The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Volume 1 (of 3) / To Headwaters of the Mississippi River Through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, During the Years 1805-6-7.

FOOTNOTES

[OP-1] The publisher owes it to truth, and to Colonel Pike, to state that he very much doubts whether any book ever went to press under so many disadvantages as the one now presented to the public. Some of those disadvantages must be obvious to every man who reads the work; but there are many others of a nature not sufficiently interesting for publication, yet of sufficient magnitude to retard the work, embarrass the publisher, and impose more anxiety than has fallen to his lot in the various books which he has published. It is, however, confidently believed that, notwithstanding all those circumstances, the Journal and its Appendixes will be found particularly interesting and pregnant with important information.

[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.

[M-1] Henry Whiting of Massachusetts entered the army as a cornet of Light Dragoons Oct. 29th, 1808; he became a second lieutenant Sept. 15th, 1809, and a first lieutenant Aug. 20th, 1811; was transferred to the 5th Infantry May 17th, 1815; promoted to be captain Mar. 3d, 1817; and transferred to the 1st Artillery June 1st, 1821. He became major and quartermaster Feb. 23d, 1835; lieutenant-colonel and deputy quartermaster-general, July 7th, 1838; colonel and assistant quartermaster-general, Apr. 21st, 1846. He was repeatedly brevetted for faithful and meritorious service, and on Feb. 23d, 1847, received the brevet of brigadier-general for gallantry in the battle of Buena Vista. General Whiting died Sept. 16th, 1851.

[M-2] Access to these records was given in the following terms:

War Department,
Washington, D. C.,
January 29, 1894.

Sir:

As requested in your letter of the 22nd instant, I take pleasure in advising you that you will be afforded an opportunity at such time as you may call at the Department to examine for historical purposes such records as are on file covering the expedition of Z. M. Pike, a publication of whose travels you state first appeared in 1810.

Very respectfully,
[Signed] Daniel S. Lamont,
Secretary of War.

Dr. Elliott Coues,
Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D. C.

[M-3] See beyond, p. lix, for a document bearing on the Pike family, in connection with a letter of Zebulon M. Pike, both introduced in their proper chronological order in this memoir. But I find no better place than this for a letter from his father, which has never been published before and will be read with interest:

Indiana Territory
Dear born County
July 15^th 1807

Sir

I have taken the liberty of making out my accounts of Pay Forrage and Subsistance from the 1^t of January to the 31^t ins^t and forwarded them to the Pay Master for payment which I pray may meet your approbation

Permit me to request the Honor of a few lines informing if Z. M. Pike received orders for His Government on His late exploring expedition, from The President, Yourself, or Gen^l Wilkinson, and if any or how late the last information or communications from Him. I need not mention how disagreeable a state of Suspense is, nor, to move your sympathy, to say more than that the anxiety and concern, exhibited for His safety, by an affectionate Mother and Wife, is Great. By way of consolation to the former, I have thought proper to extend the probable Period of His return, untill this month; Mrs Pike is now begining to lose confidence in my opinion, consequently my consolating influence is daily lesening, and Her afflictions increasing——

I decline in Strength as regular as Time paseth and However Painfull the reflection, It is by the Bounty of my Country Life is rendered Tolerable

Be assured I write in Pain as well that I am

Your Very Obed^t. Serv^t.
Zebⁿ Pike——

Henry Dear born
Secretary of War——

This letter is endorsed in General Dearborn's handwriting: "Tell him his son is safe, and is probably at Natchitoches"—where Captain Pike had in fact arrived July 1st, 1807. The Secretary of War at the same time ordered attention to the matter of Major Pike's pay and allowances, mentioned in the letter.

[M-4] Historical Register of the United States Army, from its Organization, September 29th, 1789, to September 29th, 1889. By F. B. Heitman, Clerk, Adjutant General's office, War Department, Washington, D. C., 1890, 1 vol., large 8vo, pp. 890. I make a point throughout Pike of identifying as far as possible the officers whose names appear in his text, giving in brief their official records, and doing the same for those who are mentioned in my own writing. I am indebted to Heitman's invaluable work for most such matter.

[M-5] This officer was a native of Canada, appointed to the army from New York. He had served as a captain in the Revolutionary Army when he was commissioned as a major of Infantry Sept. 29th, 1789; he was assigned to the 1st Infantry Mar. 3d, 1791, and arranged to the Second sub-Legion Sept. 4th, 1792; he became lieutenant-colonel commandant of the First sub-Legion Feb. 18th, 1793, and colonel of the 1st Infantry Apr. 1st, 1802; his death occurred Apr. 11th, 1803. (Another John Francis Hamtramck, of Indiana, was a sergeant in the 1st Infantry before he became a cadet at West Point, where he was graduated in 1819, continued to be an officer of the army till 1848, and died in 1858.)

