By His Own Hand? The Mysterious Death of Meriweather Lewis

This book contains three superb essays, four if you count Clay Jenkinson's excellent introduction, about the mystery of Lewis' death on the Natchez Trail. For two centuries, most historians are comfortable that Lewis committed suicide due to depression, ill health (syphilis), alcoholism, financial problems, lack of support as governor /or a combination of all these problems. Vardis Fischer challenged this perception very well in his book in 1962; however, Guice and Holmberg today support Fischer's theory and keep the door open to the possibility of murder. The biggest issue centers on the lone known witness, Mrs. Grinder, who ran the modest lodging with her absent husband the night of the murder. Holmberg runs the course of the traditional view and tells well the circumstances that, in his view, clearly indicate that Lewis committed suicide. Guice and Holmberg bring up many fascinating issues particularly the inconsistent testimony of Mrs. Grinder. The most questionable statement from Mrs. Grinder is her testimony that although Lewis fired two 69-caliber horse pistols, these very loud shots failed to wake his two servants sleeping nearby, only waking Mrs. Grinder, thus she was the sole witness. The three primary authors also provide references to numerous historians who fall into their sphere of argument. One of which quotes a historian who the amusing comment that although he believed that Lewis committed suicide he also believed that Mrs. Grinder was "a nut" due to her inconsistent statements. The authors provide excellent background history about Lewis and his post discovery adventure and the conspiracy theorists bring up many relative points and motives for the possibility of murder. The book follows in the wake of the book, "The Death of Meriwether Lewis: A Historic Crime Scene Investigation", which was a modern inquest into Lewis' death and its conclusion urged the National Park Service to exhume the body of Lewis for further study. "By His own Hand" is much better book with disciplined essays and the authors get to the point in less than 170 total pages. There are many controversial facts brought out that are quite interesting although the most depressing is the report that Lewis' grave was dug so shallow that hogs may have uprooted and destroyed a major portion of his remains making an autopsy less relevant if true. Jenkinson makes a very salient point in his introduction that is fitting; it is difficult for the public to accept that a major hero may have committed suicide. The arguments are well done and educational but even after this publication, the mystery like Roanoke Island continues. The book contains excellent illustrations, copies of documents and reference materials such as an outline-listing historian with pro and con views over the past 200 years.

By His Own Hand? is a valuable addition to the Lewis and Clark literature. The centerpieces of this slim volume are two extended essays, one by James Holmberg of the Filson Historical Society in Louisville, the other by John D.W. Guice, professor of history emeritus at the University of Southern Mississippi. In "The Case for Suicide," Jim Holmberg does an excellent job of setting out the evidence that Meriwether Lewis committed suicide in the early morning hours of October 11, 1809. The strength of Holmberg's essay is the overwhelming support of documentary evidence that the people closest to Lewis, including William Clark and Thomas Jefferson, believed he was in a suicidal frame of mind. Holmberg also points out that the supposed tradition of murder did not begin until the 1840s, many decades after Lewis died, when the residents of the area formed Lewis County and began to embrace the legacy of their most famous, if deceased, resident. William Clark's son, Meriwether Lewis Clark, may have also played a role in attempting to rescue his namesake from the stigma of suicide. By contrast, those who believe Lewis was murdered have never been able to muster much evidence against any of the many suspects and rely heavily on the dubious supposition that Lewis simply wasn't the type to commit suicide. There are big holes in all the murder theories. Fictional accounts such as Frances Hunter's "To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis and Clark" can fill in such gaps, but no documentary evidence exists that can do so in real life. Yet Guice's essay, "Why Not Murder?" is more valuable than the confused tales of murder in the night might suggest. Guice points out that, starting with Thomas Jefferson, there has been a long history of retrofitting Lewis's life and actions to point to a suicidal nature. Scholars often point to Lewis's 31st birthday journal entry. Written literally as the Expedition was poised to become the first Americans to cross the Continental Divide, Lewis seems to lament the fact that he's never accomplished a doggone thing in his life. But is this really evidence that Lewis was self-destructive or a raging depressive? And how about the missing journals, or Lewis's failures in politics after the Expedition? Might there be explanations other than mental illness? Guice does a good job of showing that when interpreted through the assumption of suicide, Lewis's foibles seem much more ominous than they would otherwise. He also points out that the suicide tradition is based largely on hearsay, and calls for an exhumation of Lewis's body to search for forensic evidence that might settle the question once and for all. He notes that over 200 Lewis relatives signed a petition asking the National Park Service for permission to examine the remains, but the NPS denied the request. I also appreciated Guice's defense of Vardis Fisher, whose Suicide or Murder? (1962) doesn't always get the respect it deserves. Fisher did yeoman's work

You talk about true crime, this puts them all to shame. Or was it a crime? For almost two centuries scholars, criminologists, medical professionals and a host of other sleuths have tried to determine what caused the death of Meriwether Lewis of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition. Was it a suicide, a homicide, or an accident? The shooting on October 11, 1809, in an Inn along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee has created much controversy, speculation, legends, and myths and yet the mystery has not been solved. Or has it? This book is the first to analyze the evidence and, within the full historical context, consider the murder-versus-suicide debate. Four historians outline the facts and present the evidentiary problems; make a case for suicide...and murder; assess the strengths and weaknesses of both arguments; and present a document section from which the reader can examine the available key evidence. What ultimately caused the death of Meriwether Lewis? YOU decide.

BY HIS OWN HAND? THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF MERIWETHER LEWIS surveys the evidence in the strange death of explorer Lewis, who was found dead from two gunshot wounds while staying at an inn in Tennessee. Who fired these shots may never be fully known, but BY HIS OWN HAND takes a healthy stab at a case with no eyewitnesses. Contributors here are all historians of the West and conduct investigations making the case for different results, with editor Guice dissecting the suicide argument and outlining inconsistencies in the theory. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch