The Metropolis of the Far Wilderness—James Pursley Arrives—Pike
up the Mississippi and Across the Plains—A Spanish War
Party—A Breastwork to Mark the Site of Pueblo—Polar Weather
and No Clothing—Pike Sees the Grand Peak—San Luis Valley—The
Americans Captured by Diplomacy—Pursley Finds Gold—Malgares, the
Gentleman—The Pike Party Sent Home.
The settlements on the Rio Grande had now been continuously occupied by
the Spaniards for more than a century. To some extent the surrounding
country had been explored in every direction, and a desultory trade
was carried on with the various Amerind tribes, particularly with those
of the plains and the northern region, from all of whom they obtained
furs in exchange for articles of European make, exactly as the British
were doing in the Far North, and the Americans in the East. They were
therefore known far and wide, even to tribes which did not directly deal
with them. Santa Fé at this period, 1805, may therefore be regarded
as the metropolis of the vaster Wilderness. It had a population of
about 4500, with two churches, and covered about a mile of ground in
length, a distance which was longitudinally divided by three streets.
Agriculture was practised by means of irrigation, a system which
natives had operated ages before. By it, an abundance of maize, melons,
beans, peppers, squashes, peaches, grapes, etc., were produced, and
as there were also plenty of sheep and cattle, life on the Rio Grande
in New Mexico was by no means severe, indeed it had a kind of _dolce
far niente_ quality that clings round it still. The routes from the
eastward to reach this elysium were not unknown, and would more often
have been travelled had it not been for the restrictions of the Spanish
Government.
One route across Texas passed through the town of San Antonio, with a
population of about two thousand, and in Texas there were at that time
besides the people of San Antonio about five thousand others, a mixture
of Spanish creoles, some French, some Americans, and a few civilised
natives. Another road was by way of Red River, and still another, the
least known, by way of the Arkansas. At Lemhi Pass, Lewis and Clark
had heard from a Ute of these towns about twenty days' journey to
the south, and at Council Bluffs others had stated that Santa Fé was
twenty-five days' journey from there. One white man, McClellan, was
planning a tour to Santa Fé about the time of Lewis and Clark's return,
and it is said that certain Mallet brothers with six others, before the
end of the eighteenth century, went up from St. Louis and struck from
the Missouri to the Rio Grande settlements. One Baptiste LaLande, in
the employ of Morrison, an American merchant, had gone there in 1804
with goods to trade, but had never returned, for he found the country
attractive and himself out of reach of his employer. All merchandise
for the Rio Grande settlements was brought by a long, difficult road
from Mexico, and prices were enormous by the time the goods arrived
at Santa Fé. The government and the governor too had to have their
bonus. The Americans knew of these conditions, and hence early began
to speculate on the possibility of transporting merchandise overland
from St. Louis to compete. As the governor and the government were
everything in that region, and permission to trade, to trap, or merely
to enter or leave the land had to be first obtained from the autocratic
head, going to Santa Fé to trade and entering or approaching the Spanish
domain in any way were not trifling matters; more particularly as the
point at which American jurisdiction ended and that of Spain began
was as uncertain as the point where the north wind ceased to blow. Few
Americans therefore had attempted it. The first to make the entry did
so almost involuntarily. He was a man from Kentucky, James Pursley, who
was trapping in the region west of St. Louis in 1802—before the purchase
of Louisiana by the United States.
Like so many of the Americans of that time brought up to the frontier
life, he was perfectly familiar with every danger, and with all the
peculiarities of the Amerind character; and he was of dauntless courage
and limitless perseverance. Nothing ever baulked this type of man,
of whom Daniel Boone was a fine specimen. Battered and thrust down by
fortune till it would seem impossible for anything human to rise above
the circumstances, they mastered them as if merely remounting a mustang
from which they had momentarily been unseated. So it was that Pursley
ploughed his way to Santa Fé with no original intention of going there.
Some of the Kansa tribe having stolen the horses of his party, Pursley
happened to see his own being ridden by one of that tribe to water.