[M-6] The time when these officers were together at Camp Alleghany must have been prior to Aug. 19th, 1801, when Lieutenant-Colonel David Strong died. He was from Connecticut; entered the army as a captain of Infantry Sept. 29th, 1789; became major of the 2d Infantry Nov. 4th, 1791; was arranged to the Second sub-Legion Sept. 4th, 1792; promoted to be lieutenant-colonel Feb. 19th, 1793, and held that rank in the 2d Infantry from Nov. 1st, 1796.—Moses Porter, of Massachusetts, had served in the Revolutionary Army when he became a lieutenant of Artillery Sept. 29th, 1789; he was promoted to be captain Nov. 4th, 1791; major May 26th, 1800, and colonel Mar. 12th, 1812; brevetted brigadier-general Sept. 10th, 1813, for distinguished services, and died April 14th, 1822.—Edward D. Turner, of Massachusetts, entered the army as an ensign of the 2d Infantry Mar. 4th, 1791; became a lieutenant July 13th, 1792; captain, Nov. 11th, 1793, and was brigade inspector from Nov. 1st, 1799, to April 1st, 1802; he resigned Nov. 30th, 1805.—Richard Humphrey Greaton (not "Graeton"), of Massachusetts, was made a lieutenant in the 2d Infantry Mar. 4th, 1791; became captain Feb. 18th, 1793, and was honorably discharged June 1, 1802.—Theodore Sedgwick, of Massachusetts, became an ensign of the 2d Infantry Mar. 4th, 1791; lieutenant, July 30th, 1792; captain, Dec. 29th, 1793, and was honorably discharged June 1st, 1802.—Peter Shoemaker, of Pennsylvania, appointed ensign in the 2d Infantry Apr. 11th, 1793; became lieutenant Mar. 3d, 1793; captain, Mar. 3d, 1799, and was honorably discharged June 1st, 1802.—Nanning John Visscher, of New York, entered the army as an ensign in the 2d Infantry Mar. 16th, 1792; became lieutenant May 1st, 1794, and captain Nov. 1st, 1799; he was honorably discharged June 1st, 1802; was afterward made a captain of Rifles Apr. 26th, 1809; resigned Nov. 30th, 1812, and died Dec. 12th, 1821.—Archibald Gray (not "Grey"), of Virginia, was made an ensign of Infantry Mar. 7th, 1792; lieutenant, May 1st, 1794; was assigned to the 2d Infantry Nov. 1st, 1796; became captain Nov. 1st, 1799, and resigned July 1st, 1801.—Jesse Lukens, of Pennsylvania, was appointed an ensign in the Second sub-Legion Feb. 23d, 1793; became lieutenant Oct. 1st, 1793; was assigned to the 2d Infantry Nov. 1st, 1796; promoted to be captain Mar. 3d, 1799, and died May 21st, 1801.—Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne, of Virginia, was made an ensign of the First sub-Legion Feb. 23d, 1793; lieutenant, June 30th, 1794; assigned to the 1st Infantry Nov. 1st, 1796; promoted to be captain Oct. 23d, 1799, and resigned Jan. 1st, 1802; he was afterward a colonel and brigadier-general of Volunteers in the war of 1812-14, and died in February, 1815.—Benjamin Rand, of Massachusetts, became ensign in the Second sub-Legion May 12th, 1794; was assigned to the 2d Infantry as such Nov. 1, 1796; became lieutenant Mar. 10th, 1797, and resigned Dec. 29th, 1800.—John Whipple became an ensign in the 2d Infantry July 10th, 1797; a lieutenant Mar. 2d, 1799; was transferred to the 1st Infantry April 1st, 1802; made captain Apr. 11th, 1803, and resigned Jan. 31st, 1807.—Peter Shiras (not "Schiras"), of Pennsylvania, was commissioned a second lieutenant of the 2d Infantry Mar. 3d, 1799; promoted to be first lieutenant Nov. 22d, 1799, and honorably discharged June 1, 1802.—Moses Hook, of Massachusetts, was commissioned as a second lieutenant of the 1st Infantry Mar. 3d, 1799; became first lieutenant Oct. 23d, 1799; captain, Mar. 13th, 1805, and resigned Jan. 20th, 1808. (Merriwether Lewis intended to take this officer with him, in the event of William Clark's declination of his invitation: on this point, see Lewis and Clark, ed. 1893, pp. xxiv, lxx.)—John Wilson, of Pennsylvania, was a second lieutenant of the 2d Infantry from Mar. 3d, 1799, to Nov. 22d, 1799, when he became first lieutenant; he was honorably discharged June 1st, 1802.—James Dill, of Pennsylvania, was made a second lieutenant of the 2d Infantry Mar. 3d, 1799; a first lieutenant Nov. 1st, 1799, honorably discharged June 15th, 1800.—The above named Lieut. Williams is not fully identified.—Henry B. Brevoort, of New York, was commissioned a second lieutenant of the 3d Infantry Feb. 16th, 1801, and retained as an ensign in the 2d Infantry May 7th, 1802 (?); was second lieutenant of the same July 1st, 1802; first lieutenant Nov. 30th, 1805; captain May 1st, 1811; major in the 45th Infantry Apr. 15th, 1814, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1815.—Daniel Hughes, of Maryland, was made an ensign of the 9th Infantry Jan. 8th, 1799; a second lieutenant Mar. 3d. 1799, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1800; he was reappointed second lieutenant of the 2d Infantry Feb. 16th, 1801, and transferred to the 1st Infantry Apr. 1st, 1802; became first lieutenant Mar. 23d, 1805; captain, Dec. 15th, 1808; major of the 2d Infantry Feb. 21st, 1814 and was honorably discharged June 15th, 1815.—The Lieutenant "Hilton" is probably an error.—For James B. Many see note³⁸, p. 210.—Uriah Blue, of Virginia, was commissioned as a second lieutenant of the 8th Infantry July 12th, 1799, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1800; reappointed as a second lieutenant in the 2d Infantry Feb. 16th, 1801, and honorably discharged again June 1st, 1802; reappointed as first lieutenant of the 7th Infantry May 3d, 1808; became captain May 9th, 1809; major of the 39th Infantry Mar. 13th, 1814; was honorably discharged June 15th, 1815, and reinstated Dec. 2d, 1815, as a captain in the 8th Infantry, to rank as such from May 9th, 1809, and with brevet of major from Mar. 13th, 1814; he resigned Dec. 3d, 1816, and died in May, 1836.—Edward Butler, of Pennsylvania, had been a captain in the levies of 1791, when he was made a captain of Infantry Mar. 5th, 1792, and arranged to the Fourth sub-Legion Sept. 4th, 1892; acted as adjutant and inspector from July 18th, 1793, to May 13th, 1794; was assigned to the 4th Infantry Nov. 1st, 1796, and transferred to the 2d Infantry April 1st, 1802; died May 9th, 1803. (For Williams and "Hilton" see these names in Index.)

[M-7] John De Barth Walbach was a native of Germany, who was commissioned from Pennsylvania as a lieutenant of Light Dragoons Jan. 8th, 1799, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1800. He re-entered the service as a lieutenant of the 2d Artillerists and Engineers Feb. 16th, 1801, and was retained in the Artillerists April 1st, 1802; he became captain Jan. 31st, 1806, and was transferred to the Corps of Artillery May 12th, 1814. During the war he served in various capacities, with ranks of major and colonel, and was among those retained as captain of Artillery May 17th, 1815. He became major Apr. 25th, 1818, and was transferred to the 1st Artillery June 1st, 1821; promoted to be lieutenant-colonel May 30th, 1832, and to be colonel of the 4th Artillery March 19th, 1842. He was repeatedly brevetted for gallant, meritorious, and faithful services; his latest brevet being that of brigadier-general Nov. 11th, 1823. General Walbach died June 10th, 1857. An unpublished letter before me, from General Wilkinson to the Secretary of War, dated St. Louis, Nov. 26th, 1805, refers to Lieutenant Walbach in the following terms: "In every cavalry arrangement I must beg leave to call Walbach to your recollection, as the ablest horse officer in America, not only in the choice of animals, but in equipping, training, forming, and heading them to action."

Alexander Macomb was commander-in-chief of the army from May 29th, 1828, to his death, June 25th, 1841. He was brevetted major-general Sept. 11th, 1814, and received the thanks of Congress Nov. 3d, 1814, for distinguished and gallant conduct at Plattsburgh, N. Y. General Macomb entered the army as a cornet of Light Dragoons Jan. 10th, 1799; attained the rank of brigadier-general in 1814, and major-general in 1828.

Jonathan Williams, of Massachusetts, was appointed from Pennsylvania a major of the 2d Artillerists and Engineers Feb. 16th, 1801; he served as inspector of fortifications from Dec. 14th, 1801, to June 1st, 1802, and was retained as major of Engineers April 1st, 1802. He resigned June 20th, 1803; was made lieutenant-colonel and chief engineer Apr. 19th, 1805, and promoted to be colonel Feb. 23d, 1808. He resigned again July 31st, 1812, and died May 20th, 1815.

[M-8] Note by Lieutenant J. R. Williams, May 19th, 1894: "The foregoing is a literal copy of the rough draft of John R. Williams' letter to Major Holton. The fair copy of course is not in my possession, but I have reason to believe the fair copy must contain several of the peculiar errors of the writer, whose early education was wholly French, so that he never, as far as I know, capitalized the initial letters of such words as English and French. John R. Williams, writer of this letter, entered the 2d U. S. Infantry as a cadet early in 1800, but appears to have resigned in about six months. He was subsequently connected with the same regiment for about a year in the capacity of agent of the contractor for commissary supplies. The title of general, by which he is well remembered in Detroit, was acquired by his connection with the militia of Michigan for about 40 years, as adjutant-general and major-general."

