(6) Sergeant Meek, Corporal Jackson, Pri_The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Volume 2 (of 3) To Headwaters of the Mississippi River Through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, During the Years 1805-6-7.

Miller, Mountjoy, Smith, and Sparks, and Interpreter Vasquez, were

still detained in Mexico at the time of Pike's return, and are not

accounted for in his narrative.

(7) The 51 Indians, which raised to 74 the total of persons who left

Belle Fontaine, were all dropped at their respective destinations, and

no others were permanently attached to the party which reached the

Rocky mts.

[I-3] Past present Jamestown ldg. to Carbunker's pt., off which the

large Pelican isl. now separates Car of Commerce bend from Pelican

bend.

[I-4] See L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 6, and Pike's Dissertation, etc.,

beyond. The village was then the seat of justice of the District of

St. Charles, Louisiana Territory, as it is now of St. Charles Co., Mo.

The Wabash, St. L. and Pac. R. R. bridged the Mo. r. here; opposite is

Bon Fils station; also Brotherton. St. Charles was not so called till

1784; the place had been known as Les Petites Côtes, where the hunter

Blanchette settled about 1770: note 41, p. 214. In to-day's journey

Pike passed the place known as Piper's (or Fifer's) ldg.: see the mark

"Ferry" on his map. The principal point was the coal hill on the

south, then known as La Charbonnière, now Charbonnier pt. A present or

recent place of ferriage is Music's or Hall's; some of the landings

are Heagler's, Kemp's, and Orick's or Orrick's; some of the present

islands above the Pelicans are Charbonnier or Mullanphy, Holmes, and

Vingt-une. There was a marsh or lake on the N. side, 5 or 6 m. below

St. Charles, which the French called Marais Croche, Crooked marsh;

some maps now make it Marie Croche l.

[I-5] M. de Lisa was one of the most noted Missourian Indian traders

in those days. This is certainly not the last, and probably not the

first, time he played exactly that trick. Pike has a good deal to say

of him further on: see also L. and C., pp. lxxix, 62, 242, 256, 443,

1153, 1154, 1232, where my notes refer to further information in

Brackenridge's Travels and Irving's Astoria. Lisa was at one time

associated with Captain Clark in the fur-trade.

[I-6] One of the two letters Pike wrote to Wilkinson formed No. 3 of

the App. to Pt. 2 of the orig. ed. See beyond, where it is given.

[I-7] See L. and C., ed. 1893, pp. 2, 8, 1182, 1211; also, p. 1257,

where Charette's cr. and village are given, showing this to be a

personal name. We come to the place presently.

[I-8] This letter formed No. 4 of the App. to Pt. 2 of the orig. ed.

It is given beyond.

[I-9] This mileage would set Pike about Cottleville ldg., on the N.,

though I hardly think he got quite so far. He passed Fee Fee and

Crèvecoeur creeks on the S., latter discharging from Crèvecoeur

l.; Little Duckett and Big Duckett creeks, near together, on the N.;

Catfish isl., behind which is Howard bend, into which Bon Homme or

Good Man's r. falls, about opposite the middle of Green's bottom, N.,

3½ m. long, separated by Green's chute from Bon Homme isl., next above

which comes Bacon's or Post's isl., and then Cottleville ldg. If Pike

reached this place, he was 44 m. from the mouth of the Missouri,

according to recent charts.

[I-10] Late Sergeant Henry Kennerman, reduced to the ranks for cause

at Pike's stockade on the Upper Mississippi r., Mar. 9th, 1806: see p.

181 and note 10, p. 245. He was posted as a deserter in various

places, but we are not told he was retaken. He drops out of the story

at this point. With Kennerman deserted, Vasquez arrested, and Geo.

Henry engaged, the whites of the party are now 23 - 2 + 1 = 22; Vasquez

rejoins on the 21st, when the roster is again 23.

[I-11] Position uncertain, especially as the text of the 18th-20th

cannot be squared with the camp-marks on Pike's map. Going by the

text, which agrees with the actual geography better than the map does,

we may set Pike in the vicinity of St. Albans. To reach this point

from his last camp he passes places on the N. now known as Cottleville

ldg., Hamburg, and Dozier's ldg. At the last named Femme Osage r.

falls into the lower end of Dozier's bend. The Missouri is here 1½-2

m. broad, and mostly filled with Howell's isl., 2½ m. long, some small

islands, and various sand-bars. Thence on the N. or rather N. W. is a

bottom 8 m. long and a mile or more deep; while on the S. E. is a

nearly unbroken line of bluffs which the river washes from Port Royal

(in Franklin Co., just over the border of St. Louis Co.) to St.

Albans. At one place in these rocks is the cave formerly, and perhaps

still, known as the Tavern: see L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 8, and Pike's

map, place lettered "Cave." The small stream which makes in on the S.

W. at St. Albans is still called Tavern cr.; and directly opposite is

Murdoch's ldg. The Mo. R. Comm. charts of 1879 mark a place

Missouriton on the N. W., 2 m. below Murdoch's ldg. Nicollet's map,

pub. 1843, marks Missouriton on the N., slightly _below_ mouth of

Femme Osage r., about position of present Hamburg.

[I-12] The "point to the south" which Pike passes I take to be that

opp. Cottlebaum's ldg., at the mouth of Ridenour or Fiddle cr., at the

head of the difficult place called Devil's Race-ground by Lewis and

Clark: see ed. of 1893, p. 8. This is a couple of miles above St.

Albans, at the 55th river-mile point of recent surveys. The bluffs

continue a mile or so, and then, at the mouth of Labadie's cr. or

slough, begins the extensive Labadie's bottom on the S., for the

Missouri crosses over to the bluffs on the N., and continues on that

side to the town of Augusta, St. Charles Co. Thence the channel runs

obliquely by the Augusta and Hinkley bends, between Labadie's and

Hancock's bottoms, to the S. side again. Here, at Mung's or South

Point isl., is the lower end of the "long reach," N. W., in which Pike

says he camped. We set him on the S., at the mouth of Dubois or Wood

cr., where there is now a place called South Point. This is directly

opposite the line between St. Charles and Warren cos. on the N.; it is

about 2 m. below Washington, Franklin Co., and at the 67th mile-point

from the mouth of the Missouri. Pike maps the stream in the right

place, but by the wrong name of "Ash R."

[I-13] The proper name of the interpreter, whom Pike usually calls

"Baroney," was A. F. Baronet Vasquez. He was b. St. Louis, 1783; his

wife was Emily Faustine Parent. He was the son of Benito Vasquez (b.

1750) and Julia Papin (married Nov. 27th, 1774), and was the fifth

child of 12 they had. He appears in army registers as Barony Vasquez,

appointed to be an ensign in the 2nd Infantry Dec. 12th, 1808;

transferred to 1st Infantry Oct. 31st, 1810; commissioned as second

lieutenant Mar. 4th, 1811; promoted to a first lieutenancy July 30th,

1813; and resigned Oct. 1st, 1814. See also a letter about him in my

Memoir of Pike, _anteà_.

[I-14] See note 7, p. 361. La Charette is still the name of the

stream, and of the extensive bottom on the N. side through which the

river seeks the Missouri. But the settlement once so called is not to

be found by this name on modern maps. Instead of this we have

Marthasville (3 m. N. of which stands still the house in which Daniel

Boone died), a village about a mile from the Missouri, and nearly

midway between the points where La Charette cr. and Tuque cr.

respectively enter the bottom. Marthasville appears on maps of 50

years ago, as for example, on Nicollet's, 1843. Gass calls the place

St. Johns where he camped May 25th, 1804; it then had seven houses:

see L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 8. St. Johns is now the name of the

largest one of a cluster of islands and sand-bars in an expanded part

of the Missouri, between the mouth of La Charette cr. on the N. and of

St. Johns or Bourbeuse cr. on the S., 2 m. and more above the town of

Washington, Franklin Co. Pike maps "S^t. Johns R." correctly between

his "Ash R." (error for Wood or Dubois cr.) and his "Bay R." (error

for Boeuf r.). Washington is the most notable place Pike passes

to-day; it is now quite a town, large enough to have started a place

opposite itself, called North Washington, on Lac's pt. in Warren Co.

Here is where, at the 69th river-mile point, a creek falls in on the

N.; it is commonly called Tuque cr., though Sheet III. of the Mo. R.

Comm. charts has "Duke" as the name. It looks like a French word, but

whether it be a personal name, or derived from _Toque_ or _Turque_,

does not appear. It is one of two creeks which L. and C. speak of

passing on the N., May 25th; the other one of these has never been

identified. But there is an old lake bed, or something of the sort, a

couple of miles back of North Washington, in Hancock's bottom, under

the bluffs, and I imagine this once discharged about opp. Dubois or

Wood cr.--say at Rieskamp's place, on the boundary between St. Charles

and Warren cos. Tuque cr. itself seems to have had more than one

outlet, in the course of the several miles it meanders the low land

and separates Hancock's bottom from La Charette.

[I-15] Originally Docs. Nos. 5 and 6, p. 33 and p. 36 of the App. to

Pt. 2. They are given beyond.

