The Imperial Adventure of Zebulon Montgomery Pike: A Terrestrial Paradise
About this episode
This episode explores Zebulon Montgomery Pike's adventurous journey through the Great Plains and his attempts to navigate the Rocky Mountains.
In this episode, Pike and his men leave the Pawnee village and traipse through the Great Plains until they reach the Arkansas River where Lt. Wilkinson and a few other soldiers will take canoes down to Louisiana. Meanwhile, Pike will reach the Mexican (Rocky) Mountains where he will attempt to climb Pike’s Peak before finding the headwaters of the Arkansas and Platte Rivers. But as winter settles in and his men’s strength weakens, he fatefully decides to cross the Sangre de Cristos in an attempt to find the “Red River”. We know though, that he was headed for the the Rio del Norte (Rio Grande) the entire time in an effort to get captured by the Spanish and escorted through New Mexico and New Spain.
People in this episode
Host: Thomas Wayne Riley
Topics covered
- exploration
- history
- Pike's Peak
- Great Plains
- Spanish capture
- Arkansas River
- mountain climbing
Keywords
- Zebulon Pike
- Great Plains
- Arkansas River
- Pike's Peak
- Sangre de Cristos
- Rio Grande
- exploration history
Mentioned in this episode
Places: Pawnee village, Great Plains, Arkansas River, Louisiana, Mexican Mountains, Pike’s Peak, headwaters of the Arkansas and Platte Rivers, Sangre de Cristos, Red River, Rio del Norte
More episodes of The American Southwest
- The Earthen Dark with Author Brad Kelly
- The Quest for Confederate Treasure: The South(west) Will Rise Again
- The Quest for Confederate Treasure: Jesse James & His Many Names
- The Quest for Confederate Treasure: Arkansas Secrets & The Knights of the Golden Circle
- The Imperial Adventure of Zebulon Montgomery Pike: Defend My Memory
- The Imperial Adventure of Zebulon Montgomery Pike: The Handsomest Views In New Mexico
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