Pike’s Expedition
In the annals of American exploration, the Pike’s Expedition stands as a significant, if somewhat controversial, chapter. Undertaken in the early 19th century, this journey into the vast and largely uncharted territories of the Louisiana Purchase offers a glimpse into the ambitions, challenges, and complexities of a young nation expanding westward. Commanded by Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike, the expedition’s primary objective was to explore and document the internal regions of the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. However, the journey would become entangled with geopolitical tensions, encounters with Native American tribes, and ultimately, a controversial capture by Spanish forces.
The genesis of the Pike’s Expedition lay in the orders of the War Department. On July 15, 1806, Lieutenant Pike departed from Belle Fontaine, near St. Louis, Missouri, with a contingent of men that included two lieutenants, a surgeon, a sergeant, two corporals, sixteen privates, and an interpreter. The expedition was equipped with two boats and tasked with a mission that extended beyond simple geographical exploration. Pike was also charged with establishing relations with the Native American tribes inhabiting the region, assessing the potential for trade, and gathering intelligence on Spanish activities in the Southwest. Accompanying Pike’s company were chiefs and headmen of the Osage and Pawnee Indians, who were to guide the expedition through their territories. Pike also escorted Native American women and children who had been captives of the Potawatomi, now freed by the U.S. Government, back to their respective tribes. On July 21, the group arrived at La Charette, where Lieutenant James B. Wilkinson, Dr. John H. Robinson, and another interpreter awaited them, having journeyed ahead.
The expedition’s initial progress was marked by a journey through the heartland of what is now Kansas. On September 6, Pike and his men arrived near present-day Harding, Kansas, crossing the divide that separates the Osage and Neosho Valleys. Four days later, they reached the divide between the Neosho and Verdigris Rivers. The following day, they made camp on the banks of the Verdigris, not far from the town of Bazaar in Chase County, Kansas. Pike’s descriptions of the landscape are filled with a sense of wonder and appreciation for the natural beauty of the prairies. He marveled at the vast expanses of wildflowers and the abundance of wildlife, noting the presence of buffalo, elk, deer, antelope, and panther.
The Pike’s Expedition ventured into the Kanza, or Kaw, Indian hunting grounds. The animals here were almost beyond count. On September 14, the expedition pushed through unending buffalo herds, the animals merely parting ranks to let the travelers pass before closing ranks behind them. On the 15th, Pike’s company passed a large, unoccupied Kanza Indian encampment. They camped near present-day Tampa in Marion County. Two days later, they reached the Smoky Hill River, after which game became scarcer. The expedition continued to the mouth of the Saline River, which they reached on September 18. From there, they turned almost directly north, arriving at a Pawnee village near modern-day Scandia in Republic County on September 25. Pike had now reached the Republican branch of the Kansas River, having crossed the Great Saline, the Little Saline, and Solomon’s Fork.
However, the seemingly straightforward mission of exploration was complicated by the presence of Spanish influence in the region. News of the impending Pike’s Expedition had reached the governor of New Spain (Mexico). A detachment of over 300 Spanish troops, led by Lieutenant Malgares, was dispatched to intercept Pike. Between the Saline and Republican Rivers, Pike unknowingly crossed the trail of this large Spanish force, narrowly avoiding an encounter. Malgares had arrived at the Pawnee village before Pike, attempting to turn the Native Americans against the Americans. Malgares had some success. During a grand council held with the Pawnee on September 29, Pike observed a sense of disdain among the chiefs for his small contingent of 20 soldiers, which paled in comparison to the imposing force of Malgares. Pike recounted the events of this council in his journal.
Pike demanded that the Pawnee deliver the Spanish flag to him and raise the American flag in its place. Initially, the chiefs were silent, but eventually, an old man took down the Spanish flag and laid it at Pike’s feet, replacing it with the American flag. Despite this symbolic victory, Pike recognized the underlying tensions and, to avoid further conflict, returned the Spanish flag to the Pawnee with the condition that it not be raised during his stay. The United States flag was raised for the first time in what is now the State of Kansas on September 29, 1806.
After obtaining horses from the Pawnee, Pike and his men left the village on October 7, heading in a slightly west of south direction. The next day, they encountered the Spanish trail again, counting 59 fires at one encampment, which suggested a force of 354 troopers. On October 9, they crossed Solomon’s Fork further west, finding another abandoned Spanish camp. The party reached the Smoky Hill Fork on October 13, near the boundary between Russell and Ellsworth counties. The following day, they reached the divide between the Arkansas and Kansas Rivers. Pike and a small group became lost on the prairie for several days. After reuniting with the expedition, they continued to the Arkansas River, crossing it on October 19.
At this point, the Pike’s Expedition divided. One group would return down the Arkansas River, while the other, led by Pike, would proceed upriver to find the headwaters of the Red River. The latter river was unknown to the Americans. Lieutenant Wilkinson, six soldiers, and two Osage Indians embarked in canoes made of buffalo and deer hides stretched over wooden frames, heading for Fort Adams on the Mississippi River below Natchez, Mississippi. They reached Arkansas Post near the mouth of the Arkansas River on January 8, 1807, enduring severe hardships and dangers from hostile Indians. Pike pressed on up the Arkansas River, discovering crystalline salt on the ground’s surface around present-day Kinsley, Kansas, on October 31. By November 9, he was near Hartland in Kearny County, Kansas. Here, he counted 96 fires at one of the Spanish encampments, which indicated that the Spanish force had grown to between 600 and 700 troopers.
A few days later, the expedition crossed into present-day Colorado. On November 15, they reached the Purgatory River, a tributary of the Arkansas. Pike intended to meet with the Comanche Indians near the Arkansas River headwaters and then cross the country to the head of the Red River, descending to Natchitoches as originally planned. Thus far, Pike had identified the sources of the Little Osage and Neosho Rivers, circumvented the head of the Kansas River, and discovered the headwaters of the South Platte River. Now, he focused on locating the Red River’s upper sources. He reached what he called the “third fork” on November 23. Concluding that the river was dividing into small branches near its source, he decided to put the party in a defensible position and ascend the north fork to a high point on the blue mountain, a day’s march away, to survey the country.
The "third fork" was the St. Charles River, and Pike’s encampment was at the "grand forks," the junction of the Fountain River and the Arkansas River. The high point he referred to would eventually be named Pike’s Peak. His men spent the next day constructing a breastwork five feet high on three sides, open to the south bank of the Arkansas River. Pike, Robinson, Miller, and Brown set out for the mountains, leaving the rest at the fort. By November 26, they had climbed so high that they looked down on the clouds rolling across the plain. The next day, they reached the summit after a difficult climb, wading through waist-deep snow. They returned to the fort on the 29th and explored the surrounding area for the source of the Red River without success.
The final chapter of the Pike’s Expedition involved an encounter with Spanish authorities that would ultimately curtail its objectives. While encamped on the Rio del Norte River in New Mexico, Pike and his men were captured by a Spanish cavalry detachment in February 1807. They were taken to Santa Fe, treated respectfully, and then escorted to Chihuahua, where Pike’s papers were confiscated. From there, they were led east through Texas and finally released near Natchitoches, Louisiana.
The capture of Pike and his men effectively thwarted the expedition’s goal of exploring the Red River. Spanish authorities suspected Pike of conspiring with Aaron Burr to seize Spanish territory, but no evidence was found to support this claim. Spain considered the upper course of the Red River to be within its territory. Allowing Pike to explore it would have been tantamount to acknowledging American claims to that river. Three years later, Pike’s journal was published, revealing the potential of Kansas to English-speaking nations.