1 of the orig.
ed.; thence the Arkansaw Journey, with separate sub-title,
Voyage au Nouveau-Mexique, pp. 237-368, ending Vol. I.,
with end of Pt. 2 of the orig. ed.--In Vol. II., half title
p. backed blank, pp. 1, 2: full title, backed blank, pp. 3,
4; main text, pp. 5-373, beginning at date of Feb. 27th,
1807, when Pike was starting on his involuntary Mexican
tour; this tour ending on p. 236, with end of the main
text of Pt. 3 of the orig. ed.; thence to end of vol.
various matters from the Appendixes of Pts. 2 and 3,
including Lieutenant Wilkinson's Arkansaw Report, pp.
325-363, and a piece of padding, pp. 293-324, this last
being Remarques Additionelles sur le sol, les productions
et les habitans de la Nouvelle-Espagne, of which the editor
says that "ces détails sont extraits en partie de
l'excellente histoire d'Amérique par Winterbotham, et de
l'ouvrage de l'abbé Clavigéro." These 32 pages of padding
have no business in the book; I suppose they were wanted to
balance the bulk of the two volumes. The maps of this
edition are three in number, supposed to belong in Vol. II.
They are the Mississippi and the two Arkansaw maps,
prepared by Antoine Nau, redrawn and re-engraved, with
French names instead of English ones; the size is about the
same as that of the original; the execution is rather
better. The editor apologizes, Vol I., p. xiii, for not
reproducing Pike's two maps of Mexico, because he would not
venture "d'attenter à la propriété de M. de Humboldt," _i. e._,
steal Humboldt's thunder. For it seems that Humboldt
thought Pike had done so, and he had just previously so
expressed himself in a réclamation in Le Moniteur. Humboldt
compliments Pike pro formâ, and proceeds to protest: "Mais
les cartes du Mexique, publiées sous son [Pike's] nom, ne
sont que des réductions de ma grande carte de la
Nouvelle-Espagne, sur laquelle le voyageur a tracé sa route
de Santa-Fé par Cohahuila à Nacodolhes [Nacogdoches or
Natchitoches]."

Humboldt's direct and unqualified charge of plagiarism against Pike, which has never been answered and is probably unanswerable, is reiterated in that one of his works entitled: Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent during the Years 1799-1804. By Alexander de Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland. Written in French by Alexander de Humboldt, and translated into English by Helen Maria Williams, Philadelphia, M. Carey, 1 vol., 8vo, Dec. 23d, 1815, on p. xxii of which we read: "Mr. Pike displayed admirable courage in an important undertaking for the investigation of western Louisiana; but unprovided with instruments, and strictly watched on the road from Santa Fe to Natchitoches, he could do nothing towards the progress of the geography of the provincias internas. The maps of Mexico, which are annexed to the narrative of his journey, are reduced from my great map of New Spain, of which I left a copy, in 1804, at the secretary of state's office at Washington." In this connection Humboldt also makes the same well-founded charge against Arrowsmith, saying, p. xxi: "My general map of the kingdom of New Spain, formed on astronomical observations, and on the whole of the materials which existed in Mexico in 1804, has been copied by Mr. Arrowsmith, who has appropriated it to himself, by publishing it on a larger scale under the title of New Map of Mexico, compiled from original Documents, by Arrowsmith. It is very easy to recognize this map from the number of chalcographical errors with which it abounds," etc.

Of all forms of dishonesty, literary larceny is the most futile, because the surest of detection. Plagiarism is worse than a crime--it is a blunder. If the matter stolen is worth stealing, the transaction is certain to be exposed, sooner or later. The distinction between the use and misuse of the literary labors of another is so plain and simple that it cannot be misunderstood. It depends solely upon whether acknowledgment be made or not. Plagiarism acknowledged is no plagiarism--one has only to say "by your leave," to appropriate with impunity whatever he desires. But this instant formula is indispensable. Subsequent apology or explanation is impossible. Humboldt took Pike red-handed; this the present biographer deplores; but he can neither discover nor invent a defense. Pike's senselessness in this matter aggravates the offense. To have acknowledged his indebtedness to Humboldt and Bonpland, and then utilized their work to any extent he chose, would have been shrewd policy, as well as honest conduct; for Humboldt's was already a name to conjure with, and the hitherto nameless young writer could not have done better for himself than to cite such high authority in connection with his own work.[M-11] I have reluctantly satisfied myself that Pike's map of New Spain is no other than Humboldt's Carte Générale du Royaume de la Nouvelle Espagne, with Nau's errors and some little further modification.

