He was in Spanish territory, and was held
prisoner for a time, but was finally released upon representations from
the government at Washington. He rose steadily in the service, and in
1813, during the second war with England, led an assault upon Little
York, now Toronto. The town was captured, but the fleeing British
exploded a powder magazine, and General Pike was crushed and killed
beneath the flying fragments. He died with his head on the British flag,
which had been hauled down and brought to him.
The next step to be recorded in the growth of the United States is a
step variously regarded as infamous or glorious--but it was marked by
one of the most heroic incidents in history, and dominated by the
picturesque and remarkable personality of Sam Houston.
The purchase of Louisiana from the French brought the United States in
direct contact with Mexico, which claimed a great territory in the
southwest, and, finally, in 1819, a line between the possessions of the
two countries was agreed upon. It left Mexico in possession of the wide
stretch of country now included in the states of California, Nevada,
Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Most of this
country was practically unknown to Americans, and the great stretches of
arid land which comprised large portions of it were considered worthless
and uninhabitable.
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