[M-9] This is a remarkable book, which has had a very exceptional career, the end of which is not even yet. Robert Dodsley, b. 1703, d. Sept. 23d, 1764, was in early life a menial in the service of Hon. Mrs. Lowther, but became by his natural talents a wealthy publisher, as well as a prolific author. In the latter capacity he was scarcely rated as more than a hack writer in his lifetime, during which he was probably never suspected of having written an immortal book. Whether this was a stroke of his own genius or not is questionable; but he should have the full credit of the book, until an extraneous source of his inspiration can be instanced. The Œconomy of Human Life was first published anonymously in a collection of miscellanies, in 1745, and soon acquired great repute, in part at least due to the fact that it was commonly attributed to Lord Chesterfield. It ran through many editions in various styles, some of them finely illustrated. The earlier ones all preserved the author's anonymity, and in more than one reprint of very late years his incognito is formally preserved. An anonymous edition of 1806, which I have handled, consists only of Book I, Parts i-vii, entitled as follows: The | Œconomy | of | Human Life, | translated from an | Indian Manuscript, | written by an Ancient Bramin | — | London: | printed for W. Gardiner, Pall-Mall; and | Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, Poultny. | 1 vol., 12mo, pp. i-x, 1 leaf, pp. 1-116, and many engr. head- and tail-pieces. Another, of 1809, with the authorship avowed, is as follows: The | Economy | of | Human Life. | In Two Books. | — | By Robert Dodsley. | — | With six elegant engravings by Mackenzie, | from designs by Craig and Unwins. | — | London: | [etc., 4 lines of printers' names] | — | 1809. 1 vol., 16mo, 1 prel. leaf, vignette title, pp. i-xviii, 5-188; portrait and memoir of Dodsley, and 5 full-page engravings; said to have been pub. Jan. 31st, 1809. The copy Pike had was most probably one of the cheap American reprints which appeared about this time. Dodsley's book consists of philosophical and moral reflections or aphorisms in curt, sententious style, of distinctly Oriental flavor; it is feigned to be based upon manuscripts of immense antiquity, discovered in the capital of Tibet by an emissary of the emperor of China, and in some occult manner received in England and translated. I liked the thing so much that I lately brought out a new edition myself, preserving the author's feigned origin of the book and his own incognito, transposing some of the pieces, adding a new "foreword" in antique style, and modifying the title to—Kuthumi: The True and Complete Œconomy of Human Life, etc. In this guise Dodsley's book forms No. 5 of my Biogen Series, Boston, Estes and Lauriat, 1886; 1 vol., small square 8vo, pp. i-x, 1-123.

[M-10] Another good editorial version of Pike's Mississippi itinerary appeared in the tract entitled: Materials for the Future History of Minnesota, etc., the same being Part V. of the publications of the Minn. Hist. Soc., 8vo, St. Paul, 1856, pp. about 142. The five separately issued Parts, dating 1850-56, were in 1872 collectively republished in a second edition, forming Vol. I. of the Collections of the Minn. Hist. Soc., 8vo, pp. 1-519. In this reprint the article is entitled: Pike's Explorations in Minnesota, 1805-06, and occupies pp. 368-416, or 48 pages, being thus about as extensive as the text of 1807. The editor says that his aim was "to make judicious extracts" from Pike's journal; and he certainly succeeded in this intention. The editor's name does not appear; but as the footnotes which explain or amplify various points in the text are signed "W.," an initial of Mr. J. Fletcher Williams, who was secretary of the society and editor of its publications for many years, the work is presumably his, being thus an authentic as well as a genuine account of the Mississippi voyage. This publication therefore ranks side by side with the original unknown editor's performance, though the two are separated by an interval of half a century.

[M-11] Thomas W. Field, Essay towards an Indian Bibl., etc., 1873, p. 313, throws the mantle of charity in the following terms: "Captain Pike could be charged with no association in this misdemeanor, as the work was edited and published in his absence on duty." This is true only in so far as the forerunner of the Mississippi voyage is concerned (see above, p. xxxiii,) and conveys an erroneous impression regarding Pike's princeps edition, in which the plagiarism occurs. For Pike wrote this book himself, and necessarily knew everything there was in it. See beyond, p. lxi, where the circumstances under which it was prepared are adduced from hitherto unpublished documents.

[M-12] "REPORT OF A LATE OCCURRENCE IN THIS PROVINCE OF NEW MEXICO.

"On the 15th of February last two Indians of the Ute tribe arrived and brought into my presence an Anglo-American, a young man of genteel appearance [joben de presencia fina, as Dr. Robinson appeared to be], whose statement I heard, and even invited him to dine with me, in order to satisfy myself he was what I supposed him to be as to intelligence and good breeding.

"I did not believe him, and suspecting the truth of his statement as to the nature of his escort, I sent out a small regular detachment and some provincial troops to reconnoitre, who not only fell in with a first lieutenant with six soldiers in an excellent fort built on the Conejos not far from its junction with the Del Norte, two days' journey from the capital of this province, towards the same direction [acia el mismo rumbo], but overcoming the obstacles of deep snows, succeeded in finding the sergeant [Meek] and corporal [meaning Private Miller] belonging to the detachment, making a total of thirteen soldiers, two of them [Dougherty and Sparks] with frozen feet, and having lost nearly all their fingers. [Compare p. 510, beyond.]

"On the 2d of March last, the above-mentioned lieutenant, whose name is Mungo-Meri-Paike, came in with six men of his detachment, and on the 18th the remainder of his men. Without any resistance they acquiesced in the notification made them, that being in my territory it was absolutely necessary that they should appear before me.

"They did so, with their arms, and I assured them that in no respect should they be treated as prisoners, saving only that, in accordance with the orders of the general commanding, it was necessary that they should appear before him and fully explain the objects of their mission.

"Paike showed me his instructions from General Wilkinson, his journal, and a rough sketch of a chart of all the rivers and countries he had explored.

"Placing all which papers in a trunk, of which I requested him to retain the key, I delivered the same to the officer [Capitan Antonio D'Almansa: see p. 611] commanding his escort—not to be opened save in presence of the aforesaid general commanding.

"From all which circumstances, from what I gathered from Robinson and from the above named officer, I conclude distinctly that the expedition of July [last—1806] was specially designed to conciliate two Indian tribes in behalf of the U. S. Government, to make them liberal presents, and drawing them into friendship, treaty, and commerce, to place them under the Anglo-American protection—all this referring especially to the Comanche tribe, the most powerful of our allies.

"Furthermore, that the Anglo-American government considers as included within the boundaries of Louisiana all the rivers that empty into the Mississippi, and all the territories that extend to the head waters of the Rio Colorado [meaning that Red r. which is the branch of the Arkansaw now called the Canadian r. as Meline explains in a footnote], which rises a few leagues from the pueblo of Taos further to the north in this province; that it is their intention this year or the next to establish forts or settlements on all these rivers, in order to monopolize all the trade and commerce carried on by a large number of tribes in the province.

"The detachment of Anglo-American troops referred to, went to Chihuahua to appear before the commanding general, guarded by an escort, being allowed to carry their arms and ammunition on account of the danger of hostile Apaches on the route.

"All of which is submitted to the general commanding, reminding him of the representation made in my communication of the 4th of January last year, concerning the necessity of placing this province on a respectable footing, and of having frontier posts and positions thrown out to oppose the ambitious views of the aforesaid Anglo-American government, exposing also the wretchedly defenseless condition actually existing, and so found for years past by whomsoever has been in command.

"Santa Fé, April 1st, 1807."