The Dutch edition of Pike, 1812-13, is as follows:

Two vols., 8vo. Vol. I., 1812 (notice misprint of date on
title page), pp. i-viii, 1-327. Vol. II., 1813, two prel.
leaves, and pp. 1-374, with three maps. Printed at
Amsterdam by A. Breeman & Co. In Vol. I., title leaf, verso
blank, pp. i, ii; Voorberigt van den Vertaler (Translator's
Preface), pp. iii-viii, dated Amsterdam, Nov. 7th, 1812;
main text, pp. 1-327, of which the Mississippi voyage runs
to p. 218 inclusive, and the remainder finishes the
Arkansaw journey, these being respectively Pt. 1 and Pt. 2
of the orig. ed. In Vol. II. a half title and a full title
make each one unpaged leaf, and the main text runs pp.
1-374, being Pt. 3 of the orig. ed. The three maps belong
in this vol.

The general form and style of this version are most like those of the French translation, from which, however, the Dutch differs in various particulars. It appears to have been based upon the English quarto rather than upon the original Philadelphia octavo, and to have been translated independently therefrom, as the French also was. Both the Dutch and the French editions follow the English one in working the matter of the Appendixes into the main text--in fact, _no_ edition that I know of has hitherto followed the awkward and exasperating form of Pike's own book. The anonymous Dutch translator introduces a new preface, and a few short footnotes, not reproducing those of the French translator; the three maps are re-engraved from those prepared by Antoine Nau, as in the French edition, but with lettering of the names in Dutch instead of French.

The foregoing English, French, and Dutch editions were speedily followed by a German version. This seems to be a scarce book; I have not yet been able to find a copy. I presume that, like the French and Dutch, it was modeled upon the London quarto; but with what modifications, if any, aside from translation into another language, I have no idea.

The latest and best edition of Pike which has hitherto appeared in the United States, was published in 1889, as follows:

One vol., large 4^to. Engr. portrait, frontispiece,
answering to pp. i, ii; title, verso copyright, pp. iii,
iv; introduction (new, by Wm. M. Maguire, Denver, 1889),
pp. v-xii; missing, pp. xiii, xiv; Report of Committee,
etc. (1808), pp. xv-xxii (abstracted from Doc. No. 6 and
accompanying papers of Appendix III. of the original);
contents, pp. xxiii, xxiv, or pp. 23, 24; main text, pp.
25-351; blank, p. 352; Appendix, pp. 353-394; Mississippi
map, reduced, opp. p. 24; 1st Louisiana map, reduced, opp.
p. 146; 2d do., do., opp. p. 208; maps of Falls of St.
Anthony and of Mexico not found; folding tables reset to
page size.

As appears from the foregoing title and collation, this is a faithful and complete reprint of the English quarto. The title page is facsimiled with the camera, down to the publishers' names; the text is identical throughout, barring such slight literal or punctual differences as are necessarily incident to resetting type. The only noticeable change from the London edition is that Dr. Rees' advertisement is replaced by a new introduction, from the pen of William M. Maguire, Esq., of Denver. This is a valuable feature; my only regret is that so competent and conscientious an editor as Mr. Maguire--one familiar with much of Pike's route, and enthusiastic on the subject--did not give the work that extended critical revision which would have forestalled my own commentary and left me to exercise my editorial wits in some other direction. As it is, I am indebted to my valued correspondent in several particulars which appear in their proper connections in the course of my notes.

It is needless to cite here the multiplied notices of Pike and of his travels or his book which appear in ordinary biographical and encyclopedic publications. But, aside from Whiting's Memoir, already adduced, I may notice some special articles of more or less recent date.

The Pacific Railroad Reports, XI. 1855, pp. 19-22, contain a notice of Pike's Expeditions, by the late eminent geographer, General Gouverneur Kemble Warren. The routes are traced correctly, except in the instance of sending Pike over the Continental Divide to headwaters of the Colorado of the West; for General Warren says: "It appears that Lieutenant Pike has the honor of being the first American explorer that reached the sources of this large river [the Arkansaw], and the second that crossed the divide between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans." The first clause of this statement is correct; in the second, the writer was misled.

"Mungo-Meri-Paike" is not the name of the celebrated Ethiopian explorer who was born at Fowlshiels, in Selkirkshire, Scotland, Sept. 20th, 1771, and became known to fame as Mungo Park, but a phonetization of the way "Montgomery Pike" reverberated in Spanish ears. Colonel James F. Meline's Two Thousand Miles on Horseback, etc., New York, Hurd and Houghton, 1867, exploits Pike in an interesting manner, especially in Letter xxix, pp. 234-245. Meline's contribution to the present biography is particularly valuable, as it gives some documentary evidence of the Spanish view of Pike's invasion of New Mexico. Most of this we have in Pike's book; but one of the papers which Colonel Meline presents, both in the original Spanish and in an English version, must find a place here; I give it in English, from Meline's pp. 243-245.[M-12] It is Governor Allencaster's report to General Salcedo, of date Santa Fé, N. M., Apr. 1st, 1807: compare Pike at p. 607 and following pages; also, p. 809.

