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"His courage was undaunted; his firmness and perseverance yielded to nothing but impossibilities; a rigid disciplinarian, yet tender as a father of those committed to his charge; honest, disinterested, liberal, with a sound understanding and a scrupulous fidelity to truth." Thomas Jefferson

The case book is organized as follows:

Prologue and Summary: Background information relevant to the death of Governor Lewis.

Testimony: Letters and statements from people who were associated with Lewis during his final days.

Exhibits: schematic representation of the place where Lewis died; type of guns owned by Lewis.

Theories: statements and articles setting forth various theories about the death of Governor Lewis.

PROLOGUE AND SUMMARY
Time has not diminished the public's interest in the mysterious death of Governor Lewis. Two hundred years later, it still has the power to inspire heated debates among historians, forensic scientists, and even the general public.

Meriwether Lewis was only thirty-two years old when he returned from his great western adventure. The first days and weeks back "home" must have been exhilarating. The triumphant explorers were national heroes. Being a national hero in 1806 was probably a lot different from today—no high-speed communication systems to quickly spread the news, no motorcades or ticker tape parades down the main streets of America. But there were plenty of celebrations, mostly receptions and dinner parties at the homes of St. Louis' leading citizens-at least for the captains. Crew members undoubtedly had their own ways of celebrating.

A little later, when Lewis and Clark traveled east to report to President Jefferson, they were "wined and dined" and treated like heroes wherever they went. To officially reward their accomplishments, both men were appointed to high offices. In February, 1807, Lewis was named Governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory, and Clark was appointed Brigadier General of the Militia and Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the same region. Frederick Bates, a Washington official, was appointed secretary of the Upper Louisiana Territory to serve under Governor Lewis.

In the spring of 1807, Clark and Bates left for St. Louis to take up their new duties, but Lewis had business in Philadelphia before heading west. He arrived in that city around the first of April, 1807. His first concern was publication of the journals he and Clark kept during their Voyage of Discovery, so he busied himself finding a publisher and contacting artists to illustrate them. The actual journals and field notes were still in St. Louis and it was Lewis' responsibility to get them ready for publication as soon as possible after he returned to St. Louis.

Lewis was warmly received by the Philadelphia elite. He renewed an old friendship with a prominent Philadelphian, Mahlon Dickerson. Judging from a letter he later wrote to Dickerson, Lewis enjoyed the social scene very much during his stay in Philadelphia. Lewis' letter also indicates that he became attracted to a young lady there, and may have proposed marriage to her.

After almost four months in Philadelphia, Lewis returned to Virginia, still unmarried. He visited President Jefferson, his mother (Lucy Lewis Marks), and other friends, but there is little information about how he occupied his time otherwise. Some scholars say he attended the treason trial of Aaron Burr in Richmond, Virginia at Jefferson's request, but there is no documentation to prove this. Finally, in February 1807, he set out for St. Louis accompanied by his brother, Reuben. They arrived on March 8, 1807, one year and eight days after Lewis was appointed Governor of Upper Louisiana. During this time, Secretary Bates had been in charge of the office in St. Louis.

Lewis' long absence from his new post has never been fully explained or understood. Thomas Jefferson's letters to him during this time show a growing anxiety—even impatience with his delays. In a letter to Lewis on July 17, 1807, Jefferson's first sentence was, "Since I parted with you from Albemarle in Sep. last [1806] I have never had a line from you nor I believe has the Secretary of War with which you have much connection through the Indian department." 1 Jefferson's closing sentence was about the journals. He wrote, "We have no tidings yet of the forwardness of your printer. I hope the first part will not be delayed much longer." 2

Back in St. Louis, Lewis took up his official duties as Governor of Upper Louisiana. The position was a great honor, of course, but probably not a wise career choice for a young, hardy outdoorsman. It certainly didn't help matters that Secretary Bates was jealous of Lewis and never lost an opportunity to undermine him whenever and however he could. In spite of this distraction, Lewis apparently tackled the governor's job with determination. It was an uphill battle, however. References to Lewis in the letters of Jefferson and other friends suggest Lewis was having a difficult time adjusting. He seems to have developed a drinking problem, usually referred to discreetly as "his habit" or "indisposition." Another matter of concern among Lewis' friends was his tendancy toward "melancholia," or depression as it is commonly referred to today.

The last straw came when James Madison became president in 1809 and replaced Jefferson's cabinet members with those of his own. Right from the start, the new Secretary of War, William Eustis, refused to pay Lewis' vouchers for legitimate expenses. Lewis had used his own money for certain expenses, and Eustis' refusal to reimburse him put him in a precarious financial situation.

