Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
Maj. Zebulon Pike travels up the Mississippi, 1805-1806
An Account of Expeditions to the Sources of the Mississippi, and Through the Western Parts of Louisiana...
In the summer of 1805, Pike was ordered to explore the upper Mississippi River, where English fur traders from Canada were reported to be working illegally on American soil. He headed north on August 9, 1805, in a seventy-foot keelboat and on September 23 reached modern Minneapolis. After wintering further upriver, raising the American flag over the British fort, and meeting with the Dakota Indians, his expedition returned to St. Louis on April 30, 1806. On pages 12-23 Pike describes the Wisconsin portion of the trip upriver; when searching the text of this book, note that he always spells the name of the state and river "Ouiscousing." On pages 99-101 he describes his return visit to Prairie du Chien (which he spells "Prairie des Cheins") the next spring, including a game of lacrosse and his conversations with Ho-Chunk and Sioux leaders. The "Appendix to Part 1" includes his descriptions of Wisconsin Indians.
| Related Topics: |
Explorers, Traders, and Settlers Early U.S. Settlement |
| Creator: | Pike, Zebulon Montgomery, 1779-1813 |
| Pub Data: | Philadelphia: Published by C. & A. Conrad, & Co.; Somervell & Conrad; Bonsal, Conrad and Co.; and Fielding Lucas, Jr., 1810 |
| Citation: | Pike, Zebulon Montgomery. An Account of Expeditions to the Sources of the Mississippi, and Through the Western Parts of Louisiana...(Philadelphia, 1810). Online facsimile at: http://www.americanjourneys.org/aj-143/index.asp; Visited on: 4/26/2024 |
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