Meriwether Lewis - (1774-1809)
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I. Biography Meriwether Lewis was born August 18, 1774, near Charlottesville, Virginia. His boyhood neighbor was Thomas Jefferson. In 1794, 20 years later, he joined the
militia at the rank of Ensign. He also helped put down the Whiskey Rebellion. While in the militia, he met William Clark, his soon-to-be expedition partner.
In 1801, Lewis was appointed Secretary of State by Thomas Jefferson. On February 28, 1803, the plans for the expedition for the Northwest Passage were granted.
During the Northwest Expedition, Thomas Jefferson asked Lewis to keep journals of his travels. These journals were periodically sent back to President Jefferson. Lewis' only
writings were in the form of these journal entries. He was the first white man to ever see and record the "New Frontier" of the West.
Lewis' writings contained passages about the Northwest Expedition, which began in 1804. Lewis arrived in Montana in December of 1804. While in Montana, Lewis and another
hunter killed a grizzly bear. This was the first time a grizzly bear had been killed by a white man and recorded for science. In June 1805, he arrived in Great Falls. The Expedition
discovered four more waterfalls farther upstream, which he recorded in his journal. They had to portage, or carry their boats, past these waterfalls. It took nearly a month to get past
the falls. He and some companions set off to hunt pronghorn, which Lewis described as "extremely shy and watchful insomuch that we had been unable to get a shot at them. I had
on this day an opportunity of witnessing the agility and superior fleetness of this animal which was to me really astonishing. I pursued a herd of seven...bad as the chance to
approach them was, I made the best of my way towards them, frequently peeping over the ridge with which I took care to conceal myself from their view...I got within 200 paces of them when they smelt me and fled."
II. Lewis in Montana In August 1805, the Expedition camped with the Shoshones near the headwaters of the Missouri, near present day Three Forks, Montana. In September 1805, they camped near
present day Missoula, Montana. Lewis and Clark called this area Travelers Rest, to prepare for the mountain crossing. They then crossed the mountains into Idaho. The Expedition
re-entered Montana and camped at the Bitterroot Mountains, but must waited for the snow to melt before crossing them. The Expedition then broke into smaller groups. Lewis' group
took the shortcut to Great Falls, then north along the Maris River. All of the parties were reunited downstream from the mouth of the Yellowstone River in August, 1806. They returned safely from their travels.
After the expedition, Lewis was treated as a national hero. He was appointed Governor of the Louisiana Territory. He died on October 11, 1809, at 35 years of age. Lewis' death was
accompanied by a scandal. He was shot while at an inn south of Nashville. There is a debate about whether he was murdered, or if in fact, he committed suicide. Most experts
believe he committed suicide. He was buried near Hohenwald, Tennessee. III. List of Works Lewis and Clark Journals (3 years)
This essay was submitted by a student of Steve Gardiner, a teacher at Billings Senior High School in Billings, Montana.