In the fall of 1809, Lewis decided he had to go back to Washington to work out his problems with the War Department and to attend to the long-neglected publication of the journals. Taking the journals and the unpaid vouchers with him, he left St. Louis by keelboat on September 4, 1809. His plan was to travel down the Mississippi to New Orleans, and then take a sea-going vessel up the east coast to Washington D. C. However, by the time Lewis reached Fort Pickering (near Memphis, Tennessee), he was quite ill and acting irrationally. Crew members of the boat on which he was traveling reported that he had twice attempted to kill himself.

The commander at Fort Pickering, Captain Gilbert Russell, was so alarmed at Lewis' condition (which Russell attributed in part to Lewis' "indisposition") that he refused to let Lewis leave until his health improved. During this time, Lewis changed his plans. He decided to strike out across country from Fort Pickering, intersect the Natchez Trace (a wilderness road that stretched 450 miles from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee), then continue on well-traveled roads to Washington.

While Lewis was still recovering at Fort Pickering, Major James Neelly, agent to the Chickasaw Nation, arrived at the fort. Neelly was on his way to Nashville and he agreed to travel with Lewis, whose health had substantially improved. The party that left Fort Pickering consisted of Governor Lewis, Major Neelly, and two servants. One of them, John Pernier, was Lewis' personal servant who had been with him for a long time. The other, an unnamed black man, was traveling with Major Neelly. Some sources say the group also included some Chickasaw Indian chiefs traveling back to their villages.

The overland trip was grueling and Neelly reported that after a few days on the trail, Lewis' health began to deterioiate once again. They rested a couple of days at the Chickasaw Indian agency, and then pushed on toward Nashville. On the morning of October 10, Major Neelly stayed behind to look for some horses that had strayed while Lewis and the two servants went ahead. That evening Lewis' party arrived at a roadside inn to spend the night and wait for Major Neelly. The inn, called Grinder's stand, was about seventy miles southeast of Nashville. It was actually a crude log house built beside the road where travelers could get food and lodging.

Early the next morning (October 11) Governor Lewis died in his room from two gunshot wounds. Major Neelly arrived at the inn later on the same day, but Lewis was already dead. Several days later, Neelly wrote a letter to Thomas Jefferson telling him what had happened-or at least what Mrs. Grinder and the servants told him had happened.

The little that is known about the events of that night comes mainly from Neelly's letter and two or three other documents, none of which tell exactly the same story. These documents are presented below exactly as they were written. The spelling and punctuation of the original documents has been retained. Read each one carefully, taking notes on your Casebook Worksheet where indicated.

TESTIMONY

Major James Neelly's Letter to Former President Thomas Jefferson About the Death of Governor Lewis
Nashville, 18 October, 1809

Sir:
It is with extreme pain that I have to inform you of the death of His Excellency Meriwether Lewis, Governor of upper Louisiana who died on the morning of the 11th Instant and I am sorry to say by Suicide.

I arrived at the Chickasaw Bluffs [Fort Pickering on the Mississippi River] on or about the 18th of September, where I found the governor (who had reached there two days before me from St. Louis) in very bad health. It appears that his first intention was to go around by water to the City of Washington; but his thinking a war with England probable, & that his valuable papers might be in dainger of falling into the hands of the British, he was thereby induced to Change his route, and to come through the Chickasaw nation by land; I furnished him with a horse to pack his trunks &c. on, and a man to attend to them; have recovered his health in some digree at the Chickasaw Bluffs, we set out together. And on our arrival at the Chickasaw nation I discovered that he appeared at times deranged in mind. We rested there two days & came on. One days Journey after crossing Tennessee River & where we encamped we lost two of our horses. I remained behind to hunt them & the governor proceeded on, with a promise to wait for me at the first houses he came to that was inhabited by white people; he reached the house of a Mr. Grinder about sun set, the man of the house being from home, and no person there but a woman who discovering the governor to be deranged, gave him up the house & slept herself in one near it. His servant [John Pernier] and mine slept in the stable loft some instance from the other houses. The woman reports that about three o'Clock she heard two pistols fire off in the Governors Room: the servants being awakined by her, came in but too late to save him. He had shot himself in the head with one pistol & a little below the Breast with the other-when his servant came in he says; I have done the business my good Servant give me some water. He gave him water, he survived but a short time. I came up sometime after, and had him as decently Buried as I could in that place-if there is any thing wished by his friends to be done to his grave I will attend to their Instructions.

