But not this story. While Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were on their way back to St. Louis on the Missouri in 1805, Zebulon Pike was leading an exploring expedition up the Mississippi to find the source of that great river.
He thought he found it at Leech Lake in Minnesota--he was incorrect, Henry Schoolcraft finally discovered the headwaters at Lake Itasca in 1832.
Which is a reason why you don't hear much about this journey of Pike's. But after that one ended, Pike led another expedition to explore the southern portion of the Louisiana Purchase. It was on this trek that Colorado's Pikes Peak was named.
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| Bear Mound |
But there is another Pikes Peak--in Iowa. It's a 500 foot high bluff near McGregor, Iowa--across from the mouth of the Wisconsin River. Unlike the other Pikes Peak, Zebulon climbed this one, and deemed it a worthy location for a fort. The federal government didn't agree, they chose nearby Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin instead.
As you can see in the photographs, the peak offers superb views of the Mississippi and the Wisconsin Rivers.
The first recorded Europeans to see Iowa--and Pike's Peak--were explorers Father Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet in 1673.
Native Americans were there much earlier. Besides the vista, the other remarkable feature of Pike's Peak are the Effigy Mounds built by Mississippian Culture Indians. Their civilization flourished from roughly 800 A.D. to 1400. They are best known for mound building, many of them are burial sites. Over the next few posts I'll be exploring Effigy Mounds National Monument.
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| Bridal Veil Falls |
Effigy Mounds were built in shapes, usually resembling animals. Since Mississippian Indians didn't possess writing, we don't know the relevance of the effigies. The dead were buried with weapons and pottery--perhaps the idea was to make the journey to the afterlife comfortable for the deceased.
Where there is elevation and water, there are water falls. Bridal Veil Falls is a half-mile walk from the viewing platform where I took the top photograph.
Next: Effigy Mounds National Monument
Earlier post:
New travel series: Iowa I Opener and Buffalo Bill
Related posts:
My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: The Natchez Trace Part Two, Indian Mounds
My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: The Father of Waters
My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: Mississippi River at Vicksburg
Upper Peninsula Upventure: Father Marquette
Upper Peninsula Upventure: Eagle River Falls
Upper Peninsula Upventure: Canyon Falls
Upper Peninsula Upventure: Agate Falls
Four Corners Furtherance: Colorado River and I-70
California Collision: Yosemite Falls
California Collision: Bridalveil Fall
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