The early history of Fort Morgan is unclear, but there is some evidence that French and Spanish explorers and traders were in the vicinity of Fort Morgan. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Spanish and French fought for control over most of the western United States. On this map made in 1663, Fort Morgan lies in the highlighted area just over the word “Apaches” along what is labeled as the Padouca River.
It is possible that the Spanish explored the region reaching as far north as the South Platte River as early as 1540. Coronado explored the area of New Mexico traveling north as far as Quivira, on the border between present-day Kansas and Nebraska, but there is some speculation that Coronado was farther west along the South Platte River.
One of the earliest known explorers into the area may have been Captain Pedro de Villasur who was sent from Santa Fe to evict French traders from Spanish land. Villasur’s exact route is unknown, but he encountered the South Platte River (called by the Río Jesús María by the Spanish) somewhere east of Fort Morgan in August, 1720. Four days later, Villasur’s expedition was wiped out by Pawnee camped near where the Platte River forks.
One of the earliest known explorers into the area may have been Captain Pedro de Villasur who was sent from Santa Fe to evict French traders from Spanish land. Villasur’s exact route is unknown, but he encountered the South Platte River (called by the Río Jesús María by the Spanish) somewhere east of Fort Morgan in August, 1720. Four days later, Villasur’s expedition was wiped out by Pawnee camped near where the Platte River forks.
Twenty years later, Pierre and Paul Mallet, two French brothers would follow the Missouri River from near St. Louis and up the South Platte River into Spanish territory. At the point where the Platte River forks, they encountered Pawnee Indians and it is possible this was the same tribe who reportedly attacked Villasur. There is no direct evidence of this and the brothers did not note any problems and the Pawnee even suggested a route to the brothers. The route was southwesterly along a well-traversed route along the river. The Mallet’s journal was lost, but an official report of their journey remains:
On the 2nd of June [1739], they [Mallet Brothers] came upon a river that they called the Platte, and seeing that it did not deviate from the route they had in mind, they followed it upstream along the right bank for a distance of 28 leagues, and at that point, they found that it made a fork with the River of the Padoucas which empties into the Platte.
Three days after reaching the River of the Padoucas, that is to say on the 13th of June, they turned left across said river and crossed a tongue of land. They camped on the 14th on the other side of the river of the Hills which also feeds into the Platte.
On the 15th and 16th they continued to travel overland, and on the 17th they came upon another river which they named the White Hills. During these three days, they crossed a region of plains in which they did not find enough wood to make a fire, and they relate in their journal that these plains extend to the mountains in the vicinity of Santa Fé.
Three days after reaching the River of the Padoucas, that is to say on the 13th of June, they turned left across said river and crossed a tongue of land. They camped on the 14th on the other side of the river of the Hills which also feeds into the Platte.
On the 15th and 16th they continued to travel overland, and on the 17th they came upon another river which they named the White Hills. During these three days, they crossed a region of plains in which they did not find enough wood to make a fire, and they relate in their journal that these plains extend to the mountains in the vicinity of Santa Fé.
The exact route is unclear, but apparently the Mallets travelled along the North Platte river for three days and then turned south over the arid prairies between the north and south forks of the Platte (River of the Padouca). After three days, they crossed the South Platte River, which the travelers called the “White Hills,” which could be the white bluffs north of Fort Morgan. Though it is unclear where the travelers crossed the South Platte River, their southwesterly course and the mention of the mountains possibly places the crossing near the Fort Morgan area. Later, the Mallets reported crossing two more rivers, possibly the forks of the Republican River and then coming to the Kansas (Arkansas) River and then to Santa Fé.
Though other sources suggest the Mallet’s followed the South Platte River into what is now Denver and then south to Santa Fé . All that can be said with certainty is that the Mallets traveled near Fort Morgan and successfully reached Santa Fé on July 22, 1739.
Though other sources suggest the Mallet’s followed the South Platte River into what is now Denver and then south to Santa Fé . All that can be said with certainty is that the Mallets traveled near Fort Morgan and successfully reached Santa Fé on July 22, 1739.
Direct evidence of explorers through the Fort Morgan area is scarce, but secondary reports exist. Zebulon Pike did not travel along the South Platte River, but along the Arkansas River and then south to Santa Fé. However, once reaching Santa Fé, he wrote of encountering James Purcell and Baptiste La Lande, travelers who may have journeyed through the Fort Morgan area a few years earlier.
Sources:
Sources:
“Bird’s-Eye View of Nebraska History,” Pearson's magazine, 8, 2, p. 786.
Bannon, John Francis, The Spanish Borderlands Frontier, 1513-1821 (New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1970), p. 141.
Chittenden, Hiram Martin, The American Fur Trade of the Far West (New York: F. P. Harper, 1902), 489.
Extract of the Journal of the Expedition of the Mallet Brothers to Santé Fe, 1739-1740 Document No. AJ-092 Wisconsin Historical Society. found at http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/aj&CISOPTR=12069&CISOSHOW=5633 p. 47
Fiske, John. The Discovery of America with some Account of Ancient America and the Spanish Conquest. Vol. 2. 1892. NY: Houghton
http://www.americanjourneys.org/aj-092/summary/index.asp
Mehls, Steven F., The New Empire of the Rockies: A History of Northeast Colorado (Denver: Bureau of Land Management, 1984), from www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/blm/co/16/chap2.htm
Parkman, Francis. A Half-Century of Conflict: France and England in North America, Vol. 1 (Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1902), p. 367.
Pike, Zebulon Montgomery & Elliott Coues, The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, Vol. 2 (New York: F. P. Harper, 1895), 758.
Savage, James W., “The Christening of the Platte,” Transactions and Reports of the Nebraska State Historical Society, 3, pp. 67-73.
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