I have got in my possession his two trunks of papers (amongst which is said to be his travels to The pacific Ocean) and probably some Vouchers for expenditures of Public Money for a Bill which he said had been protested by the Secy. Of War; and of which act to his death, he repeatedly complained. I have also in my Care his Rifle, Silver watch, Brace of Pistols, dirk & tomahawk; one of the Governors horses was lost in the wilderness which I will endeavour to regain, the other I have sent on by his servant who expressed a desire to go to the governors Mothers & to Monticello [President Jefferson's home]: I have furnished him with fifteen Dollars to Defray his expences to Charlottsville; Some days previous to the Governors death he requested of me in case any accident happen to him, to send his trunks with the papers therein to the President, but I think very probable he meant to you. [Editor: Madison was now president.] I wish to be informed what arrangements may be considered best in sending on his trunks &c. I have the honor to be with Great respect Yr. Ob. Sert.

James Neelly
U. S. agent to the Chickasaw Nation

The Governor left two of his trunks at the Chickasaw Bluffs in the care of Captain. Gilbert C. Russell, Commanding officer, & was to write to him from Nashville what to do with them. 3

Letter From Alexander Wilson to a Friend Reveals New Details About the Death of Governor Meriwether Lewis
May 28, 1811

(Editor's Note: The author of the following letter was a prominent ornithologist and friend of Governor Lewis. In fact, Wilson had agreed to do the bird illustrations for the journals. While traveling on the Natchez Trace two years after Lewis' death, Wilson had the opportunity to interview Mrs. Grinder, proprietor of the inn where Governor Lewis died. After speaking with her, Wilson recounted their conversation in a letter to Alexander Lawson, a well-known engraver and a mutual friend of Lewis and himself. In the course of the conversation, Mrs. Grinder added details that were not included in Major Neelly's letter to President Jefferson.)

...Next morning (Sunday) I rode six miles to a man's of the name of Grinder, where our poor friend Lewis perished. In the same room where he expired, I took down from Mrs. Grinder the particulars of that melancholy event, which affected me extremely. This house or cabin is seventy-two miles from Nashvillle, and is the last white man's as you enter the Indian country. Governor Lewis, she said, came there about sun-set, alone, and inquired if he could stay for the night; and, alighting, brought his saddle into the house. He was dressed in a loose gown, white, striped with blue. On being asked if he came alone, he replied that there were two servants behind, who would soon be up. He called for some spirits, and drank a very little. When the servants arrived, one of whom was a negro, he inquired for his powder, saying he was sure he had some powder in a canister. The servant gave no distinct reply, and Lewis, in the mean while walked backwards and forwards before the door, talking to himself. Sometimes, she said, he would seem as if he were walking up to her; and would suddenly wheel round, and walk back as fast as he could. Supper being ready he sat down, but had not eat but a few mouthfuls when he started up speaking to himself in a violent manner. At these times, she says, she observed his face to flush as if it had come on him in a fit. He lighted his pipe, and drawing a chair to the door sat down, saying to Mrs. Grinder in a kind tone of voice, "Madam this is a very pleasant evening." He smoked for some time, but quitted his seat and traversed the yard as before. He again sat down to his pipe, seemed again composed and casting his eyes wishfully towards the west, observed what a sweet evening it was. Mrs. Grinder was preparing a bed for him; but he said he would sleep on the floor, and desired the servant to bring the bear skins and buffaloe robe, which were immediately spread out for him; and it being now dusk the woman went off to the kitchen, and the two men to the barn, which stands about two hundred yards off. The kitchen is only a few paces from the room where Lewis was, and the woman being considerably alarmed by the behaviour of her guest could not sleep but listened to him walking backwards and forwards, she thinks for several hours, and talking aloud, as she said, "like a lawyer," She then heard the report of a pistol, and something fall heavily on the floor, and the words "0 Lordl" Immediately afterwards she heard another pistol, and in a few minutes she hear him at her door calling out "0 madam! Give me some water, and heal my wounds. " The logs being open, and unplastered, she saw him stagger back and fall against a stump that stands between the kitchen and room. He crawled for some distance, raised himself by the side of a tree, where he sat about a minute. He once more got to the room; afterwards he came to the kitchen door, but did not speak; she then heard him scraping the bucket with a gourd for water, but it appears that this cooling element was denied the dying man! As soon as day broke and not before, the terror of the woman having permitted him to remain for two hours in this most deplorable situation, she sent two of her children to the barn, her husband not being at home, to bring the.servants; and on going in they found him lying on the bed; he uncovered his side and shewed them where the bullet had entered; a piece of the forehead was blown off, and had exposed the brains, without having bled much. He begged they would take his rifle and blowout his brains, and he would give them all the money he had in his trunk. He often said, "I am no coward, but I am so strong, so hard to die " He begg' d the servant [John pernier] not to be afraid of him, for that he would not hurt him. He expired in about two hours, or just as the sun rose above the trees. He lies buried close by the common path, with a few loose rails thrown over his grave. I gave Grinder money to put a post fence round it, to shelter it from the hogs, and from the wolves; and he gave me his written promise he would do it. I left this place in a very melancholy mood, which was not much allayed by the prospect of the gloomy and savage wilderness which I was just entering alone. . . 4