The Topeka Commonwealth, a Kansan newspaper, during the summer and autumn of 1877 published a series of articles by Noble L. Prentis. These were afterward gathered in a volume entitled: A Kansan Abroad, what purports to be the second edition of which appeared in 1878, Topeka, Geo. W. Martin, sm. 8vo, pp. 240. One of the articles in this book, pp. 191-214, is thus described by its author, who seems to have been something of a wag: "The sketch, Pike of Pike's Peak, was first delivered at Topeka, February 19th, 1877, under the patronage of the Kansas State Historical Society. Afterward, in the cheerful month of March, the author went around the country with his production in the form of a 'lecture.' It was not as funny as was expected, and, as a lecture, was not an overwhelming success. It now appears for the first time in print; and may it find more readers than it ever did hearers." In this wish I concur with pleasure; for Mr. Prentis evidently had read his Pike with interested attention, and his essay is one of the best short biographies of our hero that I have seen. I have occasion to cite it twice in the present memoir.

In his Explorers and Travellers, forming a volume of the Men of Achievement series, New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1893, Art. VI., pp. 163-193, General A. W. Greely, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A., who himself illuminates achievement in exploration, has given an appreciative sketch of Pike's career, in the main correct, though inaccurate in certain particulars. If I here specify two of these, it is in no spirit of detraction, but with the good feeling that General Greely reciprocated when I called his attention to them. It is said, p. 173, that "Pike visited Red Lake and passed to the north, which carried him to the drainage-basin of the Red River"; but Pike was never out of the Mississippian watershed on that voyage, his furthest point being Cass lake. This was formerly known as Red Cedar lake, whence perhaps General Greely's misapprehension. Again, it is said, p. 183, that Pike "doubtless crossed into Middle Park [in Colorado] and saw the head-waters of the Colorado"; but Pike went directly from South Park back into the valley of the Arkansaw, and never viewed a Pacific watershed. The general's summary, p. 175, of Pike's results on the Mississippi is judicious--a conservative estimate, colored with a generosity which none would wish to have been withheld:

Pike had more than carried out his orders to explore the
sources of the great river, and did something more than
give to the world the first definite and detailed
information as to the upper river and its tributaries. He
discovered the extent and importance of the British trade
in that country, brought the foreign traders under the
license and customs regulations of the United States, and
broke up for all time their political influence over the
Indians. He did much to restrain the unlawful sale of
liquor to Indians by domestic traders, and not only
inspired the Indians with respect for Americans, but also
induced them to at least a temporary peace between
themselves. He replaced a foreign flag by the ensign of his
own country, and for the first time brought into this great
territory the semblance of national authority and
government.

Hon. Alva Adams of Pueblo, Col., delivered an address before the students and faculty of Colorado College, Colorado Springs, July 12th, 1894, which was published under the title: The Louisiana Purchase and its first Explorer, Zebulon Montgomery Pike, 8vo, pp. 23. This is a spirited oration, befitting the occasion and inspiring to read. It is true that Pike's book appeared in 1810, thus anticipating by four years the publication of Lewis and Clark; but can Governor Adams have forgotten who first explored the Louisiana Purchase, and returned from their expedition to the Pacific at noon of Sept. 23d, 1806? At that date Pike was at the Pawnee village on the Republican river; and on the 4th of October he had the news of Lewis and Clark's return to St. Louis. His western expedition had been in progress only since July 15th, 1806. If Governor Adams had Pike's Mississippi voyage in mind, that does not alter the case. Lewis and Clark started up the Missouri May 24th, 1804; and when Pike began to navigate the Mississippi, Aug. 9th, 1805, Lewis and Clark were on Jefferson river, in Montana. Furthermore, Pike was preceded in exploring Louisiana, from Missourian waters to those of the Rio Grande, by James Pursley, who had himself been preceded by Jean Baptiste Lalande, as we are duly informed by Pike himself; and it is probable that French traders reached Santa Fé by the same way half a century before Pike.

The Annals of Iowa, 3d series, Vol. I. No. 7, Oct., 1894, pp. 531-36, contains an article entitled: Pike's Explorations. This is anonymous, but was written by my much esteemed friend, Hon. Charles Aldrich, editor of the Annals and curator of the Iowa State Historical Department at Des Moines. The article is clear and concise; and it traces Pike's several journeys with absolute accuracy.