[M-13] The reputation of General Wilkinson for honor and patriotism went under a cloud, from which it has never been cleared, in connection with the Burr conspiracy. He was technically acquitted, from lack of evidence to convict; but the proof that he was a mercenary traitor subsequently appeared. General Winfield Scott is reported to have called him an "unprincipled imbecile." Governor Adams has lately put the case bluntly, but as I believe truthfully, Address, July 12th, 1894, p. 20: "General Wilkinson, then in command of the western army, has been proven by recently discovered documents to have been 'a rascal through and through.' He was in sympathy and perhaps in the confidence of Burr. Wearing the uniform and sword of an American officer, he was in the pay of Spain, and conspired to create out of the colonies west of the mountains a Spanish empire. It was Wilkinson who sent Pike west; but no matter how guilty may have been his superior in command, Pike certainly had no knowledge of his schemes. Pike was innocent of any stain. He was a patriot as pure and sincere as Wilkinson was a traitor base and ungrateful." While there is no question of Pike's perfervid patriotism, we may doubt that his lamb's-wool was as white as all that; in fact, Governor Adams himself goes on to say: "It is not entirely clear that Pike was as innocent as he professed of his whereabouts when captured in the San Luis valley. Some believe he knew he was upon the Rio Grande, and not upon the Red [river], as he pretended to believe. But had it been the Red instead of the Rio Grande, what right had he to be on the south [i. e., west] side of the river, his rude fort being several miles south [west] of the stream and under an abeyance treaty upon forbidden ground? The Spaniards believed that Pike carried secret orders to intrude upon their territory."

This belief of the Spaniards was well founded: compare my notes at p. 499, p. 504, p. 563, and p. 571. Colonel Meline corroborates the general tenor and purport of these observations, in the following terms, p. 313 of his work already cited:

"Wilkinson's bulky and diffuse published memoirs may be searched in vain for any information concerning Pike's expedition, and his silence on the subject is, to say the least, suggestive.

"Of his complicity with Burr but little doubt is now entertained and proofs are not wanting of the existence of his designs upon Mexico, from the period of his note in cypher to Governor Gayoso de Lemas (February, 1797), and his dealings with [Captain Philip] Nolan, down to the conspiracy of 1806.

"It has been stated that Wilkinson himself planned the exploring expedition of Pike, in order to obtain for his own purposes a more perfect knowledge of the country, and that he availed himself of his official authority to have it ordered by the Government. [See note², p. 564.]

"The Mississippi Herald of September 15th, 1807, published the affidavit of Judge Timothy Kibby, of the Louisiana Territory, acting Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for the district of St. Charles.

"The affidavit sets forth—

"'That in confidential conversation the general (Wilkinson) speaking of Pike's Expedition, upon inquiry, replied, smiling, that it was of a secret nature, and that Lieutenant Pike himself was not apprised of the ultimate object of the expedition, but that his destination was Santa Fé, treating with the Indians as he advanced.

"'He (Wilkinson) intimated that Lieutenant Pike had been dispatched by his orders; that the plan was his own, not emanating from the Government, but assented to.'"

With these pertinent particulars I could—but need not—forbear to couple the racy characterization given by Mr. Prentis, p. 198 of his Kansan Abroad:

"The military officer in charge of the western country at that time [1806] was General James Wilkinson, a restless, bombastic, fussy old gentleman, with a rare faculty for getting into difficulties. As an officer in the Revolutionary army, he was concerned in the [Thomas] Conway cabal, a plot to supplant Washington, and place in his stead General Gates, an officer who afterwards got beautifully thrashed by the British at Camden. He turned up in the army, after being for a while a merchant at Lexington, Kentucky, in 1791; received Louisiana from the French in 1803, and contrived to get mixed up in the Burr business to such an extent that nobody knows to this day, I believe, which side he was on. He was investigated, court-martialed, and acquitted; went into the war of 1812; served on the Canadian frontier; was a conspicuous failure; was court-martialed again [subjected to a court of inquiry], and again acquitted; and finally, there being in those days no chance to enter the lecture field, he wrote his memoirs [1816], and retired to the City of Mexico, where he died.

"General James Wilkinson in his day was probably the subject of more uncomplimentary remarks than any man of his caliber in the country, and I deem it no more than justice to say for him, that, with all his faults, he was the steadfast friend of Zebulon M. Pike."

I may add, that left-hand compliments to this notorious individual have been current from that day to this, and are still in order. One of the keenest of them is attributed to a distinguished contemporary who, it is said, favored his appointment to the command of the army as the only way of "keeping him out of mischief"!

The following is the formal official record of General Wilkinson: Of Maryland, appointed from that State colonel and adjutant-general in Gates' army during the Revolutionary war with brevet of brigadier-general from Nov. 6th, 1777; lieutenant-colonel commanding the 2d Infantry Oct. 22d, 1791; brigadier-general March 5th, 1792; commander-in-chief of the army from Dec. 15th, 1796, to July 13th, 1798, and from June 15th, 1800, to Jan. 27th, 1812; brevet major-general, July 10th, 1812; major-general, Mar. 2d, 1813; honorably discharged June 15th, 1815; died Dec. 28th, 1825.

[M-14] Thomas Hunt of Massachusetts had been a captain in the Revolutionary Army when he was made a captain of the 2d Infantry Mar. 4th, 1791; he was assigned to the Second sub-Legion Sept. 4th, 1792; was promoted to a majority Feb. 18th, 1793; was in the 1st Infantry Nov. 1st, 1796; made a lieutenant-colonel Apr. 1st, 1802, and colonel April 11th, 1803; he died Aug. 18th, 1808, and it fell to the part of Pike to announce his death to the War Department.

[M-15] Baron Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben, the Prussian-American general, b. Magdeburg, Nov. 17th, 1730, d. New York, Nov. 28th, 1794. He entered the Prussian military service in 1744, rising to the rank of adjutant-general and staff officer, 1762; was distinguished at Prague, Rossbach, Kunersdorf, 1757-1759, and at the siege of Schweidnitz; and later, in 1764, was grand marshal to the Prince of Hohenzollern. In 1777 he came to the United States, reaching Portsmouth, N. H., Dec. 1st; was appointed by Washington inspector-general, with the rank of major-general, May 5th, 1778; and reorganized the army. He served at Monmouth and Yorktown, and was a member of the court-martial on André in 1780. His manual for the army was approved by Congress in 1779; in 1790 he was voted by that body a life-annuity of $2,500; and New York State gave him 16,000 acres near Utica. Various places are named Steuben or Steubenville. Life by F. Bowen in Sparks' Amer. Biogr. Life by F. Kapp, N. Y., 1860.

[M-16] Cited from Hezekiah Niles' Weekly Register, III. No. 9, pp. 133, 134, Oct. 31st, 1812, into which it was copied from the Philadelphia Aurora, headed "15th Regiment. To the editor of the Aurora." I copy literally from the Register, but with modern punctuation, as I shall do in subsequent extracts from the same source.

[M-17] William Swan appears in Heitman's Register as major of the "2 inf" in 1813. On the supposition that this is a typographical error for 21st Infantry, which was engaged at York, the record may be given as that of the above-named Major Swan: Of Massachusetts, appointed from that State a first lieutenant of the 15th Infantry Jan. 8th, 1799; honorably discharged June 15th, 1800; reappointed first lieutenant in the 1st Infantry Feb. 16th, 1801; captain Nov. 15th, 1807; deputy-quartermaster-general April 3d, 1812; major "2 inf" i. e. 21st Infantry, Jan. 20th, 1813; colonel and quartermaster-general from Aug. 7th, 1813, to June 9th, 1814; lieutenant-colonel 20th Infantry March 13th, 1814; transferred to the 4th Infantry Apr. 30th, 1814; resigned June 9th, 1814; died June 12th, 1872.