[I-16] To camp at New Haven, Franklin Co., a considerable town which

has grown up of late years at the place formerly known as Miller's

ldg., on the S., a little below Pinckney pt. Passing through Charette

bend, beyond Patton's pt. and ldg., Pike comes to the mouth of the

Rivière au Boeuf of the French, now Boeuf or Buffalo r., which

falls in on the S. behind Boeuf, Buffalo, or Shelton's isl., about a

mile below Dundee station of the Mo. Pac. R. R. This is the stream by

error lettered "Bay R." on Pike's map. On rounding Emily and Miller

bends, Pike comes to his camp, say at the 85th river-mile point of

late surveys. Here he is 1½ m. below a place which was charted by

Nicollet in 1843 as Griswold, and which may be found on maps of but

few years ago, but has since disappeared. On the N., opp. Griswold,

was a place called Pinckney or Pinckneyville, seat of Warren Co. about

1825, and there is still a hamlet of the same name in the vicinity.

The Shepherd r. which the above text mentions falls in about a mile

above Griswold and the same below the present R. R. station Etlah.

This is Shepherd's cr. of L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 9, but is oftener

now called Berger r. or cr. I am told by R. J. Holcombe that the word

is not the common F. noun _berger_, a shepherd, but a personal name,

probably of the old German pioneer Caspar Burger, a founder of the

colony there; if so, it should not have been translated into English.

The word is mangled into "Boeger" on the beautiful chart of the Mo. R.

Comm. It is a pity that so many cases as bad as this one mar the

lettering of such fine draughtsman's work as Mr. D. W. Wellman's.

Berger's or Burger's cr. comes into the bottom 2 m. above its mouth,

and is there joined by Little Berger's or Burger's cr., which runs

about 4½ m. in the bottom before its confluence; the two thus make

what is known as Berger's (_i. e._, Burger's) bottom nearly an island,

6 or 7 m. long.

[I-17] On rounding Pinckney pt. through the bend of that name, Pike

passes the mouth of Berger's cr., opp. Yeager's ldg., crosses to the

N. side of the Missouri, and sails along with Berger's bottom on his

left for several miles; he goes by Whitehouse's isl., near which L.

and C. were camped May 26th, 1804, and on finishing with Berger's

bottom, reaches a place on the N. called Bridgeport. This is pretty

old for a Missouri River town; we find it located more than 50 years

ago, and it still exists in name, but has never amounted to much. Opp.

Bridgeport is Bates' isl., 2 m. long, the largest one of several at

the head of Berger's bottom. In the vicinity of Bridgeport several

small creeks fall in on the N. Three of these are called Lost cr.,

Massas (qu. Massey's?) cr., and Malhern (qu. Malheur?) cr. Excepting

Lost cr., these fall into Chenal à Loutre or Otter slough; and this

snicarty cuts off a very large piece of bottom known as Île à Loutre

or Otter isl. L. and C. speak of this as nearly 10 m. long, and say

that it was one of the most fertile in the whole river. The details of

the river bottom along here seem to have altered a good deal since

1804, and even since Long's time; the upper end of the slough is now a

little above Hermann, near McGirk's isl. and ldg., cutting the island

down to a total length of not over 7 m. The slough itself is very

narrow, and hardly more than a sluggish creek, like a good many others

that meander bottoms before they discharge. L. and C. speak of three

creeks which fall in behind Otter isl., and one of these as having the

same name. This is Rivière à la Loutre of early F. settlers, now

Loutre, Louter, or Luter r., and Otter r., very curiously lettered on

the Mo. R. Comm. map, as "L'Outre"--a form which only needs an accent

to be decidedly _outré_. Pike maps the stream as "Otter Riv." He

proceeds by Otter or Loutre Island bend to a mile or so above Hermann,

and camps on the S. In finishing the bend just named he passes on the

S. the county line between Franklin and Gasconade, which cuts through

Bates' isl., and then on the N. the line between Warren and Montgomery

cos., which cuts the upper part of Otter isl. at the lower point of

Hermann isl., opp. the town of this name. This is now quite a place,

and more than 50 years old. It is situated across the mouth of Rivière

aux Frênes of the F., commonly called Frene cr. and Ash cr., but

uncommonly appearing as "Frame" cr. on the Mo. R. Comm. map. Pike does

not map Ash cr., though it is given under this name by L. and C.: for

the stream he marks "Ash R." by mistake, see note 12, p. 363.

Loutre isl. is quite historic. A number of Americans and some French

families settled there in 1805; first child born was Jacob Grosjean

(name corrupted to Groshong); one b. 1806 became the local celebrity

known as "old man Patton," living in 1884. Fort Clemson was built by

Capt. Clemson about 1808, and maintained till after the war of

1812-15. From 1808 to 1816 there was quite a colony, whence were drawn

the settlers for Boone's Lick, Howard Co. On the N. mainland the

colonists, when the war broke out, were killed in part, and the rest

driven to the island to be "forted up" till the peace. Fort Clemson

was a Rangers' hdqrs. in the war, and from this post Capt. James

Callaway, grandson of Daniel Boone, set out in March, 1815, on the

expedition up Loutre r., during which he and others were killed.

Daniel Boone's Spanish grant from Gov. Delassus was about 15 m. up the

Loutre, and included a salt spring--the original and only genuine

"Boone's Lick"; Boone's adopted son Van Bibber kept a tavern there,

where Washington Irving stopped some time in the '30's; it is now

reputed a medicinal spring in the little village Mineola, near

Danville, seat of Montgomery Co.

[I-18] Passing McGirk's ldg. and isl. N., Cole's or Coles' cr., S.,

Rineland and Kallmeyer's ldgs., S., to the mouth of the Gasconade,

which falls in on the S., opp. Cuyler's pt., 107⅓ m. up the

Missouri: see L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 9. This is much the largest

tributary of the Missouri thus far reached; Pike elsewhere allows it

200 yards' width at the mouth, and navigability at times of 100 m. He

also notes that the Sac boundary started opp. its mouth: see note 14,

p. 11. Gasconade City is a place on the tongue of land that makes into

the Missouri on the upper side of the Gasconade; being a mere village

or hamlet, is as appropriately named as the river itself, which got

its name from the way some persons bragged about their exploits when

they returned to St. Louis. Beck's Gaz. speaks of pine which was cut

and rafted down, but there has been none for 60 years within 150

miles.

[I-19] One of these letters, given beyond, formed No. 7, p. 36, of the

App. to Pt. 2. of the orig. ed.

[I-20] Pike's map marks no camp for the 26th. The distance between

Gasconade and Osage rivers is exactly 30 m. by the channel. Pike says

he goes 15 m. to-day; I doubt that he went so far if he did not leave

the Gasconade till 6.30 p. m. But to take the record on its face would

be to set him a mile above Fisher's ldg., on the S., in the vicinity

of the hamlet called Chamois, in Osage Co. On decamping and ferrying

over the Gasconade, Pike first passed the mouth of Bailey's cr. (Deer

cr. of L. and C.), on the S., whence the channel took him obliquely to

Bluffton on the N., 5 m. above the Gasconade. The bluffs border the

river for about 4 m. along here, and at one place in them is the cave

which used to be known as Montbrun's Tavern: see L. and C., _l. c._ At

1 or 1½ m. above Bluffton the line between Montgomery and Callaway

cos. comes to the Missouri just about opp. the line between Gasconade

and Osage cos. on the S.; this last strikes the river-bottom just

where Bailey's cr. also does. At 5 m. above Bluffton is Portland,

Callaway Co., before reaching which Pike passes Little Tavern and Big

Tavern creeks, which are a mile apart, on the N., and both opp.

Portland isl., 2 m. long; while a mile above Portland is the mouth of

Logan cr. On the S. along here is a creek whose mysteries I have never

been able to fathom. This is Rush cr. of L. and C., _l. c._, given by

them as 4 m. above Montbrun's Tavern, on the S. It is called Greassy

cr. by the Mo. R. Comm., and Greasy cr. by the U. S. G. S.; the latter

name is probably correct. It comes into the bottom in the vicinity of

Chamois, about the 121st river-mile point, meanders down for several

miles, and finally discharges behind Portland isl., somewhere between

the 117th and 115th m. of the Mo. R. Comm.

[I-21] To an interesting locality--that of the old French village,

Côte sans Dessein, so called from the celebrated long narrow ledge of

rocks of the same name immediately above, isolated on the N. bank of

the river opposite Dodd's isl. In approaching the Osage, Pike maps two

streams from the N., respectively lettered "Gr. R. au vase" and "L. R.

au vase." The first of these is Grande Rivière au Vase or Grande

Rivière Vaseuse of the F., which appears on the best modern maps as Au

Vasse and Auxvasse r.--better talk English than such Missouri French

as this, and say Big Muddy r., as L. and C. did! This considerable

stream falls in a mile above Harrison's ldg., about 123½ m. by the

channel from the mouth of the Missouri. The other is Little Muddy r.

of L. and C., who translated Petite Rivière au Vase (or Petite Rivière

Vaseuse) better than those do who now style it Au Vasse cr. or

Auxvasse cr. This creek joins in the bottom-land another now called

Middle r. or cr., and the two fall in together a mile above the

village of St. Aubert, Callaway Co. Moreover: between the Big and the

Little Muddy there is a third creek, distinct from both the others,

falling in 1½ m. _below_ St. Aubert. This is simply called Muddy cr.

on the Mo. R. Comm. map; on that of the U. S. G. S. it is lettered

Ewing's cr. A branch of this is lettered by the U. S. G. S. East Wing

cr.--a name which I suspect originated in mistaking "Ewing" for "E.