Without a moment's hesitation, Pursley pursued him, and discovering
that he could not get the horse, ripped open the animal's bowels with
his hunting knife. The Kansa thereupon tried to shoot him, but the gun
missed fire, and Pursley, with the knife, chased the man into the camp,
where he was unable to get him because he hid in a tent surrounded by
women and children. Other white men were there at the moment and saw
the whole thing. The chiefs of the tribe were so much astonished and
delighted at Pursley's courage that they caused all the horses to be
returned to him.
[Illustration: New Mexican Cart.
Drawing by Julian Scott.
From _Bulletin of the Eleventh Census_.]
He and his partners then went back to their cache intending to take
their goods to St. Louis, but a second time their horses were stolen.
Thereupon they built a canoe and sailed down the Osage, but when near
its mouth they were capsized, and with the exception of their arms and
ammunition, lost everything they possessed. Just at this disheartening
moment along came a barge bound for the upper Missouri. Pursley joined
this company, and arriving in the Mandan country, he was sent on an
expedition to trade with some Paducas and Kiowas. They were all driven
by Sioux into the mountains at the head of the Platte. The natives
with whom they were, some two thousand in number, desired to trade
with the Spaniards, but not knowing how they might be received, they
finally sent Pursley with his white men, and two of their own kind, to
Santa Fé to interview Governor Allencaster. The latter not objecting to
their trading, the two Amerinds returned with that information to their
waiting brethren, while Pursley and his men, having been rather dubious
about ever arriving again among whites, were quite content to remain
in the Spanish towns. They arrived in June, 1805, and Pursley took up
the practice of his trade of carpenter, earning considerable money by
it. He had been in the habit of making his own gunpowder in Kentucky,
and tried doing it here, but on his operations being discovered he came
near being hung. He was forbidden to write, but was told he could have
a passport whenever he wanted it, though they exacted security that he
would not leave without permission.
Another man, whose name was soon to be written for all time upon the
face of this particular region, was at this moment preparing for the
first of two important undertakings.
[Illustration: A Rocky Mountain Torrent.
Photograph by J. K. Hillers, U. S. Geol. Survey.]
The uncertainty of the sources of the Mississippi and of the northern
boundary of Louisiana impelled the astute Jefferson to arrange for
other explorations in that quarter before the return of Lewis and
Clark. For this work a young, brave, and capable officer, Lieutenant
Zebulon Montgomery Pike, was chosen.[68] He proceeded to St. Louis,
and in August, 1805, with a keel boat seventy feet long, and a crew of
one sergeant, two corporals, and seventeen privates, provisioned for
four months, started to explore the Father of Waters to its uppermost
rill. The Amerinds of this region had a great dread of the Americans,
considering them quarrelsome and warlike, hence they would often go
out of the way to avoid a meeting. Yet Pike was generally well received
and one influential chief gave him a special peace pipe to show to the
Sioux above as a sort of passport. It was a request to have him treated
with friendship and respect. At one of the villages this friendship and
respect were indicated by a salute from the guns of a party on shore.
The guns were loaded with ball and, inasmuch as their owners were drunk,
they tried to see how near the boat they could strike without actually
hitting it. Notwithstanding their undesirable condition, Pike presented
them later with several gallons of rum, an action which seems hardly
pardonable in a government officer, yet this issuing to the natives of
intoxicants was common among all officers, traders, and all managers of
fur companies. They knew its diabolical effect, as well as its debasing
and generally demoralising quality, yet they all did it. Of course
the ordinary fur trader desired to intoxicate the natives in order to
overreach them, and traded whiskey, or rather alcohol and water, for
their goods because in this way he made a profit of several hundred per
cent. The great fur companies each used it in their trade because the
others did; but with the officers of the United States Army there was
no excuse for employing this means of gaining the Amerind favour.