(Editor's Note: Captain Gilbert Russell was commander of Fort Pickering on the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee when Lewis arrived there on September 15, 1809. (This region was also known as Chickasaw Bluffs.) According to Russell and other witnesses, Lewis was in very poor health when he arrived, both mentally and physically
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About three months after Lewis' death, Captain Russell wrote two letters to Thomas Jefferson. In the first letter, dated January 4, 1810, Russell wrote briefly about Lewis' unstable condition when he arrived at the fort. He said he had detained Lewis at the fort for his own protection until he was well enough to resume his journey. The rest of the letter concerned the sale of some land Lewis owned and some baggage that he had left with Russell at the fort.

The second letter, dated January 31, 1810, was much more personal. Russell wrote that he believed Lewis' main problem was excessive drinking and that when hard liquor was denied him at the fort, he quickly improved. Russell then accused Major Neelly of encouraging Lewis to drink again after the two of them left the fort. ". . .instead of preventing the Govr from drinking or putting him under restraint advised him to it," Russell wrote, "& from everything I can learn gave the man every chance to seek an opportunity to destroy himself. And from the statement of Grinder's wife where he killed himself I can not help believing that Purney [John Pernier, Lewis' servant] was rather aiding and abetting in the murder than otherwise." 5

Keep this letter in mind while reading Russell's formal statement about Lewis' death written two years after the fact.)

On November 26, 1811, Russell wrote:
Governor Lewis left St. Louis late in August, or early in September 1809, intending to go by the route of the Mississippi and the Ocean, to the City of Washington, taking with him all the papers relative to his expedition to the Pacific Ocean, for the purpose of preparing and puting them to the press, and to have some drafts paid which had been drawn by him on the Government and protested. On the morning of the 15th of September, the Boat in which he was a passenger landed him at Fort Pickering in a state of mental derangement, which appeared to have been produced as much by indisposition as other causes. The Subscriber being then the commanding Officer of the Fort on discovering his situation, and learning from the Crew that he had made two attempts to kill himself, in one of which he had nearly succeeded, resolved at once to take possession of him and his papers, and detain them there untill he recovered, or some friend might arrive in whose hands he could depart in safety. In this condition he continued without any material change for about five days, during which time the most proper and efficatious means that could be devised to restore him was administered, and on the sixth or seventh day all symptoms of derangement disappeared and he was completely In his senses and thus continued for ten or twelve days. On the 29th of the same month he left Bluffs, with the Chickasaw agent the interpreter and some of the Chiefs, intending then to proceed the usual rout thro' the Indian Country, Tennissee and Virginia to his place of distination, with his papers well secured and packed on horses. By much severe depletion during his illness he had been considerably reduced and debilitated, from which he had not entirely recovered when he set off, and the weather in that country being yet excessively hot and the exercise of traveling too severe for him; in three or four days he was again affected with the same mental disease. He had no person with him who could manage or controul him in his propensities and he daily grew worse untill he arrived at the house of a Mr. Grinder within the Jurisdiction of Tennissee and only Seventy miles from Nashville, where in the apprehension ofbeing destroyed by enemies which had no existence but in his wild immagination, he destroyed himself, in the most cool desperate and Barbarian-like manner, having been left in the house intirely to himself. The night preceeding this one of his Horses and one of the Chickasaw agents [Major Neelly] with whom he was traveling strayed off from the camp and in the Morning could not be found. The agent with some Indians stayed to search for the horses, and Governor Lewis with their two servants and the baggage horses proceeded to Mr. Grinders where he was to halt untill the agent got up.

