Talk:Zebulon Pike
From Academic Kids
The Park Service biography and [1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (http://20.1911encyclopedia.org/P/PI/PIKE_ZEBULON_MONTGOMERY.htm)] differ on some minor points on the Mississippi headwater expedition. I'm going to try to figure out which is correct. -- ESP 20:45 16 Jul 2003 (UTC)
- Ideal would be if there were a scholarly bio or history of the dead tree sort. When sources conflict, if often means there are multiple interpretations, and you need a more detailed work to explain the discrepancy. Stan 21:47 16 Jul 2003 (UTC)
- That's probably it. It's silly stuff that I could find out with a little more work -- basically, it's the location of Fort Snelling, and whether Pike thought Cass Lake or Leech Lake was the headwaters of the Mississippi. More or less it's documenting Pike's blunders and screw ups. B-) -- ESP 23:45 16 Jul 2003 (UTC)
- Fort Snelling's in Saint Paul, Minnesota (still there actually). - Hephaestos 00:15 17 Jul 2003 (UTC)
- OK, cool. Thanks! So the info on the page is correct (since the Falls of St. Anthony are also near the Twin Cities area, right?). Now I just have to find out which lake Pike mistakenly thought was the headwaters of the Mississippi. -- ESP 00:26 17 Jul 2003 (UTC)
- Cass and Leech are pretty close to each other, so that might be a challenge. :) I have no idea which, myself. - Hephaestos 00:28 17 Jul 2003 (UTC)
- Shoot. At this point I'm going to have to dig up whatever first sources there are! -- ESP 05:45 17 Jul 2003 (UTC)
Oh, another thing: the tone of the Park Service article is really different from a straight text. They kind of treat Pike like this blustering boob. Which, in a lot of ways, he was, but I think they overemphasize his incompetence as an explorer to point out that what he was really doing was spying on the Spanish. Anyways, I tried to keep the tone a little more respectful and objective, without losing the essentials -- that Pike's Mississippi expedition and the Pike expedition were less than successful. -- ESP 05:49 17 Jul 2003 (UTC)