The expedition mounted the river without any serious drawback, and
the boats, increased to four all told, were Pike's pride, for he
exclaims on one occasion: "Our four boats under full sail, their flags
streaming before the wind, were altogether a prospect so variegated and
romantic that a man may scarce expect to enjoy such a one but twice or
thrice in the course of his life." They sailed across Lake Pepin with
violins playing, and other music, and altogether seemed to enjoy their
voyage. In this region Jonathan Carver was supposed to have travelled
in 1766-68, and since that time the fur traders from the north and
north-east had operated all over it. When Lewis and Clark were at their
Fort Mandan, a man named Haney visited the place, and they obtained from
him "much geographical information with regard to the country between
the Missouri and Mississippi and the various tribes of Sioux who inhabit
it." Pike found there a number of agents and trappers belonging to the
British fur companies and protested against their occupying the country.
Everything was amicable between them, and after a winter spent in the
region Pike returned, by the river, to St. Louis, the last of April,
1806, about the time that Lewis and Clark were toiling up the Columbia
on their return.
A little more than two months before Lewis and Clark arrived at St.
Louis, Pike was again on the march, this time with his steps directed
toward the mighty peak which now bears his name, and which afterwards
evolved itself into the famous motto of the caravans, "Pike's peak or
bust." It was July 15, 1806, when he made his start on this traverse
of the plains and mountains, apparently with no information as to the
route, with no guides, and with no proper equipment. Of course he had
no intention of blundering around the high mountains in dead of winter,
but it was an impossibility for any party to accomplish the journey out
to the head of Red River and back before cold weather should set in,
therefore, with all the uncertainty, they should have been provided with
winter clothing, but they had nothing of the kind. I should say they had
hardly enough of anything for even a summer campaign. However, where
ignorance is bliss, preliminary suffering is avoided. He was directed
to escort a number of rescued Amerind captives back to their tribe,
and with these he left St. Louis. The whole party consisted of one
lieutenant, one surgeon, one sergeant, two corporals, sixteen privates,
one interpreter, and fifty-one natives of all ages. Up the Missouri,
which somebody has styled the "Mother of Floods,"[69] in two boats,
they worked their way for six weeks to the Osage River. Here the boats
were sold for a hundred dollars and horses were purchased with which to
continue.
The Spaniards on this expedition kept a jealous eye, as indeed they
did on any party from the United States into the region beyond the
Missouri.[70] A strong force in fact had been sent to intercept Pike.
This had gone as far as the Sabine, and then northerly to the Republican
fork, the very place where Pike soon after arrived and found the trail
of his prospective captors. The relations of the United States and Spain
were much strained owing to the Louisiana transaction. The Spaniards
were endeavouring to limit Louisiana as much as possible, while on the
other hand the claims of the United States were as broad as the most
liberal conception of the extent of Louisiana could formulate, and as
Louisiana never had possessed any real demarkation it is easy to see how
far apart the two countries on this subject were. In the region farther
down the river, in the Texas and Orleans districts, the situation was
precarious. While Pike was fitting out, information of his intentions
was forwarded by Spanish agents to their Government. The large armed
force whose trail Pike had now fallen upon was the result. According to
Pike, who afterwards learned all about it from its commander, Malgares,
it had three objects: first, to descend Red River, and if Pike was met
to turn him back; second, to explore the country to the Missouri; third,
to visit a number of the native tribes, make them presents, and renew
the chain of ancient friendship between "his most catholic majesty
and the red people." Furthermore, the commanding officer had orders
to compel all parties in this country to retire to the acknowledged
territory of the United States, or to make prisoners of them and take
them to New Mexico. So the position of Spain with regard to the region
lying along the Missouri River was entirely plain.
It was fortunate that they did not meet with Pike till he was worn out
by exposure and famine, for he certainly would have given battle. But
Malgares, who was a man of "large fortune, generous, well educated, with
a high sense of honour," was later under different circumstances very
kind to Pike, and to the surgeon, Dr. Robinson, so that both became much
attached to him.