* * * * *

We return from this bibliographical excursus to resume the thread of Pike's biography--would that there had been many more years to chronicle in the gallant and patriotic, but all too brief, life of the young soldier! No longer lieutenant, but captain, since Aug. 12th, 1806, Pike was delivered out of the hands of "our friends the enemy" on the Sabine river, to which he had been escorted by his Spanish captors, June 29th, 1807; and arrived at Natchitoches about 4 p. m., July 1st. The following letter was received at the War Department Sept. 29th, 1807; it is not included in the Appendix to Pt. 3 of the book, and has probably never been published. I print verbatim from a copy of the original now on file in the office of the secretary of war:

NATCHITOCHES 15 July. 1807.

SIR

I arrived here a few days since with part of my command
only, the ballance being yet in New Spain, but expect them
daily; as the Capt. General assured me they should follow
me in a short period; he detaining them I presume, to put
them through an _examination_, when he conceived they would
be more easily _intimidated_ into some equivocal
expressions; which might palliate the unjustifyable conduct
of the Spanish Government with respect to the expidition
which I had the honor to command.

Whatever may be the sentiments of the Executive of the
United States as to the conduct of the Spaniards to
_myself_ and _command_, I am bound to submit. Yet I am
conscious that our Honor and Dignity, as a nation will not
permit us to tranquilly view, the violation of our
Territories; infringements of Treaties; Hostile
communications to our Savages; and oppression of our
Citizens; in various Instances: all of which I can make
manifest.

The unreasionable Ideas of the Vice Roy, & His Excelly the
Capt. Genl. (the immediate representatives of his Catholic
Majesty on our Spanish Frontiers) as it respects the line
of Demarkation, is such that in my humble oppinion almost
precludes the possibility of a thought that they can ever
be amicably adjusted.

On that subject I flatter myself I have acquired some
important and interesting information.

Although the Capt. Genl. seized on (what he conceived all)
my papers, I yet possess by a little strategem, the whole
of my Journals; courses; and distances; and many other
Geographical; Historical; and Philosophical notes; which I
presume will be worthy of particular notice.

I conceive by a fortuitous event, that information has been
acquired of the Spanish Kingdom of New Spain, which a
foreigner never yet possessed; and which in case of a
rupture between the United States, and that Govt, will be
of the highest importance: but should peace still continue
to bless those happy climes, will afford pleaseing subjects
of contemplation, for the statesmen, the philosopher; and
the Soldier.

I received from Genl. Wilkinson, some Conditional Orders on
my Arrival at the place [this place--Natchitoches]; to
which I have replied; but as the destination of that
Gentleman, was uncertain, I thought it my duty to make a
short report to you: I shall remain here waiting for my men
a short time longer (as I expect some important information
by their hands) when I shall march by the way of Kentucky,
for the City of Washington. My papers being in such a
mutilated and deranged state it will require some time to
arrange them & (to which object every moment shall be
devoted) likewise at Washington: I can obtain some
necessary assistance as it would take one person a great
length of time to make fair copies, and draughts of the
plans, Journals &c &c of a tour of upwards of 4000 Miles--

The Surveys of Capns Lewis & Clark; mine of the
Mississippi; Osage; upper Arkensaw; L'Platte; and Kans
rivers; with Lieut Wilkinson's, & Mr. Freemans, of the
lower parts, of the Red, and Arkensaw rivers; together with
the notes I intend takeing on my route from hence up the
Mississippi; will I presume form a mass of matter; which
will leave but _three_, more objects, to be desired in
forming a compleate chart of Louisiana.

I am Sir with High Consideration

Your obl. Sert.
[Signed] Z. M. PIKE, Capt.

The Honl.
HENRY DEARBORNE
Sect. W. Dept.

While at Natchitoches, Captain Pike made it one of his first concerns to move in the matter of Captain Nolan's men, then prisoners in Mexico: see beyond, pp. 609, 657, 660, 666, 767, 811. The case is little known, and has not proved an easy one to recover. But through the kind attentions of the eminent historian, Reuben T. Durrett, LL. D., president of the Filson Club of Louisville, Ky., I am put in possession of an article which appeared in the Natchez Herald of Aug. 18th, 1807, setting forth the facts in full. This I have the pleasure of presenting, literally according to the type-written copy which Dr. Durrett transmits, Apr. 12th, 1895:

NACHITOCHES, July 22, 1807.

