Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1919-10-03
MONUMENT
IMPRESSIVE CEREMONIES AT
PIXIES FORT LYMAN AVER
UNVEILS MARKER.


the monument at the site of Pixies
Fort, five miles south Of Little Falls,
on the bank Of the Mississippi river,
took place last Saturday afternoon, in
the presence Of goodly number of
people from this city, as well as prom
inent people from the twin cities and
other places. Fine weather prevailed
throughout the day, helping much to
make the occasion tho success that it
was.
r. D. Musser of th1 city, who was
chairman of the committee appointed to
provide a marker for the historic spot,
was the first speaker on the program.
He said that the time of the year and
the presence on the acual spot where
Lieutenant ZebulOn Pike camped, with q
little imagination made one. think that
they were living in the time Of the
famous explorer and could see things
as they were then. The erecting of a
memorial here to Zebulon Pike he said,
was brought about through the Daugh
ters of the Revolution, which has taken
up the preservation of historic spots in
this state. Mr.. Musser introduced Mrs.
James L. Morris, state regent of the D.
A. R., and he asked her to take charge
of the meeting. She made few re-
marks, stating that this occasion would
60 down in the history Of Little Falls.
The salute to the flag was then given.
Prof. Maria L. Sanford; president
emeritus of the state university and one
of the most prominent and well known
women in Minnesota, gave "An Apos
trophe to the Flag' which was fitting
and beautiful. Her tribute to the flag
was followed by the singing Of 1.-THE
Star Spangled Banner" by the assena<
bly,.
Mrs. Morris then gave a very inter-
esting account of the life Of Zebulon
montgomery Pike. She asked her hear
ers first to think Of the spot on which
they stood as being the site Of the first
block house in Minnesota. The United
States, at the close Of Revolution, did
not own any land west Of the Missis-
sippi. There were at that time no
steamboats, or railroads in the whole
world but all traffic was by water and
it was therefore necessary that the riv-
ers be kept open for navigation. Presi-
dent Thomas Jefferson found in Lieu
tenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike the
man who could be assigned this great
task, although he was but 26 years of
age then. Two Of young Pike IS favor
ite sayings were "Always be ready to
die for your country' and "Preserve
your honor free from blemish.'
Lieutenant Pike set out to find suit
able place for a fort at the head OF
navigation waters, to locate the source
of the Mississippi and to make friends
with the Indians and ascertain the ex-
tent of the British trade in the north
west. He started out late in the fall
of 1905. In making the trip up the
river tho company had the misfortune
to- lose a large quantity of provisions
and ammunition when one of their boats
sank and they were forced to abandon
their journey temporarily at a point
five miles south of this city. Here
Lieutenant Pike and his men commenc-
ed the erection of blockhouse on the
18th of October, 1905. The structure
was completed on October 28th. They
got plenty of food here, as all wild
game was plentiful and they killed as
many as four bears in one day.
On December 5th the party started
for Sandy Lake, north Of here, arriving
there on January 9Th, 1906. They con-
tinued north to find the source of the
Mississippi and reached Cass lake,
which they concluded was the source.
They made treaty with the Indians
and in March they returned to the
camp here. They remained here until
in April, when they left for Ft. St.
Louis arriving there April 81. Lieuten-
ant Pike was later sent out west to-
explore and he went west as far as the
Rockies, discovering Pike 8 Peak, which
was named after him. He won promo
tion fast and in the war of 1912 he was
general. He met death in an explo-
sion, bein:: crushed bya stone.
Mr. .orris concluded her talk by
sa.v: : that it was with feeling of great
- asure that the Daughters Of the Rev
olution presented to the city of Little
Falls a memorial to one of the bravest
men this country has ever known. She
asked Mayor Bergheim to take the
memorial for the city and preserve it.
dwelling Of the monument follow
ed, Lyman Aver performing this cere-
mony. Mr.. Aver was the first white
child born in Minnesota and was pi-
oneer of this section. He was called
upon for talk but he explained that
he was not capable of making speech,
ll:.~ klo4 + - oo,,1l bo1r,ox1or toll %o