On his march he gathered in every American trader and trapper he found
and some of these he sent to Nachitoches, a Spanish post in Texas, where
Pike afterwards found them existing in abject poverty. The army was
made up of one hundred dragoons from the province of Biscay, who had
fitted out on reaching Santa Fé, and were there joined by five hundred
mounted militia, equipped for six months. Each man led two horses and a
mule, making in all over two thousand head of stock. Down Red River they
had gone some 233 miles, before turning to the north-east to reach the
Arkansas, where Malgares left 240 of his men with the worn-out stock,
while with the rest he kept on to the village of the Pawnee Republic,
on the Republican fork of the Kansas River, where he held councils
with various tribes of Pawnees. It was about here that the unfortunate
Villazur party met its sad fate in 1720, and the recollection of
that affair now produced in the Spanish soldiers a desire rather to
revenge the treachery against Villazur by destroying the Pawnees, than
to promote the repairing of the slender links of the ancient amity
chain. In addition to this they seem to have grown discontented. These
considerations and the lame condition of the stock prevented Malgares
from advancing farther or from waiting to intercept Pike, and he was
obliged to take the back track; a lucky thing for the small American
party. By October he was in Santa Fé, where his militia disbanded, but
he remained there with the regular troops. He was well out of Pike's
way, as it was the end of September before the American party came upon
the trail of the Spaniards on the Republican fork.
[Illustration: A Glade for the Weary. Altitude 8000 Feet.
Photograph by F. S. Dellenbaugh.]
This was probably the region that Coronado reached in his eastward march
two and a half centuries earlier—and it was little different from what
it was at that time.
Pike immediately demanded from the Pawnees the Spanish flag which
Malgares had given them in token of their allegiance to the Spanish
king, and he presented them instead with a flag of the United States;
but he finally returned the Spanish flag on condition that it should not
be displayed during his stay. The Pawnee chief on his part urged Pike
to turn back, and admitted that he had agreed with the Spaniards to stop
him, but the American officer, whatever faults he may have had, was not
of a temper to be easily stopped, and probably the Pawnee chief observed
this, for he made no attempt to prevent the expedition from proceeding.
He told a good deal about the Spanish visit which Pike recorded, but
these papers and all others were taken from him later. Here they heard
the pleasant news of the safe return of Lewis and Clark, and doubtless
Pike looked forward to an equally brilliant accomplishment. But he
had to deal with an additional factor or obstacle, the Spaniards, and
consequently, as he persisted in putting his head in the lion's mouth,
it closed upon him. Lewis and Clark had certain other advantages in
threading the unknown Wilderness; the natives there had not yet been
deceived, swindled, and unjustly shot, and the British had no force in
that quarter to interrupt their progress even if such a desire had been
present in the British mind: the Spaniards were even more handicapped.
Pike, on the other hand, was on a sort of highway, where the Spaniards
had already been searching for him. After delivering his wards at their
home camp, he kept on his westward way, following the trail of Malgares,
where it was not obliterated by the bison herds, reaching the Arkansas,
and then pursuing a course up that stream. On October 28th, Lieutenant
Wilkinson was sent back with letters. His party descended the Arkansas
with two boats, one a skin canoe, in which he embarked with three
soldiers and an Osage, and a wooden canoe with the baggage, manned by
another soldier and an Osage, while one more soldier walked along the
shore.
Pike's plan was to follow up the Arkansas as far as the mountains
or as the Comanches, and then go south to Red River, returning home
by this stream.[71] Had he not deviated from this plan it is likely
that his expedition would have been able to return without serious
suffering, but he departed from it when he reached the mountains, there
turning north to find Red River, instead of south as he had intended.
On November 15th, as they were pushing along on the wide plain, he
thought he detected the suggestion of the great range, and half an hour
later the splendid line of peaks came in full view. Then "the Mexican
mountains were cheered three times," but had they realised the amount
of suffering and misery they were to endure amidst those enticing forms,
these cheers instead would have been tears, bitter tears. They were now
filled with the idea of arriving the next day at the foot of the long
line of billowy enchantment, but the following night they seemed no
nearer than before. They here, however, had plenty to eat, and feasted
on marrow bones, for enormous herds of buffalo encompassed them. They
had the wisdom to dry a large supply of the meat to carry along; but it
ought to have been far larger. On the 22d a war party of Grand Pawnees
was encountered, and Pike was fearful of a clash, which indeed was
always imminent in the region they had now entered, extending along
the eastern base of the mountains and termed later the "War Road," or
"Hostile Ground," because it seemed to be a sort of lawless area, where
every tribe felt at liberty to attack anything that came in its way.
