Note V-5 — Chapter V · CORRESPONDENCE AND CONFERENCES.[V-1]

Who the "father" may be whom Pike imposes upon the Indians in his various powwows is not always clear. Sometimes President Jefferson appears to be indicated; sometimes General Wilkinson; sometimes Pike himself. In the present instance it is General Wilkinson, and the Osage mission in mention is that upon which Lieutenant George Peter had been detailed by the general. This appears in a letter from General Wilkinson to the Secretary of War, dated St. Louis, Aug. 25th, 1805, now on file in the War Department, and in the following extract: "I find our parties under Lieuts. Pike and Peter are making rapid progress on their routes. Pike had ascended the Mississippi 150 miles on the fifth day after he left this place, and I have just received a letter from Peters [sic] dated the 19th inst., 150 miles up the Osage River, altho' he left St. Charles, 25 miles from the mouth of the Missouri, on the 10th inst. and had been obstructed by almost incessant rains and consequent high waters. He is charmed with the river and its banks, which He reports to be far superior to those of the Ohio in beauty and fertility—Independent of the immediate objects of these parties, they serve to instruct our young officers and also our soldiery, on subjects which may hereafter become interesting to the United States." George Peter of Maryland was appointed from the District of Columbia to be a second lieutenant of the 9th Infantry, July 12th, 1799, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1800; he was appointed lieutenant of Artillerists and Engineers, Feb. 16th, 1801; of Artillerists, Apr. 1st, 1802; became captain, Nov. 3d, 1807; was transferred to the Light Artillery in May, 1808; resigned, June 11th, 1809; and died June 22d, 1861.