[M-18] Eleazar Wheelock Ripley, b. Hanover, N. H., Apr. 15th, 1782, appointed from Massachusetts lieutenant-colonel 21st Infantry Mar. 12th, 1812; colonel of that regiment Mar. 12th, 1813; brigadier-general Apr. 15th, 1814; and brevet major-general July 25th, 1814, for gallantry at the battle of Niagara Falls. On the 3d of November, 1814, he was by resolution of Congress given a gold medal in testimony of appreciation of his conduct at the battles of Chippewa, Niagara, and Erie. He resigned Feb. 1st, 1820; was Democratic member of Congress from Louisiana 1835-39: and d. in that State Mar. 2d, 1839.

[M-19] Of New York, appointed a captain of the 29th Infantry Mar. 24th, 1813; resigned Mar. 14th, 1814.

[M-20] From the narrative of Lieutenant Fraser, one of Pike's staff officers, who was wounded by his side; it was published in the Philadelphia Aurora, and copied into Niles' Register of Saturday, June 5th, 1813, IV. pp. 225, 226, from which I quote.

[M-21] Benjamin Forsyth of North Carolina originally entered the army as a second lieutenant of the 6th Infantry Apr. 24th, 1800, but was very soon honorably discharged. He was reappointed as a captain of Rifles July 1st, 1808; became major Jan. 20th, 1813, and was brevetted lieutenant-colonel for distinguished services Feb. 6th, 1813. He was killed in action at Odelltown, N. Y., June 28th, 1814. "The death of this officer was in harmony with his character. After the taking of York, finding that the official account of the action gave him little credit for the conspicuous share he had in it, he became sick and inactive, and kept himself in sullen seclusion among his own men, apparently determined that no services should be rendered, either by himself or his men, since they were so inadequately rewarded, or so unduly estimated. He did little or nothing the residue of that campaign. Having been promoted before the following campaign, he, on the Champlain frontier, was put in command of an advanced party, which was to engage the enemy and then fall back, in order to draw him into an ambush. Lieutenant-Colonel Forsyth was the last man who was likely to fulfill such a plan. As soon as he opened the fight with the enemy, his instructions to fall back were either forgotten or ignored. His spirit could not brook a retreat, even for an ultimate advantage. He rushed on and fell, and lost, with his life, all the success that would probably have followed more prudence, or strict obedience to orders." (Whiting, l. c.)

[M-22] William King of Delaware was appointed from Maryland a second lieutenant of the 5th Infantry May 3d, 1808; became first lieutenant Sept. 30th, 1810; captain, 15th Infantry, July 2d, 1812; major, Mar. 3d, 1813. He was made colonel of the 3d Rifles Feb. 21st, 1814; was transferred to the 4th Infantry May 17th, 1815; honorably discharged June 1st, 1821; and died Jan. 1st, 1826.

Two officers named John Scott, both of New Jersey, both of the 15th Infantry, appear in Heitman's Register. The captain above said was appointed as such Mar. 12th, 1812, resigned Aug. 15th, 1813, and died in 1839. The other John Scott did not rise above the rank of a subaltern. Possibly a single record in this case appears as those of two different persons. For Captain White Youngs, see note³⁷, p. cix . Captain Hoppock's name appears as "Hopsock" in some places.

[M-23] Alexander C. W. Fanning of Massachusetts was appointed to a cadetship at West Point April 14th, 1809; he was made a first lieutenant of the 3d Artillery Mar. 12th, 1812, and promoted to be a captain Mar. 13th, 1813; transferred to the corps of artillery May 12th, 1814, and to the 2d Artillery June 2d, 1821; became major of the 4th Artillery Nov. 3d, 1832, and lieutenant-colonel Sept. 16th, 1838; he was transferred to the 2d Artillery May 24th, 1841. On Aug. 15th, 1814, he was brevetted major for gallant conduct at Fort Erie; on Aug. 15th, 1824, he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel for 10 years' faithful service in one grade; and on Dec. 31st, 1834, he was brevetted colonel for gallant and meritorious conduct in battle near the Withlachoochee under General Clinch and in defending Fort Mellon, Florida; he died Aug. 18th, 1846.

[M-24] John Walworth of New York was appointed from that State first lieutenant of the 6th (sic—Heitman) Infantry Dec. 12th, 1808; was made captain Jan. 1st, 1810; major of the 33d Infantry May 1st, 1814, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1815.

[M-25] Abram Eustis of Virginia, appointed from Massachusetts a captain of light artillery May 3d, 1808, became major of the same Mar. 15th, 1810. He was transferred to the 4th Artillery June 1st, 1821; became lieutenant-colonel of the 2d Artillery May 8th, 1822; was transferred to the 4th Artillery Aug. 2d, 1822; became colonel of the 1st Artillery Nov. 17th, 1834, and brigadier-general June 30th, 1834; he died June 27th, 1843.

[M-26] David Riddle of Pennsylvania, who had been appointed a second lieutenant of the 15th Infantry, was at that time a first lieutenant, ranking as such from Mar. 13th, 1813. He was transferred to the 8th Infantry May 17th, 1815, and became captain Dec. 3d, 1816, when he had already been twice brevetted, for distinguished services at the battle of Niagara Falls, and for gallant conduct in the sortie from Fort Erie.

[M-27] Lossing says elsewhere that one of the officers told him his own life was probably saved by the bulk of this sergeant, who was blown against him. This officer was Lieutenant Fraser, one of Pike's aids, whose own words on the subject are given in Niles' Register, IV. p. 226: "The general had just aided in removing a wounded man with his own hands, and sat down on a stump with a British sergeant we had taken prisoner, whom the general, with Captain Nicholson and myself, were examining, when the explosion took place. The general, Captain Nicholson, and the British sergeant, were all mortally wounded, and I was so much bruised in the general crash, that it is surprising how I survived; probably I owe my escape to the corpulency of the British serjeant, whose body was thrown upon mine by the concussion."

[M-28] The figures, vary, as usual. The official report gives our loss as 38 killed and 222 wounded by the explosion; which, added to 14 killed and 32 wounded in battle gives a total of 306 army casualties on our side in the whole affair; to which add 3 killed and 11 wounded of the navy, making 320 in all. Whiting's figures for killed and wounded, on the American side, are 320; on the British, in killed, wounded, and taken, "about 500." The tabular exhibit in Niles' Register, IV. p. 238, is as follows:

[M-29] The statement that General Sheaffe's retreat was so precipitate that he lost his papers is confirmed by General Dearborn in a letter to the Secretary of War, dated Niagara, May 3d, 1813 (Niles' Register, ibid.): "York was a magazine for Niagara, Detroit, etc., and notwithstanding the immense amount which was destroyed by them, we found more than we could bring off. Gen. Sheaffe's baggage and papers fell into my hands; the papers are a valuable acquisition. A scalp was found in the executive and legislative council chamber, suspended near the speaker's chair in company with the mace, etc."