There were sixty of the Pawnees and only sixteen of the Americans, so
that the battle would have been uneven, half of the Pawnees being armed
with guns. But they had a powwow, and the Amerinds asked for corn,
ammunition, blankets, etc. Pike gave them presents and invited them to
smoke and eat,—an invitation which was accepted, and the relations were
not unpleasant till the Americans began to pack up, when the Pawnees
took to stealing what they could. Thereupon Pike announced to them that
he would kill the next one who touched the baggage, which had the proper
effect, and each party continued on its own way.
On the 24th of November they arrived at the "Grand Fork"—that is, at
about the place where Pueblo, Colorado, now stands. Here they made
a sort of fort, or as Pike calls it a "breastwork," of logs for the
protection of the main body which Pike designed to leave here while he,
with three of his men, should scout up the North Fork, or Fontaine qui
Bouille. This was the first establishment of any kind by Americans, near
the site of Pueblo, or in any part of Colorado.
In thirty-four miles Pike reached the foot of the mountains and climbed
to the summit of one where the snow was middle deep. The cold was
intense, and the party suffered greatly, as they were not clothed for
winter. In fact they could hardly be said to be clothed at all, for they
had only overalls and no socks. Expeditions in fitting out are inclined
to go to extremes. They either show an absurd contempt for equipment
and neglect essentials, or they load themselves down with luxuries.[72]
In breaking the Wilderness the majority of parties were inadequately
supplied, especially with food. Pike's was a good sample of this lack
of foresight. Lewis and Clark fall somewhat in the same category, but
they had good luck. From the summit on which Pike stood he could see
the "Grand Peak" about fifteen miles away, the same which afterwards
was given his name, and to-day is one of the most celebrated mountains
in the world, because it is not only high and beautiful, but for many
years stood an emblem of the danger and privation endured by those who
entered within the radius of its shining top.
[Illustration: Pike's Peak through the Gateway of the Garden of the Gods.
(Pike Got his View of it from a Mountain to the Left, not Seen.)
Photograph by C. C. Pierce & Co.]
Returning to the main camp where the men were suffering from lack of
clothing and blankets, Pike led the way, not south to the headwaters of
Red River, but on up the Arkansas. Just what his idea was is difficult
to comprehend. They had bad weather, a great deal of snow, and severe
cold. Under the circumstances, the only sensible thing to have done,
was to find a good place for a camp, and from that point reconnoitre
thoroughly before making the next move. This would have spared them an
immense amount of hardship, and it seems to me what sound judgment would
have directed. Had they done this, they would have found the trails
leading toward the Spanish settlements and the heads of the Canadian
and Red rivers. But, instead, they went blunderingly on, entirely
unprepared for winter in any climate, yet deliberately climbing to
heights where they would be in that of the North Pole. They finally
found themselves on the head of the South Platte. Here they saw signs
of a large party they thought was that of Malgares, but it was natives.
Then their troubles increased, mainly because they had no suspicion of
where they ought to go and were unprepared for going anywhere. They
blindly followed the Platte for a day or two and then concluded to
strike south-west to find Red River. The result was they got on the head
of the Arkansas again. They had neither clothing, blankets, nor shoes.
Had they encamped in the beginning at the foot of the mountains, they
might have provided themselves abundantly with all three. At length they
made a sled to carry the baggage, and after a while divided into eight
parties, all travelling at different rates.