Wing." On the S. side of the Missouri Pike passes two small streams,

both historically notable. The first of these is the one which L. and

C. called Grindstone cr., when they camped at its mouth May 30th,

1804; but it is now known as Deer cr. It falls in behind St. Aubert's

isl., a mile below St. Aubert station on the Mo. Pac. R. R., or the

village now called Medora, 126⅔ m. up the Mo. r. One Carr has or

had his home at the mouth of this creek. The other creek is 4¾ m.

above Grindstone or Deer cr., and 1¼ m. above Shipley's ldg.; it is

the one L. and C. called Bear cr., May 31st, 1804; Pike charted it

"Bear R.," and it is now called Bear or Loose cr. I suppose "Loose"

cr. to be a loose translation of F. R. à l'Ours or à l'Ourse,

according to whether it was a he-bear or a she-bear which the

Frenchman who first named the creek killed there. In any event this

stream has given name to the village of Loose Creek and to Bear Creek

isl., opposite its mouth. Four miles higher on the S., opposite the

foot of Dodd's isl., is the village of Dauphine at the place where one

Benêt, Bénite, Benoit, Bennet, Bonnet, Bonnot, or Bennight built his

mill, 15-20 years ago. Dauphine is almost exactly opposite the site of

the old French village above named, which started about 1808 and had a

dozen or more families in 1811. There is a sort of settlement in this

vicinity immediately at the lower end of the Côte sans Dessein, at one

time known as Bennet's ldg.; people named Gray, Crews, and Maddox live

or lived there. Behind the Côte are some small lakes or ponds

discharging by R. aux Riveaux or Riveaux cr. (as it is called) around

the upper end of the Côte, near Dearing's ldg. Hence it is only 1½ m.

diagonally across the Missouri to Glenn's ldg. at the mouth of the

Osage r. See L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 11.

[I-22] Arising in the Ozark mts. of Kansas, the Osage r. leaves that

State and enters Missouri in Vernon Co., which it delimits in part

from Bates Co.; traverses St. Clair and continues past the corner

where this, Henry, and Benton cos. adjoin; traverses Benton, enters

Morgan, forms a part of the boundary between this and Camden, makes a

loop through the latter and again separates it for a short space from

Morgan, then for a little distance separates Camden from Miller,

traverses the latter, enters Cole, and finally runs to the Mo. r.

between this last and Osage cos. We shall learn much more of this

stream as we follow it up in Pike's wake. There is a village called

Osage City at its mouth on the west bank; Pike's camp is also on this

side, in Cole Co., past two small tributaries known as Caddy and

Sandford's creeks, and not far above Maries r., which comes from

Pulaski through Maries (named for two French girls) and Osage cos. to

fall in on the E. or right (left hand) bank. A Spanish fort

(trading-house) was built about 1795 near the mouth of the Osage.

[I-23] No further indication of camp of 29th, which is also omitted by

the draughtsman or engraver from Pike's map; nor is there any notable

modern locality along here. But it must be short of where the Osage,

after coursing in Cole Co., begins to separate the latter from Osage

Co. Nearest present settlements, Babbtown, Osage Co., and St. Thomas,

Cole Co.

[I-24] In Cole Co., and a mile or two above Proft's cr.; about 2 m. N.

E. of St. Thomas, and 4 m. S. E. of Osage Bluff.

[I-25] Camp a little above Big Tavern cr., from the E., in Miller Co.,

on whichever side of the river it was pitched. There is no mark on

Pike's map for this camp, nor those of Aug. 2d and 3d. The nearest

named places to the camp of July 31st and Aug. 1st, and that of Aug.

2d (only 2 m. further), are St. Elizabeth, on Big Tavern cr., and

Mary's Home, west of the Osage--both in Miller Co., but both some

miles away from the river. On breaking camp this morning, Pike passed

on his right the bluffs from which the hamlet of Osage Bluff takes its

name; this is about a mile north of the river. He later passed Babruly

cr., from the W., whose name is obviously a corruption of Bois Brûlé;

then Sugar cr., from the E., and next Little Tavern cr., falling in

from the W. a mile or two below Big Tavern cr. There was more than one

cave or "tavern" in the bluff near the creek: see figure of one, where

the early Osage boatmen used to put up, in the Mo. Geol. Reports.

[I-26] Passing Cub cr., right; Humphrey's and Panther creeks, left;

then the present Saline cr., on the right. This is laid down and

lettered "Saline R." on Pike's map; but observe that it is _not_ the

Saline r. of Aug. 7th: see that date. Above Saline cr. Pike passes Dog

cr., left, and then present site of Tuscumbia, seat of Miller Co., on

the right; and camps at or near present site of Brockman, on the

right, a mile above Bear cr., in the same county.

[I-27] Taking Pike past a place called Bagnell, on the right, just

below present Little Gravois cr., in Miller Co., and setting him

somewhere about the point on the river where Miller, Morgan, and

Camden cos. come together--the latter on the S., the two former on the

N. side, as the river is here running E. His camp of Aug. 4th and 5th

is marked on his map, on the left, just below the mouth of his Little

Gravel r., which he passes on the 6th: see next note.

[I-28] On the right hand as Pike ascends, left bank of the Osage, and

rather on the N. than W., as the general course of the river is to the

E. The "Gravel" rivers of Pike require attention in identifying them

with ours. The Osage is here making an ox-bow bend, which reverses

points of the compass so far as a traveler's right and left are

concerned. The stream now in question, Gravel r. of the above text,

lettered "L. Gravel R." on the map, is that now known as Big Gravois,

Gravis, or Gravel cr., running in Morgan Co., with a place called

Gladstone near its mouth, one known as Gravois Mills higher up, and

some of whose branches are called Indian, Soap, and Mill creeks. Cape

Galena is 2½ m. above the mouth of this river. Present Little Gravois

cr. is that one with Bagnell just below its mouth; it is laid down by

an unlettered trace on Pike's map. The correct form of the word is

Gravois, being F. _gravois_, rubbish, rubble, whence "Gravel."

[I-29] _Not_ the Saline r. of Pike's map, which was passed on the 3d.

"Saline river" of the present text is a slip of the pen or memory;

Pike meant to say Great Gravel r., as correctly laid down by this name

on his map on the left or south, being lettered "G. Gravel R." This is

not the Great Gravel or Big Gravois cr. of present maps, but the

considerable stream now known as Grand Auglaise cr.--a name also

perverted from the F. word _glaise_, clay, into Glaize or Wet Glaize

cr. It heads in Laclede and Pulaski cos., in close relation with

sources of the Gasconade, and runs about N. N. W. through Camden Co.

to fall into the Osage from the S., on the right bank of the river, on

Pike's left, at or near a place called Blackman's Mills. The Osage is

here turning from its E. course to N., whence it soon bends W., then

loops N. and again E., where it receives present Big or Pike's Little

Gravel r., and completes another ox-bow bend. Camp of the 7th,

opposite the notable bluff called "La Belle Roche," is marked on

Pike's map, not far above a place now called Damsel, on the other side

of the Osage; whence the Yungar is reached for breakfast on the 8th.

[I-30] _Sic_, usually in Pike, and I make no change. But "Cheveux

Blanche" is a phrase joining a masculine plural noun to a feminine

singular adjective. The English ed. alters to Cheveu Blanc; but as

doubtless the savage had more than one hair of that color, probably

Cheveux Blancs would be better in form and fact for the F. name of the

person also known as White Hair.

[I-31] Before the Youngar is reached Pike passes on his left Linn cr.;

county seat called Linn Creek, a mile above its mouth. The name of the

river has fluctuated widely. Pike has Yungar, Youngar, and also

Nehemgar; the latest G. L. O. and U. S. G. S. maps letter Niangua. The

word, whatever may be its preferable form, is the Osage name of the

bear, though by some it is said to refer to the numerous springs at

the sources of the stream. It is by far the largest tributary of the

Osage thus far reached; Pike credits it with a canoe navigation of 100

m. The main stream heads in Webster Co., in relation with sources of

the Osage fork of the Gasconade, and runs through Dallas Co., also

touching the W. border of Laclede, into Camden; its tributaries are

numerous and widespread. One called Little Niangua falls in on the W.,

6 or 8 m. above the mouth of the main river. To-day's voyage takes the

Expedition past Purvis, and finishes about 4 m. above Bolinger or

Bollinger cr., from the S., on which are the Osage Iron Works.

[I-32] Pike's map marks none of the places passed to-day by the names

given in his text. We have therefore a triple adjustment to make--of

map with text, and of these with modern geography. This I can do,

bearing in mind that Pike does not necessarily mention places in the

order in which they are passed en route, and that all his mileages are

guessed at by the hours spent in making them. His map marks camp of

Aug. 8th a good ways above the Niangua, and I set it 4 m. above

Bolinger cr., as already said. For the 9th the map has: (1) Big Rock

cr., right; (2) Rapids; (3) Slave r., right; (4) camp, right. The

facts in the case are: Pearson's branch, left; Wells' branch, right;

Proctor cr., right, on which is Proctor; Raney, Rainey, or Rainy cr.,

left, with Crittenden at its mouth--none of the foregoing noted by

Pike in any way; then (1) Little Buffalo cr., right, on or near which

is a place called Search; (2) rapids along a long curved bluff, right,

with three little creeks on the left; (3) Big Buffalo cr., right, with

a place called Riverview at its mouth; (4) camp, right. This makes

about 25 m., barely over the border of Morgan into Benton Co., Big

Buffalo cr. falling in just short of the same boundary; whence it is

evident that (1) Big Rock cr. of the map is (1) Little Buffalo cr., on

which is Search; (3) Slave r. of the map is (3) Big Buffalo cr., on

which is Riverview; and this last is the Upper Gravel cr. of the text.

