1806 - 7
Travel the route of these explorers and read Lt. Pike's own words from his journal.
U.S. Army Expedition to explore the United States new southwest boundary with New Spain.
The men:Lt. Zebulon M. Pike
Dr. John H. Robinson
Sgt. William Meek
Corp. Jeremish Jackson
privates:
John Brown
Jacob Carter
William Gordon
Theodore Miller
John Mountjoy
Alexander Roy
Freegift Stout
The Expedition:29th January: 1807 (Pike)
"Finding the distance too great to attempt crossing immediately to the river, ... we marched obliquely to a copse of woods, which made a considerable distance from the mountains. Saw sign of horses.
30th January: 1807 (Pike)
We marched hard and arrived in the evening on the bank of Rio del Norte".
Site of this sign:You are standing upon a trail well traveled for centuries. The mountains towering above form a ring around Mount Blanca, known to the Navajo as the Sacred Mtn. of the East. Today, thousands of visitors annually make their own trek to the Great Sand Dunes and San Luis Lakes. These natural wonders have been destinations for humans since ancient times.
From the careful logbooks by early explorers like Lewis & Clark and Zebulon Pike, the mapmakers of Washington were kept busy creating new images of the mostly unknown Rocky Mountains. This original map was published in 1807.
November 27th:"The unbounded prairie was overhung with clouds, which appeared like the ocean in a storm ... the thermometer ... here fell to 4 degrees below 0."
1806 (Pike)
December 25th:"800 miles from the frontiers of our country, in the most inclement season of the year, not one person clothed for the winter; many without blankets, ..."
1806 (Pike)
(Text in lower right corner is illegible)
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