DEAR SIR--Inclosed you have a statement of the situation of
the companions of the deceased Philip Nolan, and a short
account of the ineffectual application I made, to rescue
them from the eternal slavery, which it is to be feared, is
destined for them, unless our government should be pleased
to interfere in their behalf. Certainly the court of Spain
would be too generous to refuse liberty to a few
debilitated and half-lost wretches, who have at least
expiated their crime, (if any) tenfold.

As I promised on my arrival in the United States, to give
their friends an account of their situation, I could
conceive no more certain and expeditious a method than
through the medium of your Herald, and therefore wish you
to give this communication publicity; and hope the Editors
of the Gazettes of the states in which the friends of those
unfortunate young men may belong, will republish it, that
their connections may receive the melancholy assurances of
some being in existence, and that others are beyond the
power of tyranny and oppression.

I am, &c.,
[Signed] Z. M. PIKE.

In a late involuntary tour which I made through part of his
Catholic majesty's dominions of New Spain, whilst at St.
Affe [Santa Fé], the capitol of N. Mexico and Chihuahua, I
met with a number of the poor unfortunate companions of the
deceased Nolan. One of whom gave me the following cursory
statement of their treatment, &c. since their being taken,
and on their joint application, I addressed a letter to his
excellency Nemeio [_sic_] Salcedo, in their favor, of which
an extract is subjoined, with the verbal reply of the
general.

"We crossed the Mississippi on the 1st day of November,
1800, at the Walnut hills [Nogales], and in January
following arrived at the river Brassus [Brazos], in the
provinces of Texus, and proceeded to build pens [for the
capture of mustangs]. In March, 1801, we began to run wild
horses, and having caught several hundreds of them we
selected the handsomest and let the ballance go. On the 22
of March, we were attacked at break of day, by sixty
regular troops, and two hundred and forty militia and
Indians, with one field piece. Our commander, (Nolan) being
killed, we capitulated in the evening, on the assurance
that Nolan was killed, who only was to blame, we should be
conducted to Naggadoches [Nacogdoches], from whence there
was no doubt, we would have permission to return to our
country, as soon as the circumstances were stated to the
governor of St. Antonio. We remained there under promises
and daily expectations of being released until July, when
we were all put in heavy irons.

"In August we were marched, in irons, to St. Antonio
[Texas]; and in December through the province of Coqquella
[Coahuila] and [New] Biscay, into the vice-royalty of
Mexico, to the city of St. Louis Potosi, where we remained
fourteen months, ironed, and in close confinement. In
February, 1803, we were dispatched to Chihuahua, where
after some time, our irons were struck off. From which to
the present time, we have experienced various treatment,
sometimes enjoying the liberty of the town, sometimes the
barracks, and for three months in irons and close
confinement.

"David Fero, from near Albany, state of New York, has been
alternately in irons, the guard-house, limits of the fort
or procedie [presidio]--is now confined to the limits of a
fort called Cayome [_sic_], eight leagues distant from
Chihuahua--in bad health. [See beyond, pp. 660, 665, 811.]

"Simon M'Coy, of the Oppelousas, or Natchez, a carpenter by
profession, has the liberty of the town of Chihuahua--in
good health.

"Joseph Reed, state of Kentucky, in the province of Biscay,
but in what part and how situated unknown.

"Solomon Cooley [Colly of pp. 609, 613, beyond], of the
state of Connecticut, a taylor by profession, carries on
his business in the town of St. Affee, which is his limits.

"William Danton, of Natchez, residence and situation
unknown.

"Charles King, of Natchez, works at the carpenter's trade,
is confined by night to the quartel at Chihuahua--in good
health.

"Ephriam Blackburn, of Natchez, is in some of the procedios
of the province of Biscay--situation unknown.

"Joel Pears, of North Carolina, deceased at Chihuahua.

"John Waters, of Winchester, Virginia, a hatter, and
carries on his business at Chihuahua, has embraced the
Roman Catholic faith, after betraying a well concerted plan
of his companions to effect their escape, and in which it
is supposed they would have succeeded: his treachery caused
them a close confinement in irons, and in a loathsome
prison for three months--he is hated and despised, not only
by his own countrymen but by every honest Spaniard in the
place.

"Ellis Bean, of Granger county, state of Tennessee, a
hatter, formerly carried on his business in the city of
Chihuahua, but being detected in an intrigue with the
daughter of an officer, and refusing to marry her, was in
close confinement at St. Jeronime [San Jeronimo], a few
leagues distant, in good health.

"Thomas House, of Jefferson county, Tennessee, blacksmith,
confined to the quartel at night, but at that time was at
the hospital, in a very bad state of health.

"Stephen Richards, of Natchez, has inlisted in the Spanish
service, was lately at Baton Rouge with his father, in the
quality of a citizen--belongs to the troops at Nagadoches."