This ends the day, for by no stretch can we get Pike past Pottoe r. of

the text: see next note for this.

[I-33] Text gives no geography to-day, but the map shows three large

streams between the camp-marks of 9th and 10th. These are: (1) a

river, left, lettered "P. R."--that is, "Pottoe" r.; (2) Francis r.,

right; (3) Cardinal r., left. The facts in the case are: Knobby cr.,

left, small, at lower point of Williams isl., large; (1) a large

creek, left, falling in at head of Williams isl., called Beaver cr. on

the G. L. O. map, Deer cr. on the U. S. G. S. map, and on which is a

place named Hastain; 2 m. above its mouth is another place called

Duroc, on the S. bank of the Osage; (2) a very large creek, right,

variously called Vermilion, Coal Camp or Cole Camp cr.; (3) a very

large creek, left, called Turkey cr. These three are of the relative

sizes and in the relative positions of the three that Pike charts; so

that unquestionably "P. R." or "Pottoe" r. of Pike's map is (1) the

Beaver or Deer cr.; (2) Francis r. is the Vermilion or Cole or Coal

Camp cr.; and (3) Cardinal r. is the Turkey cr. It is true Pike says

his Pottoe cr. was passed on the 9th; but his map shows otherwise; and

if it had been, that is a question of the location of camp for the

9th, not affecting the identification of the streams here made. The

queer name "Pottoe" I suppose to be intended for Poteau, and not a

misprint for Potatoe: see the name Pomme de Terre or Potatoe for a

river further on. Where Pike got his name Francis r. I have no idea.

His Cardinal r. I imagine was so called by some confusion with

Vermilion r.; for cardinal and vermilion are two names of a red

color--in the one case worn by certain church dignitaries on their

heads, in the other by cochineal insects on their bodies. Camp of the

10th (and 11th) is 3 or 4 m. above Turkey cr.

[I-34] The lacuna of the orig. text can be supplied from the map,

which marks camp of the 12th as above said. On decamping this morning

Pike passed what he charts as Cave cr. This is the middle one of three

insignificant runs which make in on the right. "Vermillion" r. of

to-day is a mistake. This is the stream Pike charts as Deep cr., on

the right, immediately below Grand r., and is that now called Little

Tebo, Teabo, Tabo, Tebeau, etc. These are commonly supposed to be

forms of a personal name; but I am informed by R. I. Holcombe they are

perversions of Terre Beau, old name of the prairie in Lafayette Co.

where the "Tebo" r. that flows into the Missouri rises. The Osage

tributary called Tebo, etc., falls in a mile below Grand r.; its E.

fork is meandered for some miles by the Sedalia, Warsaw and Southern

branch of the Mo. Pac. R. R., which then leaves the creek and strikes

the Osage 2½ m. below Warsaw. This is the county seat of Benton, on

the N. bank of the Osage, 2 m. below Little Tabeau cr. and three below

Grand r., opposite the very large island also called Warsaw. Grand r.

of the text and present maps is the largest branch of the Osage passed

since the Niangua was left. It falls in on the N., a mile below

Wright's isl. Some of its affluents head not far from Independence (on

the Mo. r.), and others in Kansas. Its largest branch is Big cr.;

others are Deep Water and Big Tabeau. Camp is in the bight of the bend

that receives Grand r., between Wright's and Holloway isls.

Pike has mapped the river unmistakably along here, rendering

identifications easy; but the text is not so correct, and requires the

interpretation I have given. The mileages of the 10th-12th seem

excessive. Here, as in various other places, he seems to have supplied

the loss of orig. notes from memory.

[I-35] In making the circuit Pike passed two rivers which he charts by

name as "Hallico R." and "Potatoe R.," both from the S., or on his

left as he ascends. Potatoe is clearly the same name as Pomme de

Terre, by which latter title is now mapped the large stream which

heads in Webster Co., cuts the N. E. corner of Green, perhaps also the

S. W. corner of Dallas, then traverses Polk and Hickory, and in Benton

falls into the bight of the bend of the Osage herein mentioned. The

natives call this river "Pumly Tar." Two miles above its mouth it

receives the Little Pomme de Terre, from the W., in the vicinity of

Fairfield. A much smaller stream, next above on the same hand, which

is received in the same bend of the Osage, is Hogle's cr. The relative

situations of these would make Pike's Hallico correspond to Pomme de

Terre, and his Potato to Hogle's. But I have no doubt he _meant_ by

Potato the river now called Pomme de Terre, and we need not insist

upon the reversal of names, especially as there may be some small

stream below to answer to Hallico, and it would be nothing for Pike to

pass over so small a creek as Hogle's, both in the text and on the

map.

[I-36] This letter formed Doc. No. 8 of the App. to Pt. 2. The name,

omission of which causes the hiatus in the text, is Chouteau. The

letter was sent by one Baptiste La Tulipe, who is no doubt the man of

whom we read in Frémont, Rep. 1845, p. 18: "I had found an old

companion on the northern prairie, a hardened and hardly-served

veteran of the mountains, who had been as much hacked and scarred as

an old moustache of Napoleon's 'old guard.' He flourished in the

soubriquet of La Tulipe, and his real name I never knew."

[I-37] Near the N. E. corner of St. Clair Co. and the S. E. corner of

Henry Co. The Park is a narrow, somewhat rectangular loop of the

Osage, including some bold bluffs in its bight. The distance was much

under "28" m., unless the river were then even crookeder than it is

now. We have to foreshorten the mileages along here, in order to bring

Pike into anything like the proper position above the mouth of Sac r.

on the 16th. He passes five or six small creeks to-day, the last and

largest being charted by Pike as Buckeye cr. This is Wright's, from

the S., in St. Clair Co. A mile above this is a large island, which

seems to be Pike's Turkey isl.; and a mile above this is another,

probably that on which he camped.

[I-38] That is to say, Lieut. Wilkinson, Dr. Robinson, the

interpreter, and one soldier, who left the boats to march across

country with some of the Indians, thus avoiding the periplus of

several bends in the river.

[I-39] Pike is still considerably below the present site of Osceola,

at the neck of the last remarkable bend the river makes some 6 or 7 m.

(direct distance) from that town. At present this loop is 4 or 5 m.

around and about a quarter of a mile across at the narrowest part. It

receives several creeks from the N. E., E., and S., the highest and

largest now called Bear cr. In this day's course, which does not

include the circuit of the bend, Pike charts a certain "East River,"

which he runs in directly from the W. This corresponds in position

with the stream now called Muddy cr., but if meant for that it is

drawn much too large--half as large as Grand r. itself.

[I-40] Several points require attention in this long course, whatever

its actual length may have been. 1. Passing Osceola in the forenoon,

Pike reaches his "Grand Fork," _i. e._, the confluence of Sac r. with

the Osage, at noon. This is clear, and the distance seems about right

from the place where I set his camp of the 15th. But the streams he

charts on this course, below the forks, are not more easily disposed

of than was the "East" r. 2. Thus, on the same side as "East" r.,

about halfway from this to the forks, he lays down two small streams

from the W., the lower of which he names Light cr. There are in fact

several such; and it may be reasonable to assume that by Light cr.

Pike means the largest of them. This is the one now called Gallinipper

cr., which falls in a mile below Osceola, and which is now meandered

for a few miles by both the Kansas City, Clinton, and Springfield R.

R., and the Kas. Cy. and Southern R. R. 3. After rounding the bend

above described, and passing the Bear cr. there said, Pike passes two

creeks on his left, from the S., one of which he charts by the name of

Lime r. This probably answers to the stream now called Wablo, or

Weablo, or Weaubleau cr. The other one of the two is Brushy cr. But

the identification of Lime r. with Weaubleau cr., and of Light with

Gallinipper, throws both out of relative position, and introduces a

difficulty which can only be done away with by supposing an error of

the map. 4. Osceola is the seat of St. Clair Co., on the left hand

going up river, 3 or 4 m. below the mouth of Sac r. This village is

notable as a point up to which steamboats used to come, especially

during our Civil War; it was burned in Sept., 1861, by "Jim" Lane

(James Henry Lane, b. Lawrenceburg, Ind., June 22d, 1814, committed

suicide at Leavenworth, Kas., July, 1866); pop. lately 331. 5. Two of

the little crosses which usually mark Pike's camps are superfluous for

the 14th-16th. One I cannot account for; the other evidently marks the

spot where Bel Oiseau was killed, as there is the legend "Beloiseau

Kill'd." Pike usually calls him Belle Oiseau; but the French noun is

of the same gender as the Indian himself. He was also known as

Beautiful Bird. 6. The Sac is about as large as the Osage at their

confluence; it runs on an average due N. course from Lawrence, through

Dade and Cedar, into St. Clair Co. We are told by the old pioneer

"Jack" Beard that the river was so called because a party of Sacs

(probably of the Missouri River band) camped on it about 1820; in the

fall of 1861 Sterling Price's rebel army were on this river for

several weeks. 7. Camp is set on the left bank or right hand of the

Osage, above Salt cr., right, and just below the mouth of the stream

from the N. called Mine r. in the text, but lettered "Mire Cr." on the

map. This is the Little Monegan, Monegau, or Monegaw cr.; the place

called Monegaw Springs is in the vicinity. (The name may be preferably

_Monega_, Osage word for "wolf.")

