LEWIS, MERIWETHER (1774-1809), American explorer, was born near Charlottesville, (Va.), on Aug. 18, 1774. A militia man in the "Whisky Insurrection," officer under Gen. Anthony Wayne, and from 18o1 to 1803 the private secretary of President Jefferson, he became famous as leader of the first American expedition overland to the Pacific. Preparations for this were pushed by Jefferson before the Louisiana Purchase, but the actual leadership was vested in Lewis and his old friend and army comrade, Lieut. William Clark. Late in 1803 they and their subordinates went into winter quarters near St. Louis. On May 14, 1804, the party "hoisted Sail and Set out in high Spirits for the Western Expedition," and by Nov. 2 they had made the difficult ascent of the Missouri to a site near the present Bis marck, where, among the Mandan Indians, they passed the second winter. Early in April 1805 the ascent of the Missouri was con tinued as far as the three forks of the river, the stream they named the Jefferson being followed to its source in the south western part of what is now the State of Montana. Procuring a guide and horses from the Shoshone Indians, the party pushed westward through the Rocky Mountains and embarked in canoes on a tributary of the Columbia river, the mouth of which they reached on Nov. 15. They had travelled upwards of 4,000m. from their starting-point, had encountered various Indian tribes never before seen by whites, had made valuable scientific collec tions and observations, and were the first explorers to reach the Pacific by crossing the continent north of Mexico. After spending the winter on the coast they started on March 23, 1806, on their return journey, and, after crossing the divide, Lewis with one party explored Maria's river, and Clark with another the Yellow stone. They reunited near the junction of the Yellowstone and
the Missouri, and on Sept. 23 reached St. Louis. In spite of ex posure, hardship and peril only one member of the party died, and only one deserted. Few feats of exploration excel this in romantic interest. The expedition was commemorated by the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition at Portland (Ore.), in 1905. The leaders and men of the exploring party were rewarded with grants of land from the public domain, and in March r807 Lewis was made governor of the northern part of the Louisiana Territory. His death near Nashville (Tenn.), on Oct. 1809, has remained shrouded in mystery, suicide and more plausibly foul play being advanced as explanations for it.