After he arrived there and refreshed himself with a little Meal & drink he went to bed in a cabin by himself and ordered the servants to go to the stables and take care of the Horses, least they might loose some that night; Some time in the night he got his pistols which he loaded, after every body had retired in a seperate Building and discharged one against his forehead without much effect—the ball not penetrating the skull but only making a furrow over it. He then discharged the other against his breast where the ball entered and passing downward thro' his body came out low down near his back bone. After some time he got up and went to the house where Mrs. Grinder and her children were lying and asked for water, but her husband being absent and having heard the report of the pistols she was greatly allarmed and made him no answer. He then in returning got his razors from a port folio which happened to contain them and siting up in his bed was found about day light, by one of the servants, busily engaged in cuting himself from head to foot. He again beged for water, which was given him and so soon as he drank, he lay down and died with the declaration to the Boy [his servant] that he had killed himself to deprive his enemies of the pleasure and honor of doing it. His death was greatly lamented. And that a fame so dearly earned as his should finally be clouded by such an act of desperation was to his friends still greater cause of regret."6

(signed) GILBERT RUSSELL
(The above was received by me from Major Gilbert Russell of the [blank] Regiment of Infantry U.S. on Tuesday the 26th of November 1811 at Fredericktown in Maryland. J. WILLIAMS)

Was Governor Lewis Really Buried Where Neely Said He Was? Meriwether Lewis' Remains Exhumed in 1848 to Confirm Identity

In 1848, thirty-nine years after the death and burial of Meriwether Lewis, the state of Tennessee wanted to erect a monument at his gravesite. Evidently little or nothing had been done to mark Lewis' last resting place, because the first thing the committee did was hire a local surveyor to determine the place where his body lay. The surveyor was an elderly man who knew the area well from having surveyed it in the past. He found the grave without much trouble, but to be doubly sure, the committee report states, " . . .the grave was reopened and the upper portion of the skeleton examined, and such evidences found as to leave no doubt of the place of interment. Witnesses were called and their certificate, with that of the surveyor, prove the fact beyond dispute."7 In other words, the committee certified that the body in the grave was indeed that of Meriwether Lewis.

Lewis' remains were then reburied and a monument was erected at the site. The base of the monument was made of rough-hewn stone topped with a twelve-foot column of Tennessee marble, deliberately broken at the top. The committee report states, "The design is simple, but it is intended to express the difficulties, successes and violent termination of a life which was marked by bold enterprise, by manly courage and devoted patriotism."8 An inscription on the base of the monument provides information about Governor Lewis and includes Thomas Jefferson's eloquent tribute quoted on the case book cover. In their report, the monument committee members also called into question the cause of Lewis' death. The report reads, "The impression has long prevailed that under the influence of disease of body and mind-of hopes based upon long and valuable services-not merely deferred, but wholly disappointed-Governor Lewis perished by his own hands. It seems to be more probable that he died by the hands of an assassin."9 [Whether this was pure speculation or motivated by something that was observed during the exhumation is not explained.]

EXHIBITS

Exhibit 1: Above
Grinders's stand may have looked something like this—two rather small rooms with a breezeway between. Sometimes a small kitchen or store room was attached to the back. This design was typical for that time and location. The chimneys would have been made of field stones.

Exhibit 2: Schematic drawing of the room where Governor Lewis died
The house itself is long gone and little is known about its furnishings. Reports indicate there was a bed in the room but Lewis said he preferred to sleep on his buffalo and bear robes on the floor. He also brought his saddle and travel trunks inside the room. When the servants found him, he was still alive and lying on the bed.

Exhibit 3:
Governor Lewis owned at least two hand guns, possibly 1799 North and Cheney flintlock pistols similar to the one in the drawing. To fire it, black powder was poured into the barrel and tamped tighly with a removeable ramrod. Then a lead ball was placed in the barrel and a bit of powder was placed on the pan. When the trigger was pulled, a moveable arm with a piece of flint clamped in it (called the cock) struck a metal piece on the barrel (the frizzen) causing a spark to ignite the powder in the pan. The fire was then drawn through the vent hole where it ignited the powder in the barrel and fired the shot. Since only one ball could be fired at a time, suicide theorists say Lewis loaded both guns and fired them one at a time.

THEORIES

Absence of proof has not stopped speculation about how and why Meriwether Lewis died. Of course, there are only two possibilities—either Lewis killed himself or someone else killed him. But the issue is still not simple or clear cut. For instance, if Lewis killed himself, why did he do it? If someone else killed him, for what reason? These issues are examined in this section.

SUICIDE THEORIES

Those who believe Meriwether Lewis took his own life have differing theories about why he did it as follows: (1) He was subject to periodic spells of depression and overwhelmed by personal problems after the expedition. (2) He had a debilitating physical disease that caused both his mind and body to deteriorate.

(1) Overwhelmed by personal problems
Major Neelly, Major Russell, and Alexander Wilson all reported Lewis' death as a suicide in letters and statements written after Lewis' death. Neelly and Russell based their conclusions on personal observations of Lewis' strange behavior shortly before his death, while Wilson accepted Mrs. Grinder's story two years after the event.