[I-41] Legended "Chouteau's" on the map, where the cross ×

also does duty for to-night's camp, two miles higher up. The spot can

be identified by the coal bank and shoal mentioned, though the "41½"

m. assigned for the day's journey take us beyond the confluence of the

Little Osage, and we see by tomorrow's itinerary that we are still

half a day's sail short of that point. Pierre Chouteau's place was

known in Spanish records as Fort Carondelet, and was built about 1790

at what is now called Halley's Bluff named for Col. Anselm Halley. It

was an actual fortification with mounted swivels, which Lieut.

Wilkinson speaks of in his Report (given beyond); but it was only

maintained for a few years. The post is twice noticed in the Hist. of

Vernon Co., 1887, by R. I. Holcombe, who informs me that he went over

the ground, including Blue Mound, Timbered Hill, and other places in

the vicinity, and that some old caches in the sandstone may still be

seen. 1. In the course of to-day's voyage the map shows a large

stream, unnamed, falling in from the N., on the right-hand or left

bank. This is evidently intended for Big Monegan or Monegaw cr.; place

called Dollie at its mouth. 2. Higher up, on the other side, another

nameless cr. is charted, from the S. This is Beshaw, better called

Clear, cr.; quite large, coming from Barton, through Vernon, past the

N. W. corner of Cedar, into St. Clair Co. 3. Above this, Pike has two

traces, both from the N., unnamed. One of these doubtless represents

Panther or Painter cr., in Bates Co. Here the Mo., Kan. and Tex. R.

R., a branch of the Mo. Pac. R. R., crosses the Osage between

Rockville on the N. and Schell City on the S. of that river. These

places are 4 m. apart. A mile or two below this crossing the Osage now

forms a circle circumscribing a large round island, nearly a mile in

diameter, which may have been a bend in Pike's time. Several smaller

streams than those just named fall into the Osage on either side, in

the course of a few miles, as Miller, McKenzie, Shaw, Willow, and

Lady's. The "10 French houses" Pike speaks of were opp. the mouth of

Lady's cr. (named for one Wm. Lady). Camp was on the N. W. side of the

Osage, near Lady's cr., and thus in the vicinity of Papinsville (old

Harmony Mission).

[I-42] A most important point in this itinerary, for here is the

junction of the Little Osage with the main stream, which latter Pike

now leaves to proceed up the former to the villages, and so on into

Kansas, etc. He elsewhere says: "The three branches of the [Osage]

river, viz.: the large east fork [_i. e._, Sac r., lying E. of where

he now is], the middle one up which we ascended [_i. e._, Little

Osage], and the northern one [_i. e._, main Osage]." The present

confluence is at the point where Bates and Vernon cos. begin or cease

to be separated by the meanders of the Osage; for the Little Osage

runs in Vernon Co., and the main Osage, above the confluence, runs in

Bates. There is a conspicuous mound in the prairie, a short distance

S. of this "second fork," giving name to Blue Mound township. Both

forks head beyond (W. of) the Missouri State line, in Kansas, in which

State the main Osage r. bears the name of Marais des Cygnes. The

"large drift" in the Little Osage which stopped the boats is marked

and so legended on the map, a short distance above the forks. It seems

to have been above the mouth of Muddy cr., which falls in from the N.

within 2 m. of the forks, and was probably about the place where there

is now some marshy ground on the W. side, opposite Horseshoe l. The

latter is a mile long around the curve, and discharges by a short

stream into the Little Osage, from the S., between the forks and the

mouth of Muddy cr. Doubtless it was once the bed of the river. Close

by this lake, an eastward bend of the Little Osage receives a creek

from the S.; and beyond this was the Grand Osage village, close to

which Pike established what he calls Camp Independence, on the E. side

of the river, near the confluence of Marmiton or Marmaton r. This

stream falls in from the S., and is rather larger than the Little

Osage; in fact, it forms with the latter the main forks. The Marmiton

receives Drywood cr. a few miles above its confluence with the little

Osage. The name of this river is apparently the F. word _marmiton_,

scullion, from _marmite_, pot or kettle; the settlers pronounce it

"Mommytaw." For other features of the locality we may note that the

river bottoms are here below the 75-foot contour line, which

represents the general level of the surrounding prairie; and that

there is an isolated mound or butte of 850 feet or more on the E. side

of the Marmiton and close to this river, at the first bend it makes

eastward. The Marmiton is otherwise notable in the present connection,

as Pike's further route goes between it and the Little Osage.

[I-43] A letter received from General Wilkinson by this express formed

Doc. No. 9 of the App. to Part 2.

[I-44] Joseph Browne, who in 1806 was first Justice of the Court of

Common Pleas in and for the District of St. Louis, appointed by

Governor and General Wilkinson Tuesday, Mar. 18th, 1806; in 1807 he

was Territorial secretary, and sometimes acting governor. He was

succeeded by Frederick Bates, appointed secretary by Jefferson, May

7th, 1807: see L. and C., p. 1236. The "Babtiste Larme" of the above

paragraph is elsewhere called by Pike "Mr. Baptist Duchouquette alias

Larme." Billon's Annals of St. Louis for 1764-1804, pub. 1886, p. 437,

has "Jno. B. Duchouquette, usually called Batiste Lami." Among the

signers of a paper relating to the erection of a Roman Catholic church

in St. Louis, Oct. 30th, 1819, is found "Batiste [Symbol: X]

Duchouquete" (his mark). The alias occurs in various forms, as Lamie,

Lamy, Lamme, etc. J. B. D. was son of François Lafleur Duchouquette

and Céleste Barrois; b. about 1760, d. May, 1834; married Marie

Brazeau, St. Louis, 1798.

[I-45] The village of the Little Osage Indians was about 6 m. higher

up and on the other (west) side of the river of the same name.

Marmiton r. falls in between where the two villages were. These were

so well-known to the traders and others in Pike's time that he does

not take the trouble to say exactly where they were; nor are we

favored with the precise location of Camp Independence, "near the edge

of the prairie." But there is of course no question of the exact site

of a village which stood for more than a century: see for example

Holcombe's Hist. Vernon Co. Hundreds of Osages were buried on the

mound, to which their descendents used to come from Kansas to cry over

them, as late at least as 1874. Among the remains rested those of old

White Hair himself, until his bones were dug up and carried off by

Judge C. H. Allen of Missouri. In the vicinity of the upper village is

now a place called Arthur, where the Lexington and Southern Div. of

the Mo. Pac. R. R. comes south from Rich Hill, Bates Co., and

continues across both Little Osage and Marmiton rivers; a mile W. of

its crossing of the former, on the S. of that river, is the present

hamlet called Little Osage. All Pike's positions of Aug. 18th-Sept.

1st are in the present Osage township.

[I-46] This census of the Grand Osage village was contained in a

letter which in the orig. ed. formed Doc. No. 12 of the App. to Pt. 2,

being a folded table opp. p. 52, with a tabular "recapitulation" on p.

53. The matter is given beyond.

[I-47] Three letters from Pike to Wilkinson which went by this express

formed Docs. Nos. 10, 11, 12 of App. to Pt. 2. One of them is dated

from "Camp Independence," by which we learn the name Pike gave his

station: see beyond.

[I-48] So far as the white men are concerned, the party is identical

with that which left Belle Fontaine (see the roster, pp. 358-360),

excepting Kennerman, deserted, which reduced the privates from 16 to

15, and further excepting the additional interpreter, one Noel alias

Maugraine. (Mr. George Henry, who is left here, was engaged after the

start, and therefore does not affect this count.)

[I-49] By "Grand Osage fork" Pike means the stream on which was the

Grand Osage village, _i. e._, Little Osage r. By "fork of the Little

Osage" his actual implication is Marmiton r., near which was the

Little Osage village--though the phrase happens to be verbally

applicable, as the Marmiton is the fork of the Little Osage r. Pike's

course "N. 80° W." at the start would seem to conflict with the

dot-line on his map; but this is simply due to faulty projection of

the streams: see next note. Observe also that the course of Sept. 1st

is simply a swing-around to the mouth of the Marmiton, whence Pike

revisits the Grand Osage village. There is no camp-mark for this day;

the first [Symbol: +] set is camp of the expedition of Sept. 2d,

before Pike had rejoined his party.

[I-50] Which the party had made on the 3d before Pike joined them.

Their camp of the 2d is the first one marked on the map, and this of

the 3d is the second one so marked. This we know from the position

marked for the 6th, just over the divide, and three camps ahead of

this of the 3d. Pike is now first fairly en route. The faulty

projection of his map makes him seem to go E. of S. till the 6th, and

then turn W. abruptly. The course of the Little Osage is practically

from W. to E., and Pike ascends it the whole way, having it at a

considerable distance to his right. His trail is over the prairie

between the Little Osage and Marmiton rivers. This is to be

particularly noted, as some have vaguely supposed Pike "followed up

the Osage river," _i. e._, the main Osage (Pike's "North fork"), and

then wondered how he came where we presently find him. In fact, he

goes almost due W. from Missouri over into Kansas. Camp of the 3d was

in the vicinity of the present town of Little Osage. Gregg's map, on

which Pike's trail is traced for the most part with all the accuracy

that the small scale allows, starts him into Kansas too far S.--a good

way S. of Fort Scott, which is correctly located on the Marmiton.