Pike now saw that he was not on Red River at all, but he believed he
had seen the headwaters of "La Platte, the Arkansaw, and the Pierre
Jaune," and here perhaps is a solution of the object of his aimless
wandering. He wanted to make some great discovery. He was correct on
the designation of his first two rivers, but not on the third, for the
Roche Jaune which he meant, in English the Yellowstone, takes its rise
at least three hundred miles north of his position. After a great deal
of wearisome travel, and suffering from cold and famine, they arrived
at the same spot where they had encamped on December 10th, at the
mouth of what is now Currant Creek above Cañon City. A week later Pike
decided to build a fort here for the protection of the baggage, and
leave the interpreter and one other to guard it, while with packs on
their backs all the rest were to strike out afresh across the mountain
for Red River. On the 14th of January, 1807, they started. Each carried
forty-five pounds and some provisions, making with his arms a load of
about seventy pounds, no very easy weight to carry continuously, day
after day. Proceeding southward through Wet Mountain valley they finally
came to the head of the Huerfano, and then saw the great White Mountain,
or Blanca Peak.[73] Nine of the men now frosted their feet, and on
the 20th, three days after, two were in such a condition they could
not proceed, and on the 22d they were left behind in as comfortable
circumstances as were possible. All the provisions, except enough for
one meal, were left with them. Food had been a scarcer thing than ever
with the party, and a day or two before, Pike was so exhausted that he
nearly swooned.
At last, on the 28th of January, they stumbled on a trail leading down
the "White Mountains" (Sierra Blanca), a trail which had been worked by
men and had hieroglyphs cut on trees. This was through Mosca Pass, 9700
feet altitude, and following it westward they soon saw the Rio Grande
flowing southward, and thought at last they had found the object of
their search. But more disappointments were in preparation. They were
now in San Luis valley after an immense amount of misery and exhaustion
which were entirely unnecessary. Had they sensibly reconnoitred from
their breastwork at the Pueblo site, they would have discovered the
Pueblo-Ute-Spanish trails across the mountains to San Luis valley, by
way of Veta and of Sangre de Cristo passes. They could also have found
the headwaters of the Canadian, and those of Red River. They need not
have suffered for food or clothing, and they would have saved time, and
perhaps have avoided the Spaniards, if Pike really intended to do so.
Here they shot deer and supplied themselves with meat, and on a large
west branch, Rio Conejos, a fort was built about five miles from the
junction, on the north bank. This was thirty-six feet square, of heavy
logs, twelve feet high, protected at the top by sharp stakes slanting
over for about thirty inches. Around this they made a moat four feet
wide, filled with water. It is evident that Pike saw here signs of
Spaniards, and expected trouble even though he supposed he was on
Red River and considered himself within American territory.[74] The
Spaniards did not so consider Red River, as is entirely clear from the
expedition of Malgares. No matter where they found Pike, they intended
to turn him back or take him prisoner. The doctor, Robinson, left
the party now and continued on to Santa Fé, his pretext for entering
being Morrison's claim against the dishonest LaLande, Morrison having
requested him to settle the matter.
Some men were now sent back to bring in those left behind, but poor
Sparks and Dougherty, the ones who had frozen their feet, could not
travel; they sent instead, to prove it, bones they had taken out.
On the 26th, two Frenchmen visited the fort with information that a
detachment of Spanish soldiers was coming to protect the Americans from
an attack by the Utes. A few days before this a Spanish dragoon with
a Pueblo had come, and the following day, the 17th of February, they
went away. They had been sent out on the arrival at Santa Fé of Dr.
Robinson. The body that was now approaching was therefore aware of the
situation and accordingly acted with great diplomacy. Pike considered it
deception, as indeed it was, but in the end this method was better for
all concerned than a cold demand for surrender. Fifty dragoons and fifty
mounted militia appeared under command of Don Ignacio Salleto, who was
politeness itself. He was very careful not to ruffle Pike's pride. They
had breakfast and then Don Ignacio put in operation his diplomacy. He
said: "Señor, the Governor of New Mexico being informed you had missed
your route, ordered me to offer you in his name mules, horses, money,
or whatever you may stand in need of to conduct you to the head of Red
River, as from Santa Fé to where it is sometimes navigable is eight
days' journey, and we have guides and the routes of traders to conduct
us."
"What," exclaimed Pike, "is not this Red River?"
"No, Señor, the Rio del Norte."