This "scalp incident," as it came to be known, and as I may remark in passing, became the probably groundless pretext for a storm of abuse of British methods of warfare. In the feverish state of public opinion which the startling climax of the battle of York excited almost to frenzy, it was regarded as adding insult to injury, and furthermore taken as a proof that our dead and wounded would be handed over by the British to their Indian allies, to be dealt with according to the customs of savage warfare. Thus, the usually temperate and judicious editor of the Register could permit himself to say: "The 'mace' is the emblem of authority, and the scalp's position near it is truly symbolical of the British power in Canada. Horrible and infamous wretches! But the reign of the murderers is nearly at an end," p. 190. And again, p. 259, with "scalp" in large capitals, and various other typographical methods of relieving his state of mind: "British humanity. When major-general Dearborn stated that a SCALP had been found in the government-house of Upper Canada, suspended near the mace, the emblem of power, many persons affected to doubt the fact; but most men believed, not only because General Dearborn had stated the circumstance, but because it was strictly characteristic of the British government, which is as base and deliberately wicked as any other in the civilized world. But the horrible fact is further and conclusively established by commodore Chauncey, whose testimony will not be disputed, openly, by those who pretended to disbelieve gen. Dearborn. Let us hear no more of 'British humanity and religion'—nor permit these great attributes to be lavished upon murderous villains. It is fact, horrible fact, that the legislature of 'unoffending Canada' did sanction (by hanging up in their hall, in evidence of their authority, a human scalp) the murders of our people by the savages. Great Heaven!" This senseless outburst concludes with the following letter:

U. S. Ship Madison, Sackett's Harbor, 4th June, 1813.

Sir—I have the honor to present to you by the hands of lieutenant Dudley, the British standard taken at York on the 27th of April last, accompanied by the mace, over which hung a human SCALP.—Those articles were taken from the parliament house by one of my officers and presented to me. The scalp I caused to be presented to general Dearborn, who I believe still has it in his possession. I also send by the same gentleman, one of the British flags taken at Fort George on the 27th of May.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, sir, your most obedient humble servant,

[Signed] Isaac Chauncey.

Honorable Wm. Jones,
Secretary of the Navy, Washington.

It may be here added that the practice of scalping is by no means confined to the aborigines of North America. Among white Americans, it has never been too uncommon to excite remark, still less reprobation; and though it may not have been a regularly recognized and practiced incident of our warfare with Indians of late years, one has only to read any of the chronicles of our earlier warrings with Indian, English, or French foes, to perceive the entire reciprocity of the custom. It fell into desuetude, on our part, less from any disrepute than from sheer indifference. Instances are not lacking during the last century, of our skinning whole Indians, tanning their hides, and manufacturing the leather into various articles of use or joy; and when we ceased to scalp as a rule, it was simply because scalps were no longer worth the trouble of taking. I am myself no stranger to reeking Apache scalps, taken both by citizens and soldiery. I knew a young officer of our army who, in a spirit of bravado, fastened an Apache scalp to each of his spurs, and wore them with the long black hair trailing at his heels during one of his hunts for Indians in Arizona. The legislature of one of our Territories passed a bill offering a reward of a certain sum of money for every "buck" Indian's scalp which should be produced, and a certain other sum for the scalp of "anything in the shape of an Indian," i. e., woman or child. The British general, Henry Hamilton, while lieutenant-governor at Detroit, had a regular tariff of prices both for prisoners and for scalps which he purchased from Indians and from white renegades, thus acquiring the soubriquet of "the hair-buying general," applied to him by George Rogers Clark. Honors are so easy on this score that they do not count in the game of war which the British played with their American cousins.

[M-30] "A distinguished officer who was in the battle at York states that, as he passed the general, after he was wounded, he cried, 'Push on, my brave fellows, and avenge your general.' As he was breathing his last the British standard was brought to him; he made a sign to have it placed under his head, and died without a groan."

[M-31] Cromwell Pearce of Pennsylvania. He had been appointed from his State a first lieutenant of the 10th Infantry May 3d, 1799, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1800. His colonelcy of the 16th Infantry dated from April 25th, 1813; he was honorably discharged June 15th, 1815, and died April 2d, 1852.

[M-32] George E. Mitchell of Maryland became major of the 3d Artillery May 1st, 1812, and lieutenant-colonel Mar. 3d, 1813; he was brevetted colonel May 5th, 1814, for gallant conduct in repelling the attack of British forces on Fort Oswego, N. Y.; transferred to corps of Artillery May 12th, 1814, and to 3d Artillery June 1st, 1821; he resigned the same day, and died June 28th, 1832.

[M-33] Samuel S. Conner of New Hampshire was appointed from Massachusetts major of the 21st Infantry, Mar. 12th, 1812; became lieutenant-colonel of the 13th Infantry Mar. 12th, 1813; resigned July 14th, 1814, and died Dec. 17th, 1820.

[M-34] Benjamin Nicholson of Maryland, who languished of his wounds till May 13th. He had been appointed a first lieutenant of the 14th Infantry Mar. 12th, 1812, and promoted to be captain Mar. 3d, 1813.

[M-35] This is but a mild sample of the epithets by which Sheaffe's firing of the magazine was stigmatized in phrases current at a time when invective was invoked till language was exhausted. In the cooling of overheated passions a sense of humor stole in to the relief of surcharged feelings, and execration of the shocking catastrophe subsided from the sublime to the ridiculous. "And it was not until after the capture of Fort George," says Whiting, p. 306, "that this explosion ceased to haunt, like a dreadful spectre, the American army. While preparing for that capture, it seemed to be a settled conviction in the mind of the commander-in-chief, that explosions were to be the ordinary means of warfare with the British. On the point opposite Fort Niagara, and not far from Fort George, stood a lighthouse, which was made of stone. The common impression was, that these stones were to be discharged upon our heads whenever we made the attempt to land; it being taken for granted that we should land between that and a neighboring wood, as the open grounds there were completely commanded by the guns of our fort. Many British deserters came over during the month which elapsed between the capture of York and Fort George. The question asked of each was, whether the lighthouse were mined. No answer intimated that it was; still it was determined to land at a safe distance from it, though the point chosen afforded the enemy an excellent cover, where his batteries could be silenced only by our vessels. After the landing had been effected, the lighthouse was approached by stragglers with much caution, until some one, more hardy or more curious than the rest, entering into it, found within its recesses, instead of a Guy Fawkes, some women and children, who had taken shelter there from the dangers of the day."

[M-36] Henry H. Van Dalsem of New Jersey became a captain of the 15th Infantry Mar. 12th, 1812, and resigned June 15th, 1815.

Joseph L. Barton of New Jersey was appointed a first lieutenant of the 15th Infantry Mar. 12th, 1812, promoted to be captain July 30th, 1812, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1815.

Abraham Godwin of New Jersey was appointed a second lieutenant of the 15th Infantry Mar. 12th, 1812, became first lieutenant May 13th, 1813, and was honorably discharged June 15th, 1815.

[M-37] White Youngs of New York was made a captain of the 15th Infantry Mar. 12th, 1812; transferred to the 8th Infantry May 17th, 1815; brevetted major Sept. 11th, 1814, for gallant conduct at Plattsburgh, N. Y.; resigned Mar. 8th, 1819, and died Dec. 8th, 1822.

[M-38] Daniel E. Burch of New Jersey was appointed from that State ensign in the 15th Infantry Oct. 7th, 1812; became third lieutenant Mar. 13th, 1813, and second lieutenant Aug. 15th, 1813: he was regimental paymaster from Mar. 12th, 1814, to June 15th, 1815, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1815. He re-entered the service as second lieutenant of the 7th Infantry Jan. 5th, 1817; became first lieutenant June 7th, 1817, and captain June 30th, 1820; acted as assistant quartermaster from Oct. 25th, 1822, to June 27th, 1831; resigned Apr. 30th, 1833, and died May 8th, 1833.

[I-1] Roster of the party: 1. Lieutenant Z. M. Pike, 1st lieut. 1st regt. U. S. Infantry, comdg.—2. Non-comm. officers: (1) Sergeant Henry Kennerman; (2) Corporal Samuel Bradley; (3) Corporal William E. Meek.—3. Privates: (1) John Boley; (2) Peter Branden; (3) John Brown; (4) Jacob Carter; (5) Thomas Dougherty; (6) William Gorden; (7) Solomon Huddleston; (8) Jeremiah Jackson; (9) Hugh Menaugh; (10) Theodore Miller; (11) John Mountjoy; (12) David Owings; (13) Alexander Roy; (14) Patrick Smith; (15) John Sparks; (16) Freegift Stoute; (17) David Whelply. This detail for detached service was made July 1st, 1805; returned Apr. 30th, 1806, without change, excepting Bradley promoted, vice Kennerman reduced to the ranks. Voyage of the 9th was between St. Louis Co., Mo., and Madison Co., Ill., past Caberet's isl. to camp on Illinois side at head of Chouteau's isl.

