=Pike Among the Pawnees.= About the time he crossed the Solomon River he came upon the trail of Spanish troops. It seems that the authorities in Mexico had in some way heard of the Pike expedition and had sent an army of five hundred men to intercept him. These forces missed each other, but when Pike reached the village of the Pawnee Indians he found them in possession of many blankets, bridles, saddles, and other things which they had received from the Spaniards. After having been visited with much ceremony by the mounted and lordly army from Mexico, the Indians were not inclined to be courteous to Pike and his score of dusty, bedraggled footmen. After much unpleasantness and delay a council attended by four hundred warriors was held. In his opening address Pike spoke, among other things, of the numerous Spanish flags in the village. Pointing to one which floated above the tent of the head chief, he demanded that it be lowered and that an American flag be put in its place. Several Indians made speeches without mentioning the flag. Pike again told them they must choose between the Spanish and the American governments. The Americans awaited the answer in anxious suspense. Finally an old chief arose. He slowly hauled down the Spanish flag, laid it at Pike’s feet, and received the American flag in return. This he unfurled above the chiefs tent, and for the first time, so far as is known, the Stars and Stripes floated over Kansas.
=Pike in Colorado.= From this place Pike and his men moved southwest to the Arkansas River, where the party divided, some of them going down the river and on home. Pike and his remaining men, instead of searching for the Red River according to instructions, followed the Arkansas River into what is now Colorado. They pushed westward, and after many days of travel sighted a mountain, which appeared at first like a small blue cloud but which proved to be a great bald peak of the Rocky Mountains. This peak has since been named Pike’s Peak in honor of the explorer. By this time it was winter and their supplies were low. Pike and his men suffered terribly from cold and hunger while wandering among the mountains. Hoping to better their condition they moved toward the southwest, only to find themselves taken prisoners in Spanish territory. Later, however, they were escorted across Texas to the American frontier in Louisiana and released.