In St. Louis, the captains prepare to travel to Washington City along with Pierre Chouteau, an Osage delegation, and Mandan chief Sheheke and his family.
At Kitkahahki—a Pawnee village on the Republican River near present Guide Rock, Nebraska, the Pike Expedition prepares to leave. Lt. Pike dispatches an express with letters for United States Army Commander James Wilkinson and Secretary of War Henry Dearborn.
© 2013 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Pike’s Express
Marched my express. Purchasing horses and preparing to march on the morrow.
—Zebulon Pike[1]Donald Jackson, The Journals of Zebulon Montgomery Pike (Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1966), 1:31.
Long before the introduction of the “Pony Express” in 1860, expresses were often dispatched to deliver mail and messages in an expedited manner. For example, near this date, Patrick Gass arrived at the Falls of the Ohio with William Clark’s letter announcing the return of the Expedition. See 5 October 1806.
Coincidentally, as one of his first actions as Superintendent of Indian Affairs, William Clark would pay Pike’s messenger for his service. Pike’s certificate dated 6 October 1806 requested to pay “Charlo” $20.[2]National Archives, Journals of the Army Accountant, Record Group 217 cited in Journals, 1:331n92.
Notes
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Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
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