[Here follows the above-mentioned letter from Pike to his
Excellency, General Salcedo, given beyond, pp. 810-812.]

This letter I presented personally, & after the general had
learned its contents, through an interpreter, he observed
in reply That having found those men, on his arrival from
Europe, to take the command of the internal provinces of
New Spain, in the dungeons of St. Louis Potosi, he had
demanded them of the Vice-Roy, and brought them to
Chihuahua, where their irons were struck off, and every
indulgence allowed them which his responsibility would
admit--that he had felt a particular desire to serve Fero,
but whose haughtiness of soul would not permit him to be
under any obligation to the government, further than his
allowance of twenty-five cents per day. That he had
reported their situation to the King, and consequently must
await the orders of his majesty; that with respect to the
letters, they had always been permitted to correspond
through him, with their friends--but that I might use my
own pleasure as to taking letters, but he thought the
peculiar delicacy of my own situation, should prevent me
from taking any written communication out of the country.

Thus ended the conference, and thus stands the situation of
those unfortunate men at present. But as I knew some part
of the general's information to be incorrect, and
especially as it related to the freedom of communication
with their friends, I felt no such peculiar delicacy as to
prevent my bringing out letters--but brought every one
intrusted to my care.

[Signed] Z. M. PIKE.

The records I have examined do not show Captain Pike's movements for the next few months. But imagination easily forges the missing links of the return of an intrepid and successful explorer who had been a captive in foreign lands, given up by his friends as lost to them forever--a loved husband, whom _domus et placens uxor_ awaited--a hero, whose story remained to be told to a public eager to hear of El Dorado. He was in Washington soon--most likely before the end of the year, certainly in Jan., 1808--and already in hot water. For he took a header into the political caldron, which perpetually boils there, but had been superheated for him in consequence of his supposed confidential relations with his military commander-in-chief.[M-13] His name came before Congress in a way which ruffled his plumes, and extorted the following mettlesome effusion:

WASHINGTON 22 Feby 08.

SIR

The Honorable John Rowan of the House of representatives
from Kentucky; has this day made some observations before
that Honarable body from which a tacit inference might be
drawn that my late Tour to the Westward was founded on
Views intirely unknown to the Government; and connected
with the nefarious plans of Aaron Burr and his associates.
Had those insinuations arisen in any other quarter I should
have concieved that my early choice of the military life,
the many ardious and confidential duties I have performed,
with the perfect knowledge which the Goverment must have of
my military and political Character; would have been a
sufficient justification for me to have passed over them in
silence: but comeing from so respectable a source. I feel
it a duty to myself; my family; and my profession; to
request of you a testimonial which may shut the mouth of
Calumny--and strike dumb the voice of slander. I have
therefore to request of you Sir! to Honor me with a
communication which may be calculated to present to the
Speaker of the House of representatives; or a Committee of
their Body, who have been appointed to inquire whether any,
or what, extra Compensation should be made me & my
Companions; for our late Voyages of Discovery, and
exploration; and that I may have permission to give
publicity to this letter which I have the Honor to address
you, and your answer.

I am Sir with High Consideration
Your ob^t. Ser^t.
[Signed] Z. M. PIKE Cap^t 1^st.
UStates Reg^t. Infy

The Hon.
HENRY DEARBORNE
Sec. War. Dep^t.

On the same sheet of paper which has this letter, General Dearborn drafted a reply, with many interlineations and erasures, to be copied in a fair clerk's hand and signed by himself. In its final form, as received by Captain Pike, it was published, with other papers relating to Congressional action, as a part of Document No. 6 of the App. to Pt. 3 of the orig. ed. of this work: see p. 844. Its first form is as follows:

Feb: 24. 1808, WAR DEPT.

SIR. In answer to your letter of the 22^d Inst. I with
pleasure observe that alth'o the two exploring expeditions
you have performed were not previously ordered by the
President of the U. S. there were frequent communications
on the subject of each, between Gen^l. Wilkinson & this
Department, of which the President of the U. S. was
aquainted from time to time, and it will be no more than
what justice requires to say, that your conduct in each of
those expeditions met the approbation of the President; and
that the information you obtained and communicated to the
Executive in relation to the sources of the Mississippi &
the natives in that quarter and the country generally as
well on the uper Mississippi as that between the Arkansas &
the Missouri, and on the borders of the latter extensive
river to its source, and the adjacent countries, has been
considered as highly interesting in a political,
geographical & historical view. And you may rest assured
that your services are held in high estimation by the
President of the U. S.; and if opinion of my own can afford
you any satisfaction I can very frankly declare that I
consider the public very much indebted to you for the
enterprising persevering and judicious manner in which you
have performed them.