In addition, three men who were probably closest to Lewis—Thomas Jefferson, William Clark, and Mahlon Dickerson immediately assumed that Lewis had taken his own life when they heard the news. In a letter to his brother Jonathan, William Clark wrote, "I fear O! I fear the weight of his mind has overcome him."10 Dickerson lamented Lewis' death in his diary and did not question that his death was by suicide.

Jefferson wrote a short biography of Lewis in which he wrote, "While he lived with me in Washington, I observed at times sensible depressions of mind . . . During his western expedition the constant exertion which that required of all the faculties of body & mind, suspended these distressing affections; but after his establishment in St. Louis in sedentary occupations they returned upon him with redoubled vigor, and began seriously to alarm his friends. He was in a paroxym of one of these when his affairs rendered it necessary for him to go to Washington."11

Much later in time, several other prominent writers and scholars took firm stands that Lewis' death was suicide due to depression and personal problems. Two such authors are Paul Russell Cutright and Donald Jackson. (See Bibliography for references.)

(2) Overcome by a physical disease affecting mind and body
Two disease theories have recently been proposed that attribute Lewis' strange behavior and eventual self-destruction to debilitating diseases.

Paresis Theory: Reimert T. Ravenholt, a physician and epidemiologist, believes Lewis was suffering from paresis which is defined medically as, "a disorder characterized primarily by impaired mental function, caused by damage to the brain from untreated syphilis."12 Ravenholt thinks Lewis probably contracted syphilis, a venereal disease, while on the western expedition. He sees a distinct similarity between Lewis' behavior shortly before he died and clinical studies of persons afflicted with paresis. Ravenholt also believes that Lewis realized what was happening to him, and rather than cast a shadow upon those who loved and respected him, he ended his life. (See Bibliography for sources.)

Malaria Theory: A long-time Lewis and Clark scholar, Thomas C. Danisi has also proposed a disease theory, but he believes the disease afflicting Lewis was malaria. Most people who lived in the Mississippi River Valley in the early nineteenth century contracted malaria, which was spread by mosquitoes. Malaria was a recurring disease which once caught could reappear periodically. Some people were affected more strongly by malaria symptoms than others.

Danisi cites historical accounts and clinical studies of malaria patients whose behavior resembled that of Lewis. In severe cases of malaria, unbearable pain periodically afflicts certain parts of the patient's body. To get relief, patients have been known to inflict harm on the parts of their bodies that are causing pain. In other words, they try to "kill" the pain and in the process they sometimes kill themselves. (See Bibliography for sources.)

MURDER THEORIES

The belief that Meriwether Lewis was murdered is not just a recent phenomenon. Rumors about murder were circulating as soon as Lewis' death was made known. It is easy to see why people could reach such a conclusion- the violent death of a prominent young man on a wilderness road where robbers were not uncommon--no eyewitnesses, etc.

Just as the suicide theorists offer differing motives for Lewis' death, so do the murder theorists. Motives that have been put forth are: (1) murder by a jealous husband (2) murder for greed, i.e. robbery, and (3) political assassination.

(1) Murder by a jealous husband
The problem for amateur detectives today is to separate fact from folklore. Many widely-circulated versions of Lewis' death at the time it happened cannot be backed up by documentation. One of these is the story that Mr. Grinder killed Lewis when he came home and found Lewis and Mrs. Grinder together. Grinder was tried for murder, the story goes, but was aquitted because everyone was afraid of him. No documents of the alleged trial have ever been discovered, however.

(2) Murder motivated by robbery
For most proponents of the murder theory, the most plausible explanation, given the time and place, is that unknown "bandits" killed Governor Lewis while robbing him. The Natchez Trace was a long and lonely stretch of road-a path, really, through deep woods. It was a fact that robberies and murders took place along the Trace from time to time.

For others, however, the robbery theory hits closer to home. Just about everyone who was in Lewis' vicinity on the night he died has been accused of robbing and murdering him at one time or another. These include Mr. and Mrs. Grinder, John Pernier (Lewis' servant), Major Neelly, a local renegade named Runion, and even the Indian chiefs who reportedly had been traveling with Lewis and Neelly.

A lot of these accusations were, and still are, part of the regional folklore. In 1893, a distinguished scholar, Dr. Eliott Coues (pronounced "cows"), took up the cause for murder motivated by robbery. Coues was a physician, ornithologist, and historian who edited a three-volume edition of the expedition journals in 1893. Coues' murder theory appears in a short article in volume I of the journals entitled "A Memoir to Meriwether Lewis" (See bibliography for a complete reference.)

