Council with the Sioux.

At the beautiful falls of St. Anthony, Pike held a council with the Sioux, and got them to make a grant of about a hundred thousand acres in the neighborhood of the falls; and he tried vainly to make peace between the Sioux and the Chippewas.  In his search for the source of the Mississippi he penetrated deep into the lovely lake-dotted region of forests and prairies which surrounds the head-waters of the river.  He did not reach Lake Itasca; but he did explore the Leech Lake drainage system, which he mistook for the true source.

    Hoists the American Flag.

At the British trading-posts, strong log structures fitted to repel Indian attacks, Pike was well received.  Where he found the British flag flying he had it hauled down and the American flag hoisted in its place, making both the Indians and the traders understand that the authority of the United States was supreme in the land.  In the spring he floated down stream and reached St. Louis on the last day of April, 1806.

    Returns to St. Louis and Starts Westward.

In July he was again sent out, this time on a far more dangerous and important trip.  He was to march west to the Rocky Mountains, and explore the country towards the head of the Rio Grande, where the boundary line between Mexico and Louisiana was very vaguely determined.  His party numbered twenty-three all told, including Lieutenant J. B. Wilkinson, a son of the general, and a Dr. J. H. Robinson, whose special business it was to find out everything possible about the Spanish provinces, or, in plain English, to act as a spy.  The party was also accompanied by fifty Osage Indians, chiefly women and children who had been captured by the Potowatomies, and whose release and return to their homes had been brought about by the efforts of the United States Government.  The presence of these redeemed captives of course kept the Osages in good humor with Pike’s party.

    Pike Journeys to the Osage and Pawnee Villages.

The party started in boats, and ascended the Osage River as far as it was navigable.  They then procured horses and travelled to the great Pawnee village known as the Pawnee Republic, which gave its name to the Republican River.  Before reaching the Pawnee village they found that a Spanish military expedition, several hundred strong, under an able commander named Malgares, had anticipated them, by travelling through the debatable land, and seeking to impress upon the Indians that the power of the Spanish nation was still supreme.  Malgares had travelled from New Mexico across the Arkansas into the Pawnee country; during much of his subsequent route Pike followed the Spaniard’s trail.  The Pawnees had received from Malgares Spanish flags, as tokens of Spanish sovereignty.  Doubtless the ceremony meant little or nothing to them; and Pike had small difficulty in getting the chiefs and warriors of the village to hoist the American flag instead.  But they showed a very decided disinclination to let him continue his journey westward.  However, he would not be denied.  Though with perfect good temper, he gave them to understand that he would use force if they ventured to bar his passage; and they finally let him go by.  Later he had a somewhat similar experience with a large Pawnee war party.