Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/32

* PIKE. 16 PIKE-PERCH. their spenr or pike men, who carried weapons fully 24 feet lon^. while among comparatively modern armies pikes averaged a length of from 12 to 14 feet. They were of .stout wood, and were tipped with a flatsliaped iron spear-head, which sometimes had cutting edges. As a defense against cavalry, the pike, from its length and rigidity, was of great value: hut though it sur- vived the introduction of gunpowder, tluit event was really fatal to it. In pike formations a depth of several men was essential, hut the grow- ing use of artillery rendered this impossihle. For the transition from pike to bayonet, Bee .Bayonet. See also Infantry. PIKE, Wall-Eyed. See Pike-Perch. PIKE, Albert (1809-91). An American au- thor, born in Boston. He studied at Harvard, and in IS.Sl journeyed to Santa F^ by way of Saint Louis. In I8.'J2 he explored the head wa- ters of the Brazos and Red rivers, and went .500 miles on foot, to Fort Smith. Arkansas, in which State he settled. Aft<'r editing the Arkansas Ad- vocate, he was admitted to the bar. and in 18.30 he edited the Arkansas Revised Statutes. He served as captain of cavalry in the Mexican War, at the beginning of the Civil War was Indian commissioner of the Confederate Government, and later served as brigadier-general, commanding bodies of Indians whose enlistment he had se- cured. In 18(>(> he settled as a lawyer at Mem- phis, where in 1807 he edited the Appml. In 1808 he resumed his practice at Washington. D. C. Besides pre])aring a number of volumes for the Freemasons, he publislied I'rasr ^krlchcK and Pociiis (IS:i4), and yiifiw (1854), printed pri- vately, and containing the "Hymns to the Gods." which had appeared in filackicood's Maf/azine in 1839. His poetry, especially his "Hymns to the Gods," proves him to have been a man of consider- able talent. He died in Washington, D. C. PIKE, Robert {1010-1706). An American colonist, horn in Kngland. He emigrated to this country with bis father, .John Pike, in 1025, and settled in Newbury, Mass. Four years later he removed to the farm at Salisbury which was his home for the remainder of his life. He early be- came a man of jirominence in the colony, was major of the local militia, and from the time he was twenty-eight years old until bis death — with the exception of three years when be was at odds with the General Court — he held political olBce, being for a long time a member of the General Court itself, and later of the Board of Assistants. He was chiefly remarkable, however, as the rep- resentative of the first advocates in America of the people's right to free speech, to petition and to criticise their legislative bodies, and to de- mand acquittal in a court of law when not con- fronted with conclusive evidence. Though strict- ly orthodox in his own beliefs, he defended the right of the Quakers to the free expression of their views and criticised the General Court for its action against sectarians. For this he was disfranchised by that body. Though he believed in the possibility of witchcraft, he protested against the admission of 'spectre testimony' at the trials of supposed witches. Several were con- demned in the towns about Salisbury despite his labors in their behalf, but. probably because of his influence, none were executed ; and so this little group of villages was saved from sharing in the notoriety of Salem. PIKE, Zebilon :Montgomery (1779-1813). . American soldier and explorer, born in Lam- berton, X. J. He was taken by his father, an army ollicer. to Bucks County. Pa., and then to Easton. At the age of fifteen he was a cadet in his father's regiment, became ensign March S, 1799, and was made first lieutenant N'ovember 1, LSOO. On August 9. 1805. he started from Saint Louis on an exploring expedition into part of the territory accpiired by the Louisiana Purchase. .fter sulVering nuiny hardships and reaching the I'pper lied Cedar (Cass) Lake, he returned to Saint Louis in April. 1800. lie started on an- other expedition on .July 1st, ascended the Mis- souri River and the Osage, into the present State of Kansas, and thence proceeded south to the Arkansas Kiver. He ascended this to the present site of Puel)lo. Col., viewed "Pike's Peak' (named in his honor), and then went to the site of the present Leadville. While searching for the Red River, he reached the Rio Grande on Spanish territory, and was sent imder guard by the Spanish Governor of New Mexico to General Salcedo at Cbibuahua. After some delay he was escorted (o the boundary, and on .July 1. 1807, reached Natchitoches. He had been made cap- tain in ISOO and was promoted to be major in 1808, lieutenant-colonel in 1809, and colonel in 1812. On March 12. 1813. he was nominated brigadier-general (though he was not confirmed by the Senate before his death), and was assigned to the principal army as adjutant and inspector- general. In the expedition against York (To- ronto). Canada, he landed on April 27th, and stormed one of the redoubts. The retreating garrison blew up the magazine, and a descending fragment of rf)ck crushed his spine and caused his death within a few hours. Pike published the results of his expedition in -lii Account of an Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi, and Through the Western Parts of I.ouisiana, avd a Tour Through the Interior Parts of yew Spain. . .' (1810). This contains much valuable information, but is poorly arranged and full of repetition. It was rear- ranged and reprinted in England in 1811. From this was made a French translation in 1812 and a Dutch translation in 1812-13. Consult The Expedition of Zebulon M. Pike to the Bcad- uxiters of the Mississippi, Through Louisiana Territory, and in yeic Spain (3 vols.. New York, 1895). This contains the rearranged text, full notes, and an elaborate memoir by Elliott Coues. PIKE-PERCH. The name given in Amer- ica to a gcmis of perches, Stizostedion. and in Europe to species of a very nearly related genus, Lucioj)erca. because of their rather elongate body and the resemblance of the snout to that of a pike. They are true perches and inhabit the lakes and streams of Europe. Western Asia, and Eastern North America. There are several species in each genus, and all are important food fishes. They are usually imder two feet in length, but Lueioperea sandra of Europe may reach a length of four feet, and Sti::ostcdion vitreum of America a length of three feet and a weight of twenty poinids. The latter is a fish of many names in the Ignited States, 'wall-eyed pike' being perhaps the most widespread and familiar — a name, like 'white-eye' and 'glass-eye.' due to the large prominent eye; 'dory.' 'yellow' or "blue' pike, and. 'jack salmon' are other local