A much later robbery theory, Suicide or Murder? The Strange Death of Governor Meriwether Lewis, was written by journalist and historian Vardis Fisher in 1962. Although Fisher frames his title as a question, he comes down firmly on the side of murder. Fisher suggested several possible scenarios to support the murder theory. For example, he cited a widely circulated rumor that Lewis had discovered a gold mine out west. Upon his return Lewis allegedly told friends about the mine and that he had drawn a map of its location.

Fisher admitted the story was probably just another "lost gold mine" tale, but that was not important. What mattered was that some people believed it was true. Fisher wrote, "If the story had gone abroad that on his journey to the ocean he [Lewis] had found a mine, and had made a map of its situation, this could well have been in the consciousness of his servant, of Neelly, and possibly of the Indian chiefs [Chickasaw chiefs were said to be traveling with the party] not to speak of all the bandits on the Trace and in the wilderness who knew that the Governor was coming." 13

(3) Murder by Assassination
Theory of David Leon Chandler: For a while it seemed as if every possible motive for murder had been considered, but that changed in 1994 when a book was published entitled The Jefferson Conspiracies: A President's Role in the Assassination of Meriwether Lewis. The author, David Leon Chandler, contended that Lewis was the victim of an assassination conspiracy set in motion by none other than his erstwhile friend and mentor, Thomas Jefferson
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But why would Jefferson want Lewis dead? According to Chandler, Lewis discovered certain secrets about General James Wilkinson, his predecessor as Governor of Upper Louisiana. If revealed, these secrets would destroy not only the reputation of Gen. Wilkerson, but of Jefferson as well. Chandler believed the real reason for Lewis' trip to Washington was to "blow the whistle," The only way to kill the scandal was to kill Lewis before he could talk. Those who supposedly were helping Lewis in his final days (Major Neelly, Major Russell, etc.) were also part of the conspiracy. (See Bibliography for references.)

James E. Starrs: Can The Truth Ever Be Known?
Two centuries after the death of Governor Lewis, the interest in what happened to him that night on the Natchez Trace has ebbed at times, but never died out completely. But with all the conflicting testimonies, the passage of time, and the lack of documentation, can the truth ever be known? Forensic scientist James E. Starrs of George Washington University thinks so-if the National Park Service will allow him to exhume Lewis' remains.

Starrs leans toward the assassination theory, maintaining that the description of Lewis' wounds do not suggest suicide. "It is implausible that someone as deftly experienced with firearms as Meriwether Lewis would have failed twice to kill himself with such a deadly and destructive weapon," he says.14 (Lewis was killed by lead balls fired from two flintlock pistols.)

As the first step in getting permission for an exhumation Starrs filed an addidavit to convene a coroner's jury in the Tennessee county where Lewis was killed. The jury met on June 3, 1996 in Hohenwald, Tennessee to hear testimony from historians, forensic scientists, and experts on subjects from firearms to handwriting analysis.

After the inquest was held, participants (nearly all of whom believed Lewis was murdered), recommended that Lewis' remains be exhumed on the premise that recently-developed forensic techniques may be able to solve the mystery. The decision to exhume or not lies with National Park Service officials who now administer the section of the Natchez Trace where Lewis' gravesite is located. The Park Service maintained that the witnesses who appeared at the inquest presented a one-sided view of Lewis' death. Few witnesses appeared who believed Lewis committed suicide or who could argue strongly that physical remains of Lewis surviving after two hundred years would do little to prove either the suicide or murder theories.

The Park Service maintained that the sanctity of Lewis' burial site was more important than the small amount of information likely to be gained from examining a body that had not been buried in a coffin and had been deteriorating for nearly two hundred years. Robert C. Haraden, former superintendent of the Natchez Trace Parkway & Meriwether Lewis National Monument writes,

Exhume the Remains of Meriwether Lewis?
Park Service Denies Explorer's Exhumation

Reuters News Service - Atlanta
The body of explorer Meriwether Lewis will remain in its grave, the National Park Service said Monday. The Park Service rejected the request of a forensic scientist, James Starrs, to dig up the remains of the nineteenth explorer to try to prove a theory that Lewis was assassinated. The agency said it had a duty to protect burial sites.

"The proposed excavation and exhumation is inconsistent with National Park Service management policies, which prohibit the disturbance of burials in national park lands unless threatened with destruction," Jerry Belson, director of the National Park Service's southeast region, wrote to Starrs.