[I-51] Misleading, at first sight; but "Grand river" here means that

stream on which was the Grand Osage village. Pike and Robinson simply

took an excursion of 6 m. to the Little Osage and back to camp,

supposed to be 13 m. from that of the 3d. It was considerably past

Rinehart, and probably in the vicinity of Hoover, a place 2 m. E. of

the inter-State line; or perhaps just over this boundary, which here

runs on a meridian of longitude (about 94° 37´). This vicinity is

notable as the scene of the raid of old John Brown in Dec., 1859, when

this extraordinary compound of saint and sinner, whose prophetic

visions of the coming struggle had startling distinctness, killed a

man and stole some negroes and horses. Pike has entered or will

immediately enter the N. E. portion of Bourbon Co., Kas., in the

vicinity of places called Hammond, Fulton, and Barnesville. The two

former of these are on the Kansas City, Fort Scott, and Gulf R. R. I

suppose Pike to be about 10 m. N. N. E. of Fort Scott, the county seat

of Bourbon. This is a well-known city, on Marmiton r., at the point

where Mill cr. falls in. Its military name is a legacy from former

days, the fort having been built in 1842; pop. now about 12,000.

From the present station we have to trail Pike clear across Kansas to

a point on the Republican Fork of the Kansas r., just over the middle

of the northern boundary of the State. This is not easy. It would be

impossible to do so with precision, had we only the slender thread of

text to guide us. His Indians took him a roundabout way by the Smoky

Hill r. The whole country is flat, with a complicated river-system;

Pike cuts through it, incessantly _crossing_ creeks and rivers, not

one of which does he follow for any considerable distance after he

leaves the Osage basin. The names of the many small towns and

stations, as well as of the small streams, will be recognized by few

non-residents. Fortunately we have the trace dotted on his map, and

though this is far out of drawing for absolute geography, its relative

positions are recognizable for the most part. I am satisfied that the

course I lay down for Pike is true to his route in all its main

features. The whole of this Kansan route would be in the Missourian

watershed, were it not for the northward extension of the Arkansan

basin in the drainage of the Neosho and Vermilion rivers. This Pike

enters as soon as he leaves the Osage basin, crosses, and quits before

reaching the Smoky Hill: see the two places legended "Dividing Ridge,"

etc., on his map. If we suppose, what I see no reason to question,

that his camp-marks are all right, his marches of Sept. 5th to 17th

may be summarized as follows: Sept. 5th, further up Little Osage r.;

6th, over divide to Arkansan waters of the Neosho r.; 7th, approaching

the Neosho; 8th, across this river; 9th, further along S. of it; 10th,

across subdivide of Vermilion river basin; 11th, heading this river,

and across subdivide into Neosho basin again; 12th, across Cottonwood

fork of the Neosho; 14th, further along this fork; 15th, across divide

from these Arkansan to Missourian waters again; 16th, nearing Smoky

Hill r.; 17th, across this river. (Total distance from the Osage

villages about 210 m., by Pike's mileages of Sept. 1st-17th about 250

m.) The counties crossed are Bourbon, Allen, Woodson, Coffey, Lyon,

Chase, Marion, Dickinson, and Saline. Further details in following

notes.

[I-52] The whole of this way is W. up along the S. side of the Little

Osage, for the most part at a considerable distance from the river,

which here has a northward convexity. But for some miles after leaving

Camp Independence, Pike must have kept pretty close to the south side

of the Little Osage, to avoid the unnumbered mounds into which the

country further to his left is broken. The hill to which Pike came in

the forenoon represents a rise from the general 750-foot level

hitherto traveled to about 1,100 feet. From its southern slopes, Mill

and Wolverine creeks gather to flow into the Marmiton at and near Fort

Scott; while from the other side some small runs seek the Little

Osage. Camp is in Bourbon Co., somewhere in the vicinity of Xenia,

Zenia, or Hay, a small place near a branch of the Little Osage.

[I-53] Pike does not mean that the Arkansaw r. itself is otherwise

called White r., but the waters of the Arkansaw River basin he has

reached are those of a river called the White, which is perfectly

true. He elsewhere calls this Grand r. He also discusses whether this

White r. be a tributary of the Arkansaw or of the Mississippi, and

comes to the latter erroneous conclusion. This White or Grand r. of

Pike is the Neosho; a large stream which waters much of southeastern

Kansas, leaves the State in Cherokee Co., enters Indian Territory, and

falls into the Arkansaw on the boundary between the Cherokees' and the

Creeks' country. Its general course is S. E., then S. Pike lays it

down pretty well on his map, by the name of Grand r., and I find it so

charted on various modern maps. Pike runs it into the Arkansaw all

right, and makes its Cottonwood fork the main stream, out of all

proportion to the little creek he traces for the other fork; but there

is not much difference in the two streams, which unite in Lyon Co.

some 8 m. below Emporia. From the vicinity of Xenia, in Bourbon Co.,

Pike has to-day continued about W., by or near the station Bayard of

the Mo., Kas., and Tex. R. R., in Allen Co. Having thus headed all

Osage (Missourian) waters, he strikes and crosses the divide, and

camps on the head of a small tributary of Elm cr., a branch of the

Neosho (Arkansan waters). I suppose his camp to be at a point about

equidistant from Bayard and two other places called respectively La

Harpe and Wise--perhaps rather Bayard, La Harpe, and Morantown.

[I-54] The two streams concerned in Pike's approach to the Neosho are

Elm and Deer creeks. Elm is the large forked one which falls in close

below Iola, county seat of Allen. Deer cr. is the next above, falling

in about 4 m. above Elm cr. Pike's map indicates that, after passing

some insignificant heads of Elm cr., he got into its forks, then

crossed its north branch near Iola, and camped on Deer cr., very near

the junction of this with the Neosho. I do not know whether horses can

swim in Deer cr.; if not, the only alternative stream would be the

Neosho itself. But the map sets Pike on the east branch of Deer cr.,

and there I leave him.

[I-55] The Neosho, Neozho, or Neocho r. "A grand fork of the White

river" is ambiguous; but becomes intelligible if we remember that he

has just spoken of the "Arkansaw, alias White river." Pike's ideas of

what he calls "White" and "Grand" r. were not clear. There is no

stream in his present vicinity large enough to be dignified as the

"grand fork" of the Neosho itself; we must understand him to mean the

Neosho, as being itself a grand fork of whatever he meant by "White"

r. The Neosho was long and often called Grand r.; "Neosho or Grand R."

is lettered on Gregg's map. Pike never says where he crossed the

Neosho, nor in fact does he inform us that he ever crossed it--unless

it was when he swam his horses. But that was on the 7th. However these

uncertainties be regarded, two facts are certain: Pike was across the

Neosho on the 8th, and he crossed it between Iola and the town of

Neosho Falls, Woodson Co. I think the crossing was a little above the

mouth of Deer cr.

[I-56] West for a few miles, then about northwest, up along the

Neosho, but at several miles' distance from that river, on the dry

prairie, and passing from Woodson into Coffey Co. As to the "second

branch" on which is camp: Pike charts three streams passed to-day,

running to his right into the Neosho, and marks his camp on the third

one of these. I take these to be Turkey, South Big, and North Big

creeks; and suppose that Pike camped on the last of these. It is true

that these all three unite in one before falling into the Neosho; but

Pike passed them too high up to observe their connections. Turkey cr.

is practically a separate one, as it falls into Big cr. only about

one-quarter of a mile above the mouth of it; and the connection of

North and South creeks, much higher up, may be implied in his speaking

of the "second branch" on which was camp (Turkey cr. then answering to

a first branch). The single mouth of the three streams here in mention

falls into the Neosho about 2 m. west of Leroy. If it seems rather a

stretch to get Pike some distance up North Big cr. to-day, it may be

remembered that the place he crossed the Neosho was not determined

with precision; and that we have to find him to-morrow, at 11 miles'

distance, on a large creek up which he can go over the divide to the

heads of Verdigris r. There seems to be no alternative.

[I-57] The total of 12 m. does not agree with the text, which calls

for 11 + 4½ = 15½. Eagle cr. seems to have been struck about on the

boundary between Coffey and Lyon cos., where Four Mile cr. falls into

it. It is a considerable stream, which heads in the divide about Olpe

(a place on the A. T. and S. Fé R. R.), is increased by Harper,

Hoosier, and other tributaries, and runs E. into the Neosho a mile and

a half above Strawn (a place on the Mo. Pac. R. R.). To reach Eagle

cr. from North Big cr. Pike passed opposite Burlington, seat of Coffey

Co., several miles to his right, and headed the small Otter cr., on or

near which is a place called Patmos.

[I-58] It may not be possible to decide which of the several branches

of Eagle cr. Pike went up to the divide. To send him up the main

branch, past Olpe, agrees best with his 21 m. to-day; but in that case

he must have breakfasted late. There is a sharp elbow in his dotted

trail, which would seem to indicate that he made a turn from his

former course over the divide. Aside from any questions of detail,

which perhaps could not be decided even by a resident of the region

traversed, we have Pike safe on the headwaters of Vermilion or

Verdigris r. (it has these alternative names on recent maps). It heads

in the divide which Pike has crossed, by numerous small tributaries,

several of which Pike charts. Among them are Haldemand and Tate,

heading opposite branches of Eagle cr., and further on Moon, Rock,

Fawn, and Camp creeks. The Verdigris is of a size smaller than the

Neosho, W. of which it runs in an approximately parallel course; it

leaves Kansas through Montgomery Co., enters Indian Territory, and in

the country of the Creek Indians falls into the Arkansaw 8 m. above

the mouth of the Neosho. Pike lays it down well, especially the

fan-shaped leash of branches in which it heads, but runs it into the

Arkansaw in common with the Neosho. The Verdigris has of course its

proper basin or drainage within the more general watershed of the

Neosho and other Arkansan as distinguished from Missourian waters. The

rim of this basin is the divide Pike crosses over to-day. He camps on

one of the small headwaters, probably Fawn or Camp cr., in the close

vicinity of the places called Elco and Verdigris.

