A wonderful map of the upper Mississippi, based largely on the findings of Zebulon Pike during his expedition of 1805-1806.

Zebulon Pike
A native of New Jersey and son of an officer in the U.S. Army, Pike (1779-1813) grew up at a series of outposts on the northwest frontier. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant some time around the turn of the century, made lieutenant soon thereafter, and eventually came to the attention of General James Wilkinson. Wilkinson was at the time the United States’ most senior general and from 1805-1807 served as Governor of the newly-acquired Louisiana Territory (He was also one of the great scoundrels of American history, having been involved in the Burr conspiracy and on the payroll of the Spanish secret service.)

In the summer of 1805 Wilkinson ordered Pike to lead an expedition from St. Louis to explore the upper reaches of the Mississippi River. Pike was to

“… lead a reconnaissance to locate the source of the Mississippi River, collect geographic information about the regions of its headwaters, negotiate peace treaties with local Indian tribes, and assert the legal claim of the United States to the area…. [Pike] and twenty soldiers set out from St. Louis and ascended the Mississippi to a point near Little Falls in Minnesota, where they made a winter camp on the west side of the river. From there, Pike and a small contingent of his party headed overland by sled to present-day Leech Lake, which he mistakenly identified as the “main” source of the Mississippi (he also identified Red Cedar Lake as the river’s “upper source.”) After negotiating with the Dakota for the purchase of 155,000 acres of land at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers (the future site of Fort Snelling), Pike made his way back to St. Louis, where he arrived at the end of April, 1806.” (Holland, p. 106)

Soon thereafter, Wilkinson ordered Pike on another epic reconnaissance: to ascertain the route of the Red River–the southern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase—and locate its source, and then to scout out Santa Fe, the capital of the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico in New Spain. After many adventures—including a failed ascent of what came to be known as Pike’s Peak—he and his men ventured west of the Rio Grande, where they were captured by Spanish forces. They were released in 1807, returning to the United States with a trove of intelligence about New Spain.

Map of the Mississippi River
In 1810, Pike arranged for the private publication of his narrative of the two expeditions, bearing the long-winded title An Account of Expeditions to the Sources of the Mississippi, and Through the Western Parts of Louisiana, to the Sources of the Arkansaw, Kans, La Platte, and Pierre Jaun, Rivers; … During the Years 1805, 1806, and 1807. And a Tour Through the Interior Parts of New Spain, When Conducted Through These Provinces, by order of The Captain-General, in the year 1807. The Account was illustrated by six maps, including the map of the upper Mississippi River offered here.

The map was compiled by Nicholas King (1771-1812), then serving as Surveyor for the City of Washington. Previously King had done much cartographic work for the Jefferson Administration, including compiling maps for use by the Lewis and Clark Expedition and then preparing some of the earliest maps based on William Clark’s sketches. King based this map of the Mississippi largely on Pike’s own findings, but also incorporated astronomical observations made by Clark (not, as the title states, Meriweather Lewis) at the mouth of the Missouri River and by Hudson Bay Company geographer David Thompson at Upper Red Cedar Lake.

“Using Pike’s field notes and sketch maps, Wilkinson’s cartographer Antoine Nau compiled an oversized four-sheet manuscript map of the upper Mississippi River, which… was reduced and redrawn by Nicholas King. The map is generally limited to the area along Pike’s route up the Mississippi, although the Des Moines River and its tributaries are also depicted (as based on information Pike obtained from traders). Four trading posts built by the Mackinac Fur Trading Company are shown along the river, confirmation of British influence among the Fox and Sauk Indians in the region. Pike’s winter stockade is located, as well as the land grant Pike obtained from the Dakota.” (Holland, pp. 106-107)

Adhering to Pike’s own conclusion, King’s map depicts Leech and Red Cedar Lakes as the sources of the Mississippi. It was a noble effort, and the closest anyone had come so far, but the Schoolcraft and Nicollet expeditions of the 1830s demonstrated that the source was well to the west, in the streams feeding Lake Itasca.

Having made in just a few short years major contributions to knowledge of the American West, Pike came to a tragic end: In April 1813, by then a brigadier general, he was commanding troops at the capture of York (now Toronto, Ontario), when he was killed by debris from an exploding British magazine.

References
Robert A. Holland, The Mississippi River in Maps & Views, pp. 106-107, illus. pp. 108-109. Phillips, Maps of America, p. 439. Rumsey #0730.06.