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 Recently, I have been doing research in Chicago at the Newberry Library and the Chicago History Museum. This photo was taken at the Newberry, one of the great research libraries for western American studies. I am preparing to write a book on the death of Meriwether Lewis in 1809. I believe he was murdered by agents of General James Wilkinson, one of the most notorious scoundrels in the history of the early American republic. I can't prove it, but I can make a case for it. I have been buying and reading second hand books and photocopies from archives for months now.
Lewis and Clark in 2009
Next year in 2009, we will most likely be seeing the story of Lewis and Clark on a ten hour HBO broadcast of Undaunted Courage, based on the book by Stephen Ambrose. Production is underway right now. It will star Edward Norton and Brad Pitt as Lewis and Clark, both really good casting choices, and is being co-produced by the two stars, the director Michelle Ashford, and the National Geographic. In my opinion, we have the best chance to see a great dramatization of the story from this team. I hope they will at least consider leaving the issue of Lewis's death open to question, as to whether it was suicide or murder. 2009 will also be the bicentennial of Meriwether Lewis's death on the Natchez Trace.
 Shown here are two 1790's horse pistols of the type carried by Meriwether Lewis, and with which he supposedly committed suicide by shooting himself in the forehead and in the side of his chest. The story goes (in its several varying versions) that his two nearby servants, sleeping in the barn, did not come to investigate; that Mrs. Grinder, the inn keeper, and her children, who were in the adjacent cabin were too afraid to go to his aid; and that he took several hours to die while crawling around the yard begging for water.
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The immense fortunes to be had in lead mining operations south of St. Louis may have been the reason Meriwether Lewis was murdered. Captain Amos Stoddard reported to Congress that “no part of the world furnished lead ore in greater quantities and purities.” Lead was used to make bullets for guns; and Congress voted to reserve and lease all land containing lead in the territory. William Carr, the federal land agent, said that the profits from the leasing and sale of public lands could pay for almost the entire $15 million cost of the Louisiana Purchase within a few years. But after the U. S. acquired the territory, the lead district became the scene of raging “mineral wars,” with armed groups battling for control. The chief troublemaker was John Smith T., a relative of General James Wilkinson.
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Featuring Lewis and Clark Trail news from around America, an archive of past issues of the monthly newsletter, Proceeding On, is now available. Kira Gale was awarded the Meritorious Achievement Award of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation in 2007. She is the author of Lewis and Clark Road Trips: Exploring the Trail Across America published in 2006. There is a large website with links and MapQuest maps to over 800 destinations on the trail, a forum, and other interesting information. The website address is www.lewisandclarkroadtrips.com Contact kira@lewisandclarktravel.com for permission to reprint articles featured in her newsletter. Send news, photo, comments to her for inclusion in the newsletter which goes out around the end of each month.
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Proceeding On Newsletter Archives
PAST ISSUES 1850 Grave Exhumation and Monument Committee Report (June, 2008) Unknown portraits of Lewis and Clark found (May, 2008) Strange Happenings during the 1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes (April, 2008) Jail Inmate rescues stolen Sacagawea statue heads (March, 2008) Power plant on Portage Route stalls out (February, 2008) Court record found for Sacagawea’s children (January, 2008) Lewis and Clark comic book by Native American artist now available (Nov-Dec, 2007) Beauty Queens stage protest at Sacagawea statue (October, 2007) City of St Louis proposes developing Gateway Arch grounds (September, 2007) Sacagawea dollar coins a hit in Ecuador (August, 2007) Montana inquires about HBO mini series (July, 2007) Lewis and Clark HBO mini series in 2008 with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton (June, 2007)
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 If you love the watercolors of Karl Bodmer, you will want to read the journals of Prince Maximilian. Looking at the drawings alone is like reading a comic book missing its words. The first volume of a modern edition of the journals has just been published by the University of Oklahoma Press. It is available from the press at a cost of $85. (The ISBN number is 978-0-8061-3888-6.) The title is The North American Journals of Prince Maximilian of Wied: Volume 1: May 1832-April 1833. I just bought a copy at Joslyn Art Museum, the home of both the Bodmer drawings and the original journals of Prince Maximilian. This publication has been long awaited, and it was well worth the wait. It is a glorious publication.
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