Zebulon Pike - 1807

Portrait of Zebulon Pike

Courtesy Independence National Historical Park

In 1806, US President Thomas Jefferson sent young Lieutenant Zebulon Pike and 20 soldiers to explore the Louisiana Purchase and the origins of the Red River. They rode horses to the Rocky Mountains from St. Louis, returning displaced Osage people to their homeland along the way.

At the onset of the winter season in the mountains, Pike’s contingent attempted to climb what later became his namesake mountain, Pikes Peak. Snowstorms forced the party down. Leaving the horses behind, they continued on foot south and then west, looking for a way into the mountains. Following the Arkansas River upstream, they turned into the Wet Mountain Valley, but snow and cold continued to increase. With only their summer uniforms, the men were starving and frostbitten, subsisting on occasional deer or bison, and wrapping bison fur around their bodies for warmth. In these conditions, most would have turned back to lower elevations to seek help, but Pike pushed on.

It was now January 1807, the coldest part of winter, with temperatures dropping below zero F most nights. Leaving the most frostbitten men at the eastern base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the group waded through deep snow over Medano Pass, camping at the base of the Great Sand Dunes. Pike wrote: “When we encamped, I ascended one of the largest hills of sand, and with my glass could discover a large river…The sand-hills extended up and down the foot of the White [Sangre de Cristo] Mountains about 15 miles, and appeared to be about 5 miles in width. Their appearance was exactly that of the sea in a storm, except as to color…" This is the first known written description of the Great Sand Dunes.

 

Pike's Stockade, a small log fort beside the confluence of the Conejos and Rio Grande Rivers, has been partially reconstructed. It is managed by Fort Garland Museum and Cultural Center.

NPS

The group continued across the valley floor and built a small fort near the confluence of the Rio Grande and Conejos Rivers. In late winter the men were discovered by Spanish soldiers, who escorted them to Chihuahua (in modern day Mexico) for questioning. They were later released, and all but soldier made it home. After surviving this incredible journey, Zebulon Pike gave his life for his country just a few years later in the War of 1812.