Pike and Nicollet's Visits

Pike and Nicollet's Visits. Charles A. Lindbergh State Park. In September 1805, Lt. Zebulon Pike led 20 soldiers north from St. Louis, MO on an expedition to locate the headwaters of the Mississippi River, acquired a year earlier as part of the Louisiana Purchase. River levels and inclement weather slowed their progress. By the time they reached the Swan River, eight miles south of Little Elk, the men were exhausted and some could go no further., After building a fort at Swan River, Pike continued his mission with 12 men. The sergeant commanding the fort, convinced Pike would not survive, sold, traded or used most of the company's provisions and many of Pike's personal effects. When Pike returned to the fort in March 1806, the sergeant was lashed and demoted., On August 7, 1836, explorer Joseph Nicollet took an astronomical reading near here to determine the geographical location of Little Elk River., Nicollet also took readings at Little Falls, Crow Wing and other notable places. He used this data to draw the first accurate map of the Upper Mississippi, published in 1842., Captions: , Zebulon Pike. Minnesota Historical Society , Joseph Nicollet. National Park Service , Nicollet's Little Elk River map. Library of Congress