[No signature.]

To the above Pike made reply at once:

WASHINGTON CITY 26 Feby 08

SIR!

Suffer me to offer through you, to the president of the
United States the effusions of a Heart impress'd with
Gratitude for the very honarable testimonial of his
approbation received by the Medium of Your Communication of
the 24 Inst.

The Confidence of the Executive, and the respect of our
fellow Citizens, must be the grand desiderata of every man
of Honor, who wears a sword in the republican Armies of the
United States; to acquire which has been the undeviateing
pursuit of the earliest part of my life, & shall mark the
colour of my future actions.

Suffer me to add Sir! that I feel myself deeply impressed
by the Sentiments of personal respect and consideration
with which you was pleased to Honor me--and shall always be
proud to be considered as one who holds for your person and
character Sentiments of the Sincerest Respect & Esteem

I am Sir
Your ob Sert
[Signed] Z. M. PIKE Capt

The Hon^l.
HEN. DEARBORNE
Sec War Dep^t.

Meanwhile Captain Pike was panting for promotion--dear to every soldiers heart, and in his case well deserved. His majority was in sight but not in hand. There appears to have been a technical obstacle in his way. We often smile at the witticism expressed in the phrase: "the United States and New Jersey." Like most such things, it is not new. Being a Jerseyman, Captain Pike was required to establish the fact that he was not an alien to the United States--not for that reason, perhaps--still he was required to produce certain evidence of citizenship, as the following curious correspondence shows:

NEW-JERSEY. TRENTON 23^d March 1808.

It appears by the records of this State, that Cap^t. John
Pike, in the Year 1666, was one of the Original purchasers
of & Settlers in Woodbridge--a magistrate & member of
Council under the Proprietory government.--I have been well
acquainted with Major Zebulon Pike, from my Childhood and
with Capt. John Brown (Lieuten^t. of Cavalry in the
revolutionary War) also a Native of Woodbridge--and whose
daughter Cap^t. ZM. Pike married; so that Cap^t Pike has
good reason to claim New-Jersey, not only as his Native
State, but as the residence of his family for near a
Century & a half.

[Signed] Joseph Bloomfield

The above certificate of Governor Bloomfield was inclosed by Pike to the War Department with the following letter:

WASHINGTON CITY 4 Apl 1808

SIR!

Having received the enclosed document from Gov^r.
Bloomfield on the 27^th Ult^o.--who has particularly
interested himself in my promotion in the profession my
inclination has induced me to persue; I should not have
conceived it necessary to have laid it before you had I not
understood that you expressed a doubt as to the place of my
nativity; and whether, the state of Jersey, was that of
which I had a right to claim a Citizenship. I had not
conceived that it would be requisite for a native of
America who had served his country in Arms for Years (And
his forefathers before him) to establish the Locality of
his birth right but the prevoy prevoyance of my respected
friend His Excells Gov^r. Bloomfield has laid it in my
power to satisfy Gen^l. Dearborne on that Subject--I hope
I shall be pardoned for thus intrudeing myself on the time
of the Sec^y of War, and beg leave to offer assurances of
High respect & Esteem----

[Signed] Z. M. PIKE

The Hon^l.
HEN^RY DEARBORNE.
Sec^y War Dep^t.

Having thus proven that he was a citizen of New Jersey and of the United States, the captain could feel that the coveted majority was his. His commission as major of the 6th Infantry, of date May 3d, 1808, was acknowledged by him in the following letter, which I have also chosen as the one to be reproduced in facsimile for the present work:

WASHINGTON 5 May. 1808

SIR

I have the Honor to acknowledge the receiipt of yours,
notifying me of my appointment to a Majority in the 6th
Regt. of Infantry in the Service of the United States. You
will please Sir! to receive this as my acceptance of the
same, and believe me to be

With High Consideration
Your Ob^t. Ser^t.
[Signed] Z. M. PIKE

The Hon^l.
HENRY DEARBORNE
Sec. War Dep.

Among other things which had engaged Major Pike's attention was of course his book--that story of his adventures which he had fondly dreamed would immortalize his name, and respecting which his dream was realized. He had already made such progress in his literary work that he entered into official correspondence with the Secretary of War on that subject. For instance:

WASHINGTON, 14^th, April 1808.

SIR:--

[A two-page letter concluding thus:]

I shall in a day or two address an unofficial letter to the
President, requesting the favour of his advice, on the
Subject of the publication of my Voyages, on which, he
having read them, in Manuscript, will be a Competent
Judge--In this I shall speak as having the permission of
your Department for the publication.--

I am Sir,
with great Consideration,
Your obt. servt.
[Signed] Z. M. PIKE Captain.

