Political letter from Western explorer Zebulon Pike, sent from Kaskaskia, then part of the Northwest Territory, in September 1808 to Samuel C. Vance in Lawrenceburg, Indiana Territory. In the letter, Pike requests political support from Vance for his friend, Robert Morrison (1770-1842), one of the early settlers of Kaskaskia. Single sheet, 12.5" x 7.75", one page of text with Pike's hand-addressed panel to the reverse, with recipient's docketing. Some discoloration to left margin, with a few areas of loss to folds.

Sent just prior to the separation of Illinois Territory from Indiana Territory in 1809, the letter links the famed explorer of the Southwest, having just returned from his second major expedition, with the political history of the Old Northwest, where Pike would later serve under William Henry Harrison in the Battle of Tippecanoe.

Letters from Pike are scarce in commerce, as are letters sent from Illinois during the pre-Territorial period.