The above roster of the Mississippi Expedition is derived from the Return of Persons, etc., which formed a part of one of the Papers accompanying a Congressional Committee Report which was given as No. 6, pp. 64-68 of the Appendix to Part 3 of the orig. ed. of this work. It appears in full, in its proper connection, at or near the end of the main text of the present edition.

The letter of instructions from General Wilkinson, dated St. Louis, July 30th, 1805, in obedience to which Lieutenant Pike proceeded upon the Mississippi Expedition, likewise formed one of the Papers accompanying the same Congressional Committee Report. It was given nowhere else in the orig. ed. of this book; though the corresponding instructions Pike received for his second (Arkansaw) Expedition were prefixed to the main text of his narrative. The Mississippi order appears in full, in its original position, near the end of the main text of the present edition.

[I-2] Or Du Bois r., Madison Co., Ill., notable in history as that at whose mouth Lewis and Clark had their winter camp of 1803-4, whence their expedition started May 14th, 1804. At this date it was said to be opp. the mouth of the Missouri; it is now opp. the large Mobile isl. and the Missouri enters 2 m. below Wood r., through the Amazon bend.

[I-3] In undertaking to follow a traveler, the first thing to ascertain is his "personal equation"—i. e., the probable error of his mileages. Pike traveled entirely by his watch, and all his distances are guesses based upon rate of progress—so many hours, so many miles. The way to approximate accuracy in this matter is to take him between two fixed points whose actual distance apart is ascertained, see what he makes of this, and adjust him accordingly. From St. Louis to Keokuk, by the present usual steamboat channel of the Miss. r., is 202¼ m.; say to the foot of Des Moines rapids, roundly 200 m. Pike's figures, as nearly as these can be got at, make this distance about 250 m. Hence we must discount his mileages 20 per cent., or one-fifth, as a rule. Taking one thing with another—changes in the channel in the course of the century, good or bad water, Pike's own feelings, errors of manuscript or print, etc., we shall find this deduction to work well; with the aid of such topographical data as we have, it will enable us to set most of his camps pretty closely. On the 10th, Pike gets left to bivouac on the bank at a point in Jersey Co., Ill., opposite Portage des Sioux, Mo., his barge being storm-bound somewhere above Alton, Ill., perhaps in the vicinity of Clifton or Randolph. The distance between Alton, first notable point above the Mo. r., and Grafton, last notable point below the Illinois r., is 16 m. Besides Alton and Clifton, places passed on the N. side are Shields' branch, Hop Hollow, Falling Rock cr., and Piasa cr.—some of the present isls. above Mobile isl. are Maple, Ellis, Search's, Piasa, and Eagle's Nest—the latter off Portage des Sioux.

[I-4] Portage des Sioux (or de Sioux) is that place in St. Charles Co., Mo., where the Mo. r. comes nearest to the Miss. r. before their confluence. It was the site of an early settlement on the S. bank of the Miss. r., one François Saucier having first built on the spot, 1769 or 1770; the village was already there in Pike's time, and still perpetuates the old F. name of the hostile Sioux's crossing-place (ca. 1780) between the two great rivers, also called Sioux Portage or Portage of the Sioux: see Beck's Gaz.; or Wetmore's, p. 254.

[I-5] First great tributary of the Miss. r. above the Mo. r., falling in at Calhoun pt., Calhoun Co., Ill., opp. Camden, Jersey Co., Ill.; Mason's isl. the largest one of several more in the Miss. r. just below the mouth of the Ill. r. In coming S. the Miss. r. makes a great bend E. and then nearly N. to the confluence, whence it turns again to a course approx. coincident with that which the Ill. r. holds; hence Pike's remark that the one might be mistaken for a part of the other. The river has had many names; the present is in form a French plural, sc. Rivière des Illinois, sc. of the people who lived on it—Illin, Illini, Illinoct, Illinoac, Illinoet, Illiniwek, Illeni, Illenois, Ilinois, Islinois, Islenois, etc. Pike's map has Illenois; Franquelin's, 1688, R. des Ilinois. Another aboriginal name, Theakiki, Teakiki, etc., whence Kankakee, was applied to one of the branches of this river. The Ill. r. sometimes shared the name St. Louis with the Mississippi and the Ohio. It was called R. de Seignelay by Hennepin, in compliment to the marquis of that name; and once known as the Divine r. The importance of this river as a water-way from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi is second only to that of the Wisconsin, and would be first if the long projected connection of St. Louis with Chicago by water were made. The use of these two rivers for this purpose was originally almost simultaneous; for Joliet and Marquette reached the Miss. r. from Green bay by the Wisc. r. June 15th or 17th, 1673, came down the Miss. r. past the mouth of the Ill. r. in July that year, continued down to or near the Arkansaw, turned up the Miss. r. July 17th, reached the Ill. r., and went up the latter to L. Michigan, Aug.-Sept., 1673. One of Joliet's maps, 1674, clearly shows the Wis. r. and Ill. r. connections of the Miss. r. with L. Michigan and Green bay respectively. Michael Accault's party, consisting of himself, Antoine Auguelle, and L. Hennepin, dispatched by La Salle from Fort Crêvecœur on the Ill. r., Feb. 29th, 1680, reached its mouth Mar. 7th, 1680; La Salle did the same himself Feb. 6th, 1682. The latter—one of the very greatest men in the early history of American discovery and exploration—came upon the Ill. r. in Dec., 1679, and made the first French establishment on Lower Mississippian waters in Jan., 1680, at the Illinois village Pimetoui, close to present Peoria.

[I-6] Among the islands (or their modern representatives) past which Pike struggled may be named Perry, Squaw, Enterprise, and Iowa; the present channel is W. of all these excepting Squaw, taking through Hatchet chute to Rock ldg. and Milan, Calhoun Co., Ill. That island whose foot is now nearest 6 m. from the Illinois r. is Dardenne; but camp was more probably a mile short of this, where is now Bolter's isl., as it is called—properly Boulder's.

[I-7] About 21 m., Bolter's isl. to the Four Brothers, at Cap au Grès. The present run of the principal islands is: Dardenne, Two Branch, Criminal, Peruque, Sweden, all below the mouth of Buffalo, Copper or Cuivre r. Dardenne cr. falls in on the left hand going up, right bank, opp. the island of that name; it appears as Dardonne on Owen's map. Peruque cr. occupies a corresponding position opp. Peruque and Sweden isls.; Nicollet's map has Perruque. R. au Cuivre or aux Bœufs of the French, Copper and Buffalo r. of others ("Quiver" r. of Lewis and Clark's map, 1814), is a large stream which courses from Montgomery into Lincoln Co., Mo., and then, with its Big cr. branch, separates the latter from St. Charles Co.; it falls into Cuivre slough, which cuts off Cuivre isl., 3 m. long. At the upper end of this slough is the mouth of the creek mapped by Nicollet as M^cLean's, now as Bob, Bobb, Bobs, Bobbs, etc., cr. Some of the named places along the river are Brock's, Dixon's, Fruitland, Thomason's, Beck's, Two Branch, Martin's, Hastings, Beech's, and Bogtown—all insignificant, mostly mere landings, and all in Calhoun Co., Ill., excepting Beck's. Pike's Four Brothers are represented by islands Nos. 499, 500, 501, and 502, of late surveys, not now abreast; all are small, and the largest one is called Sarah Ann. Pike's "beautiful cedar cliff" is Cap au Grès rock, opposite a hamlet of the same name in Lincoln Co., Mo.; Dogtown, Ill., is under the cliff. The phrase is commonly rendered Cap au Gre or Cap au Gris, by mistaking F. grès, a noun, meaning sandstone, for F. gris, adj., gray. Long of 1817, as pub. 1860 and again 1890, has a Little Cape Gris; Beltrami, II. p. 196, renders Great Cape Gray. The exact distance to this place from Grafton is 27 m.; from Alton, 43 m.; from St. Louis 66 m.