The inside history of books which the world will not let die is always interesting. Here is a letter which speaks for itself:

PHILADELPHIA 27 May. 1808.

D^r. SIR!

I have entered into an agreement with the firm of Conrad,
Lucas & C^o of this place to print and publish my Tours,
for which I allow them 20 pr. Cent on all the sales, and
pay besides the expences of printing &c.--This, with bad
debts and other Casualties will leave to myself but an
extreame small profit but as a soldiers views are more
Generally directed to fame than interest I hope that one
object will at least be accomplished.--The Work will not
exceed four dollars pr. Copy but the exact price we cannot
yet ascertain but hope Gen^l. Dearborne will give it all
the patronage which he may deem it entitled to; and Signify
to Mess^rs. Conrad and Lucas the number of Copies you
will take on ^ac of your Department. I have taken the
Liberty of encloseing under cover to you a letter addressed
to Nau [the draughtsman] which the Secy can read, and if he
does not wish to retain that man, in the Service of the
Goverment at the present time he will be good enough to
have the letter presented to him, and should the Goverment
wish his services in the Autumn or after he has done my
business he can return to Washington: But if he cannot be
spared by the Depart^t. the letter can be distroyed look
out for another person--

I beg leave to remind the Secy of War of the applications
which have been made in favour of my friend Doc^r.
Robinson--and hope he may yet be brought in for a Company
Vice some one who did not accept.

Will Gen^l. Dearborne accept of my sincere acknowledgements
for the many favours he has conferred on me and believe me
to be with sincere respect and Esteem.

His ob^t Ser^t
[Signed] Z M PIKE

The War Department proved to be a liberal subscriber; for General Dearborn indorsed the above in his own handwriting, "We will take 50 copies."

Matters thus being satisfactorily arranged for the publication of his book, Major Pike seems to have returned at once, or very soon, to military duty in his new rank--unless he went to see his wife on leave of absence. We find him at Belle Fontaine in August of this year, as evidenced by a letter I will transcribe in part, epitomizing the rest:

CAMP BELLE FONTAIN--
18 Aug^t. 1808.

SIR!

Co^l. Hunt[M-14] deceased last night at half past 12 O. C.
after an illness of some weeks--He has left a distressed
widow and nine children unprovided for, and unprotected.
[The letter recommends military appointments for Col.
Hunt's two sons, George and Thomas; states that the command
of the district has devolved on Capt. James House of the
artillery; that Capt. Clemson's company of the 1st Infantry
had marched 10 days before for Fire Prairie, 25 miles up
the Missouri, and Capt. Pinckney's company was to march in
about 10 days for the Des Moines r., which would leave only
one company of artillery at Belle Fontaine; wishes to know
when he shall have definite orders to join his battalion in
New Jersey; expects to be at Pittsburgh next October; and
continues:] which is my anxious wish as from appearances we
shall again have to meet the European Invaders of our
country and if I know myself, I feel anxious to have the
honor of being amongst the first to rencounter their
boasted phalanx's--and to evence to them that the sons are
able to sustain the Independence handed down to us by our
Fathers

[Signed] Z. M. PIKE, Maj^r.
6^th Reg^t Inf

Before the year closed Major Pike had come East, and found his hands full, no doubt, in presenting to Congress the claims of himself and his men to the generous consideration of that body, in the little matter of an appropriation for their benefit. Those who have ever had occasion to cool their heels in the halls of greatness, till the mercury of their hopes congealed in the bulbs of their thoroughly refrigerated boots, will best appreciate Pike's plight. The novelist's realism of little Miss Flite in Chancery is out-realized in the Bleak House on Capitol Hill, which William McGarrahan haunted for a lifetime, and from which his injured ghost may not yet be freed. The following letter was written when Pike had not lost hope:

CAPITOL HILL, 2 Decem^r. 08.

SIR

I am informed by M^r. Montgomery that some members of the
committee (on the resolutions moved in favour of my late
exploreing parties) wish to have our members officially
notified; and the time we were employed in each Expedition,
which information you requested from General
Wilkinson--Inclosed you have a return of the party on each
tour and the commencement & expiration, but as all the
intervening time between my return from the source of the
Mississippi to our departure to the West we were employed
in prepareing for the second tour; I submit to your
Judgment whether the whole should not be engrossed--Also
there being a number of men still in new Spain the time
will necessarily be extended to them. [This matter makes
chap. vi., pp. 840-855, beyond.]

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The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Volume 1 (of 3)Chapter III: Part III: , being the Mexican Tour: Pike's Itinerary, pp (1)

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