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LIEUTENANT PIKE ON THE
MISSISSIPPI
After the United States bought Louisiana they had to take care of
it. Forts had to be built and a government of some kind had to be
started. This became the work of the United States Army. In the
spring of 1805, Gen. James Wilkinson at St. Louis, who was in
command of the United States Army in the West, decided to send
someone up the Mississippi. He chose Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike, a
young man, for the task.
PIKE'S TASK
On July 30, 1805, Lieutenant Pike received orders to follow the
Mississippi River to its beginning. He was to make a record of the
rivers, prairies, islands, mines, quarries, timber. Indian villages,
and settlements along the way. He was also ordered to keep a
journal, to select new sites for forts, and to find ways of making
peace with the Indians.
Pike, with twenty men, left St. Louis on August 9, 1805. He and
his party had one large boat and provisions for four months. It
would seem tat he did not realize how big a task he had before him.
He and his men had a hard time on their trip. Their greatest
trouble came from rainy weather and from not knowing the channel of
the river. They had great difficulty in getting their big boat up
the stream.
Another mistake made by pike was that he did not take with him
and Indian interpreter. Because of this, he could not hold councils
with that Indians and therefore had trouble in getting help from
them.
PIKE GETS HELP
Pike and his party got to the mouth of the Des Moines River,
which is now the southeast corner of Iowa, on August 20. Just above
the mouth of the river are eleven miles of rapids. This is where
the famous Keokuk Dam is now located. The young lieutenant and his
party probably would not have been able to get over these rapids if
they had not received help. A Government Indian agent, William
Ewing, who had been sent to the Sac tribe, came and helped them up
the river. Ewing had four Sac chiefs and fifteen braves with him.
Pike called this place "The Des Moines River Rapids."
After crossing the rapids Pike and his party spent the night at
Ewing's camp on the east of the Mississippi. The next day they
visited a large Sac village that was located on the west side of the
river. It was on the present site of the town of Montrose, Iowa.
There Pike held a council with the Indians at the Sac village. He
gave them presents of tobacco, knives, and Whiskey. In his journal
he wrote that this would be a good place for a trading post.
FORT MADISON AND
BURLINGTON
The night after the council with the Indians at Montrose, Pike
and his men camped six months farther up the river, on the present
site of fort Madison. The first fort to be built on Iowa land was
later put on this site. Pike, however, did not himself mention the
place or recommend it as a place for a fort.
The next day Pike reached the present site of Burlington. He
told about a place that is now Crapo Park in that city and described
it as "a very handsome situation for a garrison." He said it was a
good place for a fort or a garrison because all travel on the river
could be watched from there.
A few days after leaving the Burlington site the Party lost two
of its hunting dogs. Two of the men said they would go out and find
the dogs. The two men were lost for two days but finally came to an
Indian village. The chief of the Indian village gave them food and
guides so that they could get back to Pike.
Pike and his men again had trouble in getting over some rapids in
the river. This time it was at the mouth of the Rock River, which
flows into the Mississippi River from the Illinois side. It was
near this place that Lieutenant Pike met Chief Black Hawk.
Black Hawk was given some presents and an American flag. Pike
asked the chief to take down a British flag which he had. Black
Hawk refused to do that because he wanted to be friends with both
the British and the Americans. Black Hawk himself said, "He
presented us an American flag which was hoisted. He then requested
us to pull down our British flags and give him our British medals
promising to send us others on his return to St. Louis. This we
declined as we wished to have two 'fathers.'"
PIKE AND DUBUQUE
On Sunday, September 1, the Pike party arrived at Dubuque's
settlement. Pike said they were "saluted with a field piece (small
cannon) and received every mark of attention."
Pike wanted to learn all about the lead mines. Dubuque, however,
was very careful as to what he did. He did not know whether the
Americans would let him keep the land which the Spaniards had given
him. Dubuque was polite but he would not answer questions or take
him to the mines. Pike called him "the evasive Mr. Dubuque" and
learned very little from him.
At Dubuque Pike got an interpreter, a Frenchman by the name of
Blondie. This interpreter helped Pike greatly on the rest of his
trip. The young lieutenant now learned that the Indians lived in
great fear of the White men. One chief told him that "the women
and children were frightened at the very name of an American boat."
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN
Pike reached Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, on September 4. He
recommended that the bluff in Iowa, across the river from Prairie Du
Chien, be used for a fort. He said it was best place on the upper
Mississippi for that purpose. The bluff is now called "Pike's
Hill."
At Prairie du Chien Oike left his big boat and got two smaller
boats. He then went on and soon passed beyond what is now Iowa.
Before leaving Iowa he held several important councils with
different Indian Chiefs. Near the mouth of the Upper Iowa River,
the Sioux Chief, Wabashaw, put on a great medicine dance for the
Pike.
PIKE'S WORK
Pike and his men spent the winter in Minnesota. They had a hard
time because their provisions ran low and they had much sickness.
On April 16 of the following year, Pike and his party again reached
Iowa on their way home. They arrived at St. Louis on April 30,
1806. This trip did not end Pike's explorations. He later led a
famous party to the West and "Pike's Peak," in Colorado, is named in
his honor. He was killed in the War of 1812.
Lieutenant Pike made a very accurate report of his trip. It was
the first good account that had been written of the upper
Mississippi region. If the recommendations which he made for the
location of forts and trading posts had been followed, much later
trouble could have been avoided.
We can learn many things about early eastern Iowa from the
reports of Lewis and Clark.
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