[I-8] Cap au Grès to Hamburg, Calhoun Co., Ill., 22 m.; river crooked, and channel still more so; late start and much obstruction; Pike may hardly have reached Hamburg, but was in that vicinity, and we may set him there, in the absence of any datum for greater precision. The "vast" number of islands he passed have their modern representatives in such as: Sandy, 2½ m. long, with Turner's near it; Stag and Maple, abreast; Sterling; Westport, 3½ m. long, with Kickapoo and Kelly's alongside it. Along this whole way, on the left hand going up, in Lincoln Co., Mo., runs a long slough approx. parallel with the river. This is the discharge of Bryant's cr., which approaches the river opp. Hamburg, gets from the hills and runs in the bottom down to Sandy isl.; it is called Bayou au Roi on some maps, Bayou Roy on others. Nicollet charts it with his usual accuracy, but without name. The principal places passed are the villages of Sterling and Westport, Lincoln Co., Mo.; Gilead, back up on the hill, in Calhoun Co., Ill.; lesser ones are the landings, wood-piles, or what-not, called Asbury, Turner's, Hogtown, and Red's. The St. L., Keok. and N. W. R. R. runs in the bottom along the bayou; stations Foley, Apex, Elsberry, and Dameron.

[I-9] Polyodon spatula, or Spatularia spatula, the paddlefish, also called spoon-billed cat or duck-billed cat, common in Mississippian waters. It sometimes attains a length of 5 or 6 feet; the shape resembles that of the sturgeon, but the skin is scaleless, like a cat's. One of the Relations ascribed to Hennepin, and pub. 1697, speaks of this fish as the "long-beaked sturgeon," and says it was spawning Apr. 24th. Hennepin doubtless became acquainted with it when he was first on the Mississippi, under Accault, in 1680: see, e. g., Shea's Tr. of Henp., 1880, p. 359.

[I-10] Doubtless one of the brothers mentioned in Lewis and Clark: see ed. 1893, pp. 1209, 1236, 1243.

[I-11] From Hamburg to Clarksville is 14½ m., Louisiana or Louisianaville, 24½; Pike went about 20, say to Krider's bend, and his camp was on an island which we may take to be that now called Krider's, 6 m. above Clarksville, 4 m. below Louisiana. The "continuation of islands" is now the following in ascending series, omitting about a dozen small ones; Mosier's or Mozier's, and Howard's, together, the former 1¾ m. long; Tilden's; McCoy's or Cock; Slim and Grimes, the former 3¼ m. long; Coon, 1 m.; Carroll's or Carle's, 1¾; Amaranth, small; Eagle, 1 m.; Clarksville, 2 m., opposite the town; Pharr's, 1¾ m.; and Krider's, 1 m. Above Mosier's isl. and ldg., on the E., is the outlet of Hamburg bay, 3½ m. above the town; Bay cr. falls into it. Behind Slim isl. is the chute of that name, into which falls the large creek called Guin's, Guinn's, Gwin's, etc.; and at the head of the island is the mouth of Ramsey's cr., another large one. These streams are both in Pike Co., Mo.; and as soon as Pike passes opposite Clarksville he has Pike Co., Ill., on his right, so that he sails many miles with a county of his own on each side. Clarksville, Mo., is something of a town, on the edge of the river, under the hill around which Calumet cr. comes to fall in just above; and 3 m. higher comes Little Calumet cr. on the same side. Opposite Clarksville is the lower opening of that immense slough whose character is not less remarkable than its name. This runs for more than 30 m. alongside the river, clear through Pike Co., Ill., and into Adams Co., forming a maze of channels which intersect one another and thus cut off various islands, besides opening into the Mississippi at several places; some of these lesser sloughs are called Spring Lake, Atlas, Cocklebur, Swift, Coon, Mud, Five Points, Crooked, Running, and Swan. This collateral water-course also receives a series of creeks, among which are those called Big or Big Stew, Six Mile, Honey or Hadley, Ashton or Fall, and Harkness. This whole affair is commonly called the Snicarty or Sny Carte; it is Suycartee Slough on Owen's map, and has other variants too numerous to recount. All these words or phrases are perversions of F. Chenal Écarté, lit. cut-off channel. For this and the corresponding formation of the name Sniabar or Snibar, given to a creek and town in Missouri, see my note, N. Y. Nation, Jan. 19th, 1893, and Lewis and Clark, ed. 1893, p. 29. The embankment built to defend the river from the slough is known as the Sny levee.

[I-12] About 20 m., setting Pike in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Pike Co., Ill.; camp perhaps a little beyond this town, but just about opposite the boundary between Pike Co., Mo., and Ralls Co., Mo. On the Illinois side we have nothing worthy of note but the snaky Snicarty, back of which are the villages Atlas and Rockport. But the Missouri side offers some interesting things. On decamping from Krider's isl., Pike passes in quick succession two creeks, Louisiana and Salt river, all on his left, all within 6 m. 1. Pike elsewhere cites both these creeks, and says the first of them is the one he calls Bar r.; this is now Buffalo cr., falling in 2 m. below Louisiana; the bar at its mouth, whence the name, is present Buffalo isl. 2. The next creek is that immediately above, whose mouth is Louisiana; this is called Noir cr. on most of the maps before me, but Bear cr. on the latest G. L. O. map; which name the natives prefer I am not informed. 3. Louisiana is quite a town, which dates back to Nicollet's time, at least, as he marks it on the beautiful map he made before 1840. The Chic. and Alton R. R. bridges the river at the mouth of Noir or Bear cr. This was built 1872-73 (Act of Congr., Mar. 3d, 1871); the town or station Pike is on the Illinois side, opp. Louisiana. The C. B. and Q. R. R. sends a branch here; the St. L., Keok. and N. W. R. R. also runs through Louisiana. 4. Next is Salt r., which Pike elsewhere calls Oahahah, and others Auhaha, 2 m. above Louisiana. This seems to have been known long before the time Pike's remark would suggest; if I mistake not, it is laid down on some maps before 1700. It is a large river; the French were along here in 1680-90, and I can put my finger on an old F. Rivière au Sel. Salt r., with its branches, is big enough to water five or six modern counties, before it falls in through Pike Co. Present islands in Pike's course of to-day, from Salt r. upward, are Angle, South, and North Fritz between Hickory chute and Scott's ldg., Atlas, Blackbird, and Denmark, between a couple of Snicarty openings and Mundy's ldg. or Ashburn sta.; then the very large Gilbert's isl., 2½ m. long, which lies between Gilbert's and Tompkins' ldg. on the Missouri side, and Cincinnati ldg. on the other. A good deal of engineering work was done at this bad place to close Gilbert's chute and throw the main channel over against the Illinois side.