[I-59] Pike has headed Verdigris r., and recrossed the brim of its

basin into the Neosho basin again. In cutting off this small segment

of the Verdigris basin he passed from Lyon into Chase Co., "over high

hilly prairies," _i. e._, the divide, and continued westward till he

struck "a large branch of Grand r." We discover later that Pike takes

Cottonwood r. to be the main Grand, _i. e._, Neosho r., which I do not

see that it is not, though the other one retains the name of Neosho

above their confluence. The stream he strikes is the S. fork of

Cottonwood r. This heads in the same hilly country, by tributaries

known as Little Cedar, Thurman, and Mercer creeks, in relation or

opposition to the uttermost sources of Verdigris r., and flows N. to

fall into the main Cottonwood 4 m. below Cottonwood Falls, county seat

of Chase. Pike probably came on this stream somewhere in the vicinity

of Baker or Crocker cr., between places called Matfield Green and

Bazar.

Cottonwood "creek" was originally so named at the point where it was

struck on the old Santa Fé caravan road, and because it showed the

first trees of that kind to be found in traveling westward on that

route. The crossing was at or near present town of Durham, Marion Co.

It was some time before the true connection of the Cottonwood with the

Neosho was made out. At Council Grove the traders knew they were on a

head of the Neosho or Grand r., though they called it Council Grove

cr. They kept on W. to "Diamond springs" (on a head of Six Mile or

present Diamond cr.), and thence to "Lost spring" on their "Willow"

cr. (a head of present Clear cr., which falls into the Cottonwood at

Marion); the next stream they struck being this Cottonwood cr., at or

near Durham: see a note beyond, where I undertake, perhaps rashly, to

recover the old caravan road in terms of modern geography.

[I-60] If Pike bore as much N. of W. as his dotted trail seems to

indicate, the mileage would fetch him on Cottonwood r. about the

situation of Cedar Grove and Cedar Point, which are within a mile or

two of each other and of the boundary between Chase and Marion cos.,

and about 6 m. down river from Florence, Marion Co. He is evidently in

the loop which the Cottonwood makes S. E. from Marion to Florence, and

then gradually N. E. to the vicinity of Cottonwood Falls. If the old

Kansas Indian trail the map lays down could be recovered or

identified, it would serve to locate him still more precisely. He

crosses the Cottonwood and camps on its left bank. If we attentively

regard the camp-marks of the 12th and 13th, we find them close

together, N. of the Cottonwood, S. of a creek flowing E., and W. of a

pair of creeks flowing S. These requirements are fulfilled, if we take

the one running E. to be Middle creek, which falls in by Elmdale, 10

m. below Cedar Grove; and the other two, those that fall in together

at Marion, 12 m. (direct) above Cedar Grove. It is true there are

several creeks nearer, on the same side, as Silver, Bruno, and Martin,

but these are all smaller than such as Pike usually charts, and,

moreover, he could not go his 9 m. to-morrow in any direction without

getting beyond them.

[I-61] Camp in the close vicinity of Marion, seat of the county of

that name. The Indian trail seems to have run past or through Marion.

We can confidently locate Pike within 3 m. of the town on the night of

the 13th; and Marion thus furnishes an excellent fixed point whence to

trace him on to Smoky Hill r. The two streams which unite at Marion,

and run through the place as one, are called Brook Luta and Clear cr.

[I-62] Continuing past Marion, up the Cottonwood, which he has to his

left, Pike camps near Durham, Marion Co. This town is on the river,

and through it runs the Chic., Kas. and Neb. R. R. The route seems to

have sheered off from the river a little to the right, more in line

with Brook Luta than with the Cottonwood itself: see next note.

[I-63] Passing north between Cottonwood r. on his left and Brook Luta

on his right, Pike makes the divide in the vicinity of Tampa, Marion

Co. This is a village on the head of Brook Luta; the railroad last

named goes through it, and Pike crosses the line of this railroad

between Durham and Tampa. He is flanking the higher hills (1,500 feet

or more) in which the main Cottonwood heads, by leaving them to the

left or W. This is a somewhat roundabout way from the vicinity of

Durham to that of Bridgeport on the Smoky Hill, where Pike strikes

this river early on the 17th; but it is evident that he did not go

straight between these points, for they are only about 25 m. (direct)

apart, and we have to account for 18 + 13 + 6 = 37 m. on the 15th,

16th, and morning of the 17th. These mileages adjust themselves to a

nicety by the way I make out. I suppose he crossed the divide between

Tampa and Kuhnbrook, Marion Co., thus passing from Arkansan to

Missourian waters, as he says. Kuhnbrook is a little place on one of

the heads of the large Turkey cr., which runs N. into the Smoky Hill

r. opp. Abilene. Rhoades is the next place on this branch of Turkey

cr., and in passing to its vicinity Pike crosses from Marion into

Dickinson Co. He continues on, bearing to the vicinity of Elmo and

Banner. These are places near another head of Turkey cr., and both on

the Mo. Pac. R. R.; they are within a mile of each other. Pike keeps

on a piece, westerly, and sets camp in the vicinity of Carlton,

Dickinson Co. Carlton is between the two forks of Holland cr., next W.

of Turkey cr., with which Holland runs parallel to fall into the Smoky

Hill r. opp. Abilene. Carleton is 7 m. due E. of Gypsum City, which

latter is on a creek of that name Pike next strikes.

[I-64] Pike camps on a branch of Gypsum creek. This is a large stream

which heads in close relation with the uttermost sources of Cottonwood

r., in the vicinity of Canton, McPherson Co., and flows due N. into

the Smoky Hill, between the mouths of Solomon and Saline rivers. It is

larger than either Turkey or Holland cr., and much branched. It runs

about halfway between Holland cr. and the Smoky Hill, parallel with

both; for the latter, having made a bold sweep from the W., curves N.

past Lindsburg and Bridgeport to Salina, and thence E. to receive

first the Saline, next Gypsum, and then Solomon r. On Gypsum cr. are

Chico and Gypsum City, 10 and 12 m. above its mouth; and Pike strikes

it a few miles further up or S. of these towns. Pike charts its

headwaters elaborately, and sets his camps of the 15th and 16th among

the five branches he lays down. Probably one of these should be taken

for Holland cr.; the other four are less easily identified. From his

position in the vicinity of Carlton Pike passes W. from Dickinson into

Saline Co., comes first to Hobbs cr., next upon Gypsum itself and Stag

cr., in quick succession; crossing these three he continues W. to

another branch of Gypsum cr., namely, that one now meandered by the

Mo. Pac. R. R. between Gypsum City and Bridgeport. He camps on the

latter, 6 m. E. of the Smoky Hill.

[I-65] "We passed it six miles to a small branch to breakfast" is a

dubious phrase which I understand to mean that Pike went 6 m. to a

small branch to breakfast, and then crossed the Smoky Hill r. at

once--at nine o'clock. This crossing was in the immediate vicinity of

Bridgeport, and perhaps at the very place the Council Grove, Smoky

Valley and Western branch of the Mo. Pac. R. R. crosses to run into

Bridgeport. Two insignificant runs fall into the river from the east

within 3 m. below Bridgeport; the first of them is named Pawnee cr.

Crossing the river, Pike proceeds up it, but a little W. of N., and

bearing somewhat away from it; he passes Dry cr., which lower down

runs through the county seat Salina, and camps on Mulberry cr., 2 or 3

m. due W. of that city, and about the same distance below the point

where Spring cr. falls into Mulberry. This stream skirts north of the

city, receives Dry cr., and falls into Saline r. a mile or two

further. Salina is a large place, one of the best known in the State,

where four great railroad lines meet--the U. P., Mo. P., A., T. and S.

F., and C., R. I. and P. Six or 8 m. due W. of the place where Pike

crossed the river are the Smoky hills, or Smoky Hill Buttes,

celebrated in story if not in song. The great river named from these

conspicuous landmarks is the main southern fork of Kansas r., as the

Republican is the northern. Its uttermost sources are in Colorado.

Receiving uncounted tributaries in its long course, it runs E. in

Kansas through Wallace, Logan, Gove, Trego, Ellis, Russell, and

Ellsworth, loops S. into McPherson and out again N. into Saline Co.,

makes an elbow at Salina and continues E. through Dickinson into Geary

Co., where it joins its mate between Junction City and Fort Riley,

thus composing the Kansas. Two of its largest branches are the Saline

and Solomon.

This finishes the first section of Pike's Kansas route from the Little

Osage to Salina. The rest of the way to the Pawnee Republic is

northward, crossing in succession Saline r., Salt cr., Solomon r.,

Buffalo cr., and White Rock cr., striking the Republican r. in Webster

Co., Neb., near the S. border of that State. The distance is less than

the 97 m. Pike makes of it. His map is extremely faulty; he seems to

have gone about N. W., though his actual route was very little W. of

N. It also runs Saline and Solomon rivers far apart into the

Republican, instead of the Smoky Hill, magnifies Salt cr. out of all

proportion, and minimizes both Buffalo and White Rock cr.

