What Happened While Lewis and Clark Were Gone?

Photo:  Library of Congress

It’s possible that when the men of the Corps stopped on September 22, 1806, at the newly constructed Fort Belle Fountaine, north of St. Louis, they would have been informed of another explorer and his expeditions.

In 1805, U.S. Army General James Wilkinson ordered Zebulon Pike to lead 20 soldiers on a reconnaissance of the upper Mississippi River. Expecting to return before the river froze, Pike and his small band traveled up the Mississippi in a 70-foot keelboat in early August. Slow progress, however, meant Pike and his men spent a hard winter near present-day Little Falls, Minnesota before returning in the spring of 1806.

Lewis and Clark may also have been told that Pike had departed in July from Fort Belle Fountaine on his second expedition. Although locals may not have known Pike’s plans, they did know he and his party headed west up the Missouri River. Pike ultimately explored the west and southwest, including today’s Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana.