I congratulate the general on the safe arrival of Lieutenant Wilkinson, and am sorry to hear of the difficulties he encountered. I have been obliged to draw money of the Spanish government, which I have to pay to their ambassador at Washington. I supported those of my men who were with me all the time in the Spanish country. Being separated from my baggage and never permitted to have it join me, and having been presented to the commandant-general in a blanket cappot,[V'-10] I was under the necessity of going to very considerable expense to support what I considered not only my own honor, but the dignity of our army. This, when a captain's pay is $2,400 per annum, was a ruinous thing to my finances; but I hope it may be taken into due consideration.
After making myself pretty perfect in the French language, I have obtained such a knowledge of the Spanish as to make me confident in asserting, in three or four years I will with ease make myself sufficiently master of the latter, Italian, and Portuguese, to read them all, and speak and write Spanish. The doctor has even exceeded me in that point. I mention this to the general, as I know the interest he takes in the improvement of his military protégé.
We heard in the Spanish dominions of the convulsions of the western country, originating in Mr. Burr's plans, and that you were implicated; sometimes that you were arrested, sometimes superseded, etc. Those reports, although I never credited them, gave me great unhappiness, as I conceived that the shafts of calumny were aimed at your fame and honor, in a foreign country where these had hitherto stood high and been revered and respected by every class. At St. Antonio Colonel Cordero informed me of the truth of the statement [i. e., falsity of those reports], which took a load from my breast and made me comparatively happy; I hope ere long the villainy will be unmasked, and malignity and slander hide their heads. The before mentioned gentleman sent you by me a box of Spanish chocolate, which I shall forward to Colonel Cushing. Governor Herrara said the maliciousness of the world was such as to forbid his writing, but begged to be sincerely remembered to you. A letter addressed to me at Cincinnatti, Ohio, may possibly reach me on my route, when I hope to receive your approbation of my conduct. Many letters written to me, addressed to this place, have been secreted or destroyed; possibly the general can give me a hint on the subject.
Those ideas have made a deep impression on my mind, and did not an all-ruling passion sway me irresistibly to the profession of arms and the paths of military glory, I would long since have resigned my sword for the rural cot, where peace, health, and content would at least be our inmates, should not our brows be crowned with laurel.
I must now conclude, as this letter has far exceeded the bounds proposed when commenced; but the effusions of my heart on its contents are such that I could not limit them to a more contracted space. Excuse my scrawl, as I am entirely out of practice, but believe me to be,
Dear General,
With high respect and esteem,
Your obedient servant,
[Signed] Z. M. Pike, Captain.
General Wilkinson.