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Biographical Notes
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Meriwether Lewis - 1774-1809
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Befriended by the Clatsop Indians, the Corps of Discovery remained at Fort Clapsop until March 21, 1806. On that date they commenced their return trip to St. Louis. They proceeded up the Colombia by river to the lower falls and then overland to the foot of the Bitterroot Mountains. Once again the Indians, particularly the Nez Pierce, assisted their travel. Winter snow was particularly deep that year and they were unable to get across the Rockies until June 30. Once again it was a very difficult passage, but the actual crossing itself was shorter than on the outbound trip because they found a more direct route. After crossing the Bitterroots, the party split into two groups. Clark took one group and explored the Yellowstone River, while Lewis and another group explored to the north along the Marias River. Lewis met with members of the Blackfoot tribe and confirmed that they were actively trading with British trading posts in present day Canada.
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On August 7 Lewis reached the mouth of the Yellowstone where it had been agreed that the two groups would reunite. Clark had been there, but had decided to go on in search of better hunting grounds. On August 11 Lewis was shot in the buttocks in a hunting accident. He attended to his wound and continued down river after Clark without delay. On August 12 Lewis met two trappers coming upriver - Joseph Dickson and Forrest Hancock. These two men had started out in August 1804 and were headed for the Yellowstone to trap beaver. Dickson and Hancock decided to join with Lewis and proceed on to the Mandan villages. Later that day Lewis caught up with Clark and on August 14 they landed. Charbonneau, his wife and child were paid off and remained with the Mandans. One of the members of the Corps of Discovery, John Colter, received permission to join with Dickson and Hancock and to return to the Yellowstone with them. On August 17 the remainder of the party once again headed down river. They arrived in St. Louis on September 23, 1806. They had traveled some 8,000 miles and been gone 28 months.
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On landing at St. Louis, Lewis immediately wrote a preliminary report to the President. In it he explained that they had accomplished their main objective in finding the most feasible route across the continent, but that it was not possible to make the entire journey by river. He also explained that the headwaters of the Missouri River extended to the 49th parallel. The first point put to rest the long held belief that there was an all-water route across the North American continent (the Northwest Passage), and the second point effectively established the northern border of the Louisiana purchase. This and subsequent reports went into considerable detail about Indian matters, scientific discoveries, and the geography of the terrain that was traversed by the expedition. Needless to say the President and the entire nation was eager to get as much of the information as possible as soon as possible. Lewis and Clark clearly understood this and it was decided that Lewis would take the lead in preparing the necessary reports. Unfortunately the publication of the reports ran into innumerable delays.
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On February 28, 1807, Lewis was named Governor of Louisiana and Clark was appointed as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the Louisiana Territory with headquarters in St. Louis. As far as the army was concerned Clark remained a lieutenant, but Jefferson promoted him to Brigadier General in the militia. Lewis never did satisfactorily deal with the publication issue nor did he attend to his new duties as Governor of Louisiana. He was forced to deal with a multitude of petty matters most particularly justifying the expenses that he had incurred during the expedition. He began drinking heavily and was often in a depressed state of mind. To make matters worse he wished to marry, but was unlucky in love. He finally went to St. Louis to take up his duties as Governor on March 8, 1808. In carrying out the responsibilities of his office he was often quick to make policy or take action, but slow in obtaining the support of his superiors in Washington. During the later part of 1808 Lewis and Clark were involved in the formation of the St. Louis Missouri Fur Company which planned to operate along the Yellowstone River under a monopoly granted by Governor Lewis.
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Lewis was very active in St. Louis but he still did not address the publication of his journals and he continued to drink heavily. On February 24, 1809, Lewis signed a contract on behalf of the United States Government with the St. Louis Missouri Fur Company to deliver Big White, a Mandan Indian Chief, to his home village and to protect him from attack by hostile Indians (primarily Arikara and Sioux) during the trip up the Missouri River. Following that the company would proceed on to the Yellowstone River and trap beaver under a monopoly granted by the governor. The venture raised serious questions in Washington and considerable opposition from those who were not party to it in St. Louis. In addition, relations between the governor and his secretary, Frederick Bates, deteriorated as the later criticized many of his actions and worked to ensure that several important expenditures made by the Governor would not be honored by the government. Lewis's financial creditworthiness came into serious question at precisely the time that Madison was replacing Jefferson as president.
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On September 4, 1809, Lewis left St. Louis for Washington. He was severally depressed and attempted to kill himself on several occasions prior to actually accomplishing the deed on the evening of October 10, 1809, at Grinder's Inn, near Nashville, Tennessee.
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