by Gerald Boerner
“He was a man, he always performed his promises.”
— Lt. Zebulon Pike
“In my proper character, I am an officer of the United States Army.”
— Lt. Zebulon Pike
“At two o’clock in the afternoon I thought I could distinguish a mountain to our right, which appeared like a small blue cloud…”
— Lt. Zebulon Pike
“I differ materially from Capt. Lewis, in my account of the numbers, manners, and morals of the Sioux.”
— Lt. Zebulon Pike
“Nothing that Zebulon Montgomery Pike ever tried to do was easy, and most of his luck was bad.”
— Donald Jackson, Editor of Pike’s Letters and Journals
“American agents… are the only persons authorized to hold councils of a political nature.”
— Lt. Zebulon Pike
“A discontented young fellow, filled with self pride; he certainly should have considered it an honor to be sent on so respectable an embassy as he was.”
— Lt. Zebulon Pike
“It was the wish of the Americans that their red brethren should remain peacefully round their own fires, and not embroil themselves in any disputes between the white people.”
— Lt. Zebulon Pike
“…geography of the country had turned out to be so different from our expectation; we were some what at a loss which course to pursue, unless we attempted to cross the sno cap’d mountains…”
— Lt. Zebulon Pike
“…as high again as what we had ascended [Pike’s Peak is 14,110 feet tall], and it would have taken a whole day’s march to arrive at its base, when I believe no human being could have ascended to its pinical [sic].”
— John Patrick Murphy
Discovering Pikes Peak
Zebulon Montgomery Pike Jr. was an American soldier and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named. His Pike expedition, often compared to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, mapped much of the southern portion of the Louisiana Purchase.
His father, also named Zebulon Pike, was an officer in the Continental Army under General George Washington and served in the United States Army after the end of the Revolutionary War. The younger Pike grew to adulthood in a series of Midwestern outposts — the frontier of the United States at the time — in Ohio and Illinois. He joined his father’s regiment as a cadet in 1794, earned a commission as ensign in 1799 and a first lieutenancy later that year.
Southwest expedition
Nearly immediately upon his return Pike was ordered out once again to lead an exploratory expedition to find the headwaters of the Arkansas River and Red River. Near St. Louis on July 15, 1806, Pike led what is now known as “the Pike expedition” from Fort Bellefontaine to explore the southwest.
Pike never successfully reached the summit of the famous peak that bears his name. He attempted it in November 1806, made it as far as Mt. Rosa to the southeast of Pikes Peak, and gave up the ascent in waist-deep snow after having gone almost two days without food.
Climbing Pikes Peak, Colorado,
in winter, rounding Windy Point,
ca. 1890
This journey, which he is most remembered for, ended with his capture on February 26, 1807 by Spanish authorities in northern New Mexico, now part of Colorado. Pike and his men were taken to Santa Fe, then to Chihuahua where he appeared before the Commandant General Salcedo. Salcedo housed Pike with Juan Pedro Walker, a cartographer, who also acted as an interpreter and as a transcriber/translator for Pike’s confiscated documents. It was while with Walker that Pike had access to various maps of the southwest and learned of Mexican discontent with Spanish rule. Pike and his men were released, under protest, to the United States at the Louisiana border on July 1, 1807.
Pike was promoted to captain without his knowledge while on the southwestern expedition. In 1811, he was listed as Lt. Col. Zebulon M. Pike with the 4th Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Tippecanoe. He was promoted to colonel in 1812. He continued his role as a military functionary, serving as deputy quartermaster-general in New Orleans and inspector-general during the War of 1812.
Journals
Although his actual journals were confiscated by the Spanish authorities, and not recovered from Mexico until the 1900s, Pike’s account of his southwest expedition was published in 1810 as The expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike to headwaters of the Mississippi River, through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain, during the years 1805-6-7 and later published in French, German, and Dutch. His account became required reading for all American explorers that followed him in the 19th century. Pike’s account had a dramatic effect on the exploration of the southwest. He described the politics in Chihuahua that led to the Mexican independence movement, as well as the trade conditions in New Mexico and Chihuahua, which descriptions helped promote the development of the Santa Fe Trail.
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak (originally Pike’s Peak) is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, 10 miles (16 km) west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in El Paso County. It is named for Zebulon Pike, an explorer who led an expedition to the southern Colorado area in 1806. At 14,115 feet (4,302 m), it is one of Colorado’s 54 fourteeners. Drivers race up the mountain in a famous annual race called the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The peak is also the annual site of the Pikes Peak Marathon and Ascent foot races on the Barr Trail. An upper portion of Pikes Peak is a federally designated National Historic Landmark.
Much of the fame of Pikes Peak is due to its location along the eastern edge of the Rockies. Pikes Peak is the easternmost fourteen thousand foot peak in the United States. Unlike most other similarly tall mountains in Colorado, it serves as a visible landmark for many miles to the east, far into the Great Plains of Colorado. As one drives south on Interstate 25 towards the city of Colorado Springs, it comes into view from a distance of more than 130 miles (210 km). On a clear day, the peak can be seen from Denver (over 60 miles (97 km) north), points south of Pueblo (up to 76 miles) and from locations near the Kansas border to the east.
Pikes Peak is made of a characteristic pink granite, called Pikes Peak granite. The pink color is due to a large amount of potassium feldspar. The granite was formed by an igneous intrusion in the Pre-Cambrian, approximately 1.05 billion years ago, during the Grenville orogeny.
Other Events on this Day
- In 1777…
The Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation, the basic charter of the government that preceded the U.S. Constitution. - In 1805…
The Lewis and Clark expedition reaches the mouth of the Columbia River. - In 1806…
Zebulon Pike spots the mountain now known as Pikes Peak. - In 1896…
Streetlights in Buffalo, New York, switch on using power generated 25 miles away Niagara Falls, the first long-distance transmission of hydroelectricity. - In 1939…
President Frankllin D. Roosevelt lays the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial. - In 1969…
A quarter million anti-Vietnam War protestors march in Washington, D.C.
Dates and events based on:
William J. Bennett and John Cribb, (2008) The American Patriot’s Almanac Daily Readings on America. (Kindle Edition)
Background information is from Wikipedia articles on:
Zebulon Pike that can be found at…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebulon_Pike
Pikes Peak that can be found at…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikes_Peak
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