Pike immediately ordered his flag to be taken down, for he considered
he had committed trespass. From the Spanish point of view he had been a
trespasser ever since he left the Missouri, and had he been on Red River
it would have made no difference to them. As soon as he consented to go
to Santa Fé to visit the governor, Don Ignacio ordered his men to supply
the Americans with blankets and provisions, and from this time on they
were comfortably fed again. The next day Pike discovered the agreeable
Don Ignacio writing a letter addressed to the Governor, thus proving
that he was not himself going on with Pike, and that the whole American
company were really under arrest. They would not have been able to
resist, anyhow, in their destitute condition. It was too late to change
circumstances, so Pike went with the escort down the river. On the road
at one of the villages Baptiste LaLande tried to play the spy upon them,
but did not succeed. Arriving at Santa Fé, Governor Allencaster treated
Pike politely, but he never swerved from his purpose of securing all
of Pike's papers to send to headquarters. The conversation with the
Governor was carried on in French, a language which neither appears to
have wielded fluently.
"You came to reconnoitre our country?" said the Governor.
"I marched to reconnoitre my own," said Pike.
"In what character are you?" asked the Governor.
[Illustration: Vegetation of the South-West.
Photograph by F. S. Dellenbaugh.]
"In my proper character, an officer of the United States Army," replied
Pike.
Here he met Pursley, who had been nearly two years in Santa Fé, and who
told him he had found gold on the head of the Platte, and had carried
some of it about with him in his shot pouch for months, till he believed
he would never again reach civilisation and threw it away. This is
the first American mention of gold existing in that region. He told
the Spaniards about it, and they wanted him to show the way, but he
concluded it was on American territory, and also that such a discovery
might interfere with his leaving the country. Copper mining was going
on in New Mexico at a place down the river below Socorro.
All the Americans were treated well at Santa Fé, and presently were
sent under escort to headquarters of General Salcedo, at Chihuahua. The
commander of the troop was Malgares, the same who had made the fruitless
tour to the Pawnee country to intercept Pike. The journey to Chihuahua
was most agreeable, for Pike and Dr. Robinson had become well acquainted
at Santa Fé with Malgares and had found him a delightful personality.
Robinson says, "He was a gentleman, a soldier, and one of the most
gallant men you ever knew," consequently, excepting the fact that they
were prisoners, the route southward, in the splendid sunny air of New
Mexico and Old, was agreeable enough. The Americans were everywhere well
received by persons in authority, and there was nothing to complain of
in this respect.
General Salcedo was as polite as Allencaster, and, though he considered
the invasion "an offence of magnitude," on full consideration it was
decided to return the Americans to their own country. Accordingly, they
were sent back by way of San Antonio and Nachitoches.
Geographically, Pike's expedition added little to American knowledge of
the Wilderness, yet it served to make clearer the conditions existing
between the Missouri and the foot of the mountains. Politically it
emphasised the claims of the United States in that direction, but much
remained to be adjusted before anything definite could come out of the
chaos.
FOOTNOTES:
[68] Pike was later captain, then major, then general. He was
killed at York, Upper Canada, in the War of 1812. He was about the
age of Meriwether Lewis.
[69] Charles Joseph Latrobe, a companion of Washington Irving on
the plains. He wrote _The Rambler in North America_.
[70] About this time the Marquis Casa Calvo had given an American,
Dunbar, permission to explore the Red River and Wichita country.
[71] Coues suggests that Pike was really bound for Santa Fé and
fully intended to allow himself to be captured. It is possible that
he had some secret compact with General Wilkinson and Aaron Burr.
[72] I find that the majority of men object to having an
over-abundance of provisions, even of the staple sort. It
seems often to be considered a sort of cowardice to provide for
unforeseen food emergencies, yet these are the very ones which
wreck expeditions. Some one compact staple should always be carried
in extravagant quantity, and there are ways of doing it.
[73] See the frontispiece. They came down into the valley behind
the left-hand peak. The exact route from Wet Mountain valley to the
Rio Grande is uncertain, also the pass. See Coues on these points.
[74] Coues pertinently asks, if Pike thought himself on Red River,
why did he cross it into acknowledged Spanish territory and there
build his fort. Robinson also knew he was near Santa Fé.
[Illustration]