As a bit of authentic history which may interest those in Salina who

have reason to be proud of the growth of their city during one

generation, I will transcribe a passage from my own field notebook,

made when I was staging from Leavenworth to Santa Fe, in 1864:

"Sunday, May 29th. Left Junction City and came to a place called

Salina--three houses and a pig stye."

Fort Riley, as above mentioned, was begun by Major Edmund Augustus

Ogden, who had selected the site and was occupied with the work when

he died there Aug. 3d, 1855, in the epidemic of cholera then raging.

He was born at Catskill, N. Y., Feb. 20th, 1810; removed to Unadilla,

N. Y., and from there entered West Point July 1st, 1827; he became

second lieutenant of the 1st Inf., July 1st, 1831; first lieutenant,

Dec. 17th, 1836; was transferred to the 8th Inf., July 7th, 1838;

promoted to be captain, Dec. 1st, 1839; and was breveted major for

meritorious conduct. His first duty was at Prairie du Chien; his

marriage with Captain Gustavus Loomis' daughter Eliza, at Fort

Snelling, is said to have been the first ceremony of the kind between

white persons in Minnesota; he served faithfully and with distinction

in the Black Hawk, Florida, and Mexican wars, and for many years

discharged arduous and responsible duties in the quartermaster

department. For several years immediately preceding his death he was

stationed at Fort Leavenworth.

[I-66] Saline r., distinctively called Great or Grand Saline, has been

already noted. Pike crosses this, and proceeds to "a small dry branch"

of the next river, to camp for three days. This river is the one he

calls Little Saline, and is now known as Covert or Salt cr., a branch

of Solomon r. which falls into the Solomon 4 m. below Minneapolis,

Ottawa Co. Pike's map connects it correctly, but magnifies its size;

for the stream which he passed on returning from the Pawnee village,

and which he lays down as a head of his Little Saline, is a branch of

the Great Saline. Pike probably crossed Saline r. in the vicinity of

Culver, where the railroad now does, then soon passing from Saline

into Ottawa. The small branch of Salt cr. on which he camped was one

of several such in the vicinity of Ada.

[I-67] An error is here evident, and I suspect some confusion of the

diary of the 21st and 22d. 1. "Distance 11 miles," for the whole 22d,

is necessarily wrong, if m. were made in the afternoon, and this, too,

after marching from eight to eleven in the forenoon. 2. Aside from the

fact that there is no branch of the Republican fork in this vicinity,

the map shows that Pike did not reach Solomon r. till the 23d, and the

text of that day confirms this. Camps of the 21st and 22d were both in

the space traversed between Salt cr. and Solomon r., less than 20 m.

at the furthest. 3. The difficulty disappears if for "12 miles," etc.,

of the above questionable clause, we read "2 miles to the first branch

of Solomon river on our route." This would set Pike on one of the

small creeks that fall into the right bank of Solomon r. in the

vicinity of Glasco, Simpson, and Asherville. A former name of Solomon

r. was Nepeholla, used, _e. g._, by Gunnison, P. R. R. Rep. II. 1855,

p. 17. Capt. J. W. Gunnison came to the mouth of Solomon's fork July

6th, 1853, from Westport, Mo., by the Wakarusa River route, striking

the Kansas r. at Fort Riley, crossing there, and continuing through

Abilene; he was en route to the great bend of the Arkansaw by the

usual Smoky Hill route.

[I-68] Taking Pike northward across Buffalo cr. I suppose this was

crossed somewhere in the vicinity of Jamestown, Republic Co. In this

position the Republican r. itself is only 5 or 6 m. to his right, and

the rest of the journey is simply following up this river obliquely on

about a N. W. course, at a somewhat increasing distance from it, until

he nears it to approach the village.

[I-69] To White Rock cr., west of White Rock, a town on the creek and

on the boundary between Republic and Jewell cos. This stream runs east

through these, and falls into the Republican r. opposite Republic

City. In getting here, Pike seems by his map to have crossed several

small streams _running to his left_, and into a stream he runs into

Solomon r. I suppose these to be some branches of Marsh cr., a

sluggish tributary of Buffalo cr. from the N. W.

[I-70] Finishing the journey to the Pawnee Republic village, whence

the great river on which it was situated took its name. Its ultimate

sources are in Colorado, like those of the Smoky Hill r. Its main

course then cuts off the extreme N. W. corner of Kansas, by running

through Cheyenne Co.; whereupon the stream enters Nebraska, and skirts

the southern border of this until it dips into Kansas across the N.

border of Jewell Co., whence it continues E. into Republic Co., turns

S. in this to Cloud Co., E. through this to Clay Co., and S. E.

through this to Geary Co., where it is joined by the Smoky Hill, as

already noted. The whole journey thus made from the Osages to the

Pawnees foots up, by Pike's distances, about 350 m. In a letter to the

Secretary of War he calls it "375"; but this is simply offhand. He

also claims that his Osages led him roundabout 100 m. through their

fear of the "Kans." Pike's land mileages seem to me more correct than

those excessive ones he assigns to his navigation. I suppose this

journey to have been between 300 and 325 m.

I must emphasize here the fact that I have failed in every attempt to

locate the precise site of the Pawnee village. One would suppose it

well known; I find that it is not, and have yet to discover the

ethnographer or geographer who can point it out. Correspondence

addressed to persons now living in the vicinity was as fruitless as my

exploration of the sources of official knowledge in Washington, where

several friends interested themselves in my behalf to no purpose. I

know of no closer indication than that afforded by Gregg's map of

1844. This letters "Old Pawnee Village" on the S. bank of the

Republican, halfway between long. 98° and 99° W., and thus, as I

judge, about opposite the present town of Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.

Gregg runs the Republican entirely S. of lat. 40° N., _i. e._, in

Kansas; but the place where Pike struck it was certainly in that

portion of its course which runs in Nebraska, just over the Kansas

line. Gregg in fact gives his river a recognizable northward convexity

along here, and if it does not overreach 40°, that is a fault of

absolute, not relative, position. We are here much less concerned with

latitude than with longitude. The river is running approximately from

W. to E., in Webster Co., and the main point is how far W. the village

was, as that would affect details of the route from the last point at

which I have been able to locate Pike. It will be necessary to

discover the exact situation of the Pawnee village before the cloud

over the end of this journey can be dispelled, and the beginning of

the journey from the village to Great Bend on the Arkansaw can be set

in a clear light. For the present I can only tentatively assume

longitude 98° 30´ W. (See Scandia, in the Index.)

[I-71] Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, commonly called Abbé Raynal,

b. Aveyron, France, Apr. 12th, 1713, d. Paris, Mar. 6th, 1796--a

philosophical free-thinker and historian, who wrote too much sense and

truth to suit his official superiors, and was consequently unfrocked.

It is a curious fact in the history of the most Tammany-like machine

for the propagation of painful superstitions ever known in the Western

world--excepting perhaps Brigham Young's similarly organized

scheme--that whenever one of its members begins to think for himself

they make him take off his gown and wear trousers openly. The irony in

the case seems to escape the professional nurserymen in that

hot-house. The abbé wrote various works; his most celebrated one, to

which Pike refers, is: Histoire Philosophique et Politique des

Établissements et du Commerce des Européens dans les Deux Indes, 1770,

repub. 1780-85--a book whose strength and other merits may be inferred

from the fact that it had the honor of being burned by Parliamentary

order; though its author was simply exiled, the times being already a

little out of joint for roasting heretics along with their heresies.

[I-72] Richard Sparks of Pennsylvania had been a captain in the levies

of 1791, when he was appointed a captain of infantry, March 7th, 1792;

he was arranged to the 3d Sub-legion, Sept. 4th, 1792, to the 3d

Infantry, Nov. 1st, 1796, and transferred to the 2d Infantry Apr. 1st,

1802; he became major July 29th, 1806, lieutenant-colonel Dec. 9th,

1807, and colonel July 6th, 1812; he was honorably discharged June

15th, 1815, and died July 1st, 1815.

[I-73] 1. As already indicated, "Tetaus" and "Tetans" are Pike's names

for Comanches, also variously known as Ietans, Jetans, Hietans,

Aiatans, etc., and also by the Sioux name Padoucas, adopted by the

French; they called themselves Num, meaning simply "people." Some of

their other names are Kaumains, Choumans and Comandes; we now write

Comanches or Camanches indifferently, thus adopting a form of the

Spanish name, whose meaning is unknown. These Indians are of the

Shoshonean family; they number about 150, on the Kiowa, Comanche, and

Wichita Reservation in Oklahoma; there were some 2,500 when they were

placed in a reservation in 1868; they had been noted, time out of

mind, as wide-ranging, lawless, and warlike freebooters. 2. Pike above

mentions three of the four principal tribes of the Pawnee

confederation, _i. e._, of the middle group of Caddoan stock, who are:

(1) Pawnee proper, Grand Pawnee, or Tcawi; (2) Pawnee Republicans or

Republican Pawnees (giving name to the great branch of the Kansas r.);

(3) Pawnee Loups, Pawnee Mahas, Pawnee Wolves, or Skidis; (4) Tapage

or Pitahauerat: see further, L. and C., ed. 1893, pp. 55-57. (3)

Pike's Kans are entirely different Indians, of Siouan stock, Dhegiha

group: for these see _l. c._, pp. 33, 34.

The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Volume 2 (of 3) To Headwaters of the Mississippi River Through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, During the Years 1805-6-7. · 第 2 / 13 章

(6) Sergeant Meek, Corporal Jackson, Privates Carter, Dougherty,