"In our opinion national parks throughout the country entrusted with the stewardship of burial sites could be affected if this project were allowed . . ." Starrs' exhumation request had the backing of more than 160 of Lewis' descendents who disagree with history books that claim the explorer committed suicide in 1809. Starrs, a professor at George Washington University, said he thought Lewis was the first assassination victim in U. S. history.16

NOTES

1. Jackson, Donald, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related
   Documents 1783-1854. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1962, p. 444. (The original letter dated July 17, 1808 is housed with the Jefferson papers in the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.)
2. Jackson, p. 445. (Same as footnote #1)
3. Jackson, pp. 467-68. (Same as footnote #1)
4. "Alexander Wilson to Alexander Lawson, Natchez, Mississippi Territory, May 28th, 1811." Port Folio, Vol VII, No. 1 (Jan 1812). Port Folio was a magazine published in Philadelphia.
5. Quoted in Chandler, David Leon. The Jefferson Conspiracies: A president's Role in the Assassination of Meriwether Lewis. New York, NY: William Morrow, 1994, pp. 299-300.
6. Jackson, pp. 573-74. (The original document is housed with the Jonathan Williams papers at Indiana University Library, Bloomington, Indiana.)
7. Report of the Lewis Monumental Committee to the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, 1848, p. 239.
8. Report of the Lewis Monumental Committee, p. 238
9. Report of the Lewis Monumental Committee, p. 240.
10. Quoted in Jackson, p. 575. (A copy of the original letter dated October 28, 1809 is housed at the Filson Club Library, Louisville, Kentucky.)
11. Jackson, p. 592. (Excerpt from a letter from Thomas Jefferson to Paul Allen dated August 18, 1813 from Monticello, Jefferson's home in Virginia. The original letter is housed with the Jefferson papers at the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.)
12. Health Central: General Encyclopedia
    http://www.healthcentral.com/mhc/top/000748.cfm
13. Fisher, Vardis. Suicide or Murder? The Strange Death of Governor Meriwether Lewis. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1962, p. 91.
14. "Forensic Science Experts to Investigate Death of Explorer Meriwether Lewis June 3 in Hohenwald, Tennessee." George Washington University News, May 9, 1996.
15. Excerpted from a letter to the editor written by Robert C. Haraden, in We Proceeded On, February 2002, p. 3.
16. Reuters News Service, Atlanta. "Park Service Denies Explorer's Exhumation." St. Louis Post Dispatch, January 13, 1998.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Murder Theories
Bakeless, John. Lewis and Clark: Partners in Discovery. New York, NY: William Morrow, 1947, chapter 26, "Tragedy in Tennessee."

Coues, Elliott. History of the Expedition Under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. I, New York, NY: Dover Publications, pp. xlii-lxii, "Memoir to Meriwether Lewis."

Chandler, David Leon. The Jefferson Conspiracies: A President's Role in the Assassination of Meriwether Lewis. New York, NY: William Morrow, 1994.

Chuinard, E.G. "How Did Meriwether Lewis Die? It was Murder. We Proceeded On, November 1991, pp. 4-10. (Dr. Chuinard is the author of Only One Man Died: The Medical Aspects of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.)

Dillon, Richard. Meriwether Lewis: A Biography. New York, NY: Coward-McCann, 1965, chapter XXII, "Last Journey."

Fisher, Vardis. Suicide or Murder? The Strange Death of Governor Meriwether Lewis, Athens, Ohio: University of Ohio Press, 1962.

Jackson, Donald, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related
Documents 1783-1854. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1962.

Suicide Theories
Cutright, Paul Russell. "Rest, Rest, Perturbed Spirit." We Proceeded On, March 1986, pp. 7-16. Cutright is also author of two books about the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Lewis and Clark: Pioneering Naturalists and A History of the Lewis and Clark Journals.

Danisi, Thomas C. "The 'Ague' Made Him Do It." We Proceeded On, February, 2002, pp. 10-15.

Ravenholt, Reimert Thorolf. "Self-Destruction on the Natchez Trace: Meriwether Lewis's Act of Ultimate Courage." Columbia, Summer 1999, pp. 3-6.

______ "Triumph Then Despair: The Tragic Death of Meriwether Lewis. Epidemiology, May, 1994, pp. 366-379.

______"Trail's End for Meriwether Lewis"
http://www.cosmos-club.org/journals/1997/raven.html.

INTERNET RESEARCH SOURCES

http://www.winternet.com/~swezeyt/fun/lewis.htm (The Jefferson Conspiracies)

http://www.wshs.org/lewisandclark/meriwether_lewis.htm (Article about Lewis' death by Dee Brown)

http://www.wshs.org/lewisandclark/self-destruction.htm (Dr. Reimert Ravenholt's Theory)

http://www.tngenweb.org/lewis/ (Webpage of Lewis County, Tennessee)