Western Expansion

When we look at the exploration of the western United States, we immediately think of the two explorers Lewis and Clark and their trip across the continent. People think that Lewis and Clark explored everything that was west of the US(at the time), including Colorado. But the truth is, Lewis and Clark bypassed Colorado and everything south of it all together. The person who actually explored Colorado was a man by the name of Zebulon Pike(and yes, he was the one who Pike’s Peak was named after.)

He was sent out west by the US government to find the source of the Arkansas River. So he set out west from the Mississippi River, and followed the Arkansas River across the plains and into Colorado. When mountains were first in sight, the only one Pike could see was present day Pike’s Peak, which was the first thing other than grass that he had seen in months. When he was close enough, he decided that he was going to climb it, then declared the mountain un-climbable because he thought it was smart to climb it in the middle of wither with 1-2 feet of snow on the mountain. He moved on and kept following the river to find its source.

Once he found it, he sent half his party back to the East, and took the rest down into Spanish territory. That was a big mistake. The Spanish were very protective of their land, so once Pick and his company set foot onto their land, they were arrested and all of their belongings were taken front them. This meant that all of Pike research was lost, and once he was released, nobody believed him because he had no evidence and nobody trusted him because he had spent so much time in Mexico, doing who knows what with the Mexican Government.

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