The Coolidge examiner., 1934-08-24

and announced the successful completion Of
their great journey nor the honors which the
future held for him. lie returned 10 Washing
ton 10 find himself the hero OF the hour and 10
be warmly welcomed hs Jefferson who said: "He
Is nov become close 10 me own son
The first honor which came 20 him was the
soyernorship of the vast territory which he had
explored In 1907 be left Washington for St
Louis 20 take over his new Job. II was not an
easy. one There were conflicting land grants
TO be passed upon. there was jealousy and
pickering amang the ofice-holders and all sorts
of quarrels and differences among the varied
population Of the new country 10 be settled
Within a year Meriwether Lewis was a sick and
weary man. He became more lonely and silent
even towards his good friend. William Clark
The old brooding cts OF black despair settled
down upon him once more.
Then came another blow to his troubled spirit
Petty officials IN Washington questioned some OF
his accounts and refused TO pay them. Cut 70
the quick by this Insinuation against his lnteg
rity he prepared 20 20 10 the Capital 10 defend
himself against bis detraetors. BY this time he
was a very sick man indeed Clark and his
other friends tried 10 dissnAde him from at
tempting the journey but without success.
Accompanied by two servants, Pernea. Gre
ole. and Jim, a negro. and by Maj. John Neely.
Indian agent for the Cherokees. he set out on
horseback In Tennessee his illness became
worse but he insisted upon pushing on Then
one afternoon he and bis companions became
separated In a severe ralnstorm. Lewis sought
shelter In a waysde tavern kept by a Mrs
Griner What happened then Is told In the words
OF Jefferson writing in 1912. as follows: Mrs.
Grlner alarmed nj the symptoms OF arrangement
she discovered. gave him up the house and re
tired 10 rest herself In an clubhouse. the gov
rnF
About three O'Clock in the night he did the deed
which plunged his friends into afflIctlon and de-
prIved his country Of one OF her most valued
citizens, whose valor and intelligence would
now have been employed In avenging the wrongs
OF his country, and in emulating by land the
splendid deeds which have honored her arms on
the ocean To this melancholy close OF the
life OF one whom posterity will declare not 10
have lived In vain. have only to add that ali
the facts / have stated are known either 10
myself. or communicated by his family to others.
for whose truth I have no hesitation TO make
myself responsible"
There has been some dispute among hLsto.
rlans over the facts OF Lewis death. One yer.
sion OF the tale has II that he was murdered
either by Griner. Pernea the Creole, or Jim the
negro. But his biographer declares: THE weight
OF testimony, both recorded and traditional Is
overwhelming In support OF the but slightly
varying accounts forwarded by John Neely.
Alexander Wilson and Thomas Jefferson which
means Meriwether Lewis died by his own hand
He was buried near the place where he died
II miles west OF Nashville on the old Natchez
Trace In 1919 the legislature Of Tennessee
voted the sum OF $500 TO build monument over
his grave and In 1925 the federal government
set aside a tract OF 80 acres surrounding this
memorial as a national monument. A splendid
memorial TO him and his friend. William Clark
stands on the campus OF the University OF vir-
glnIa at Charlottesville and recent years have
also seen statues of both men erected near the
Missouri state capitol at Jefferson City. Numer-
GUS tablets and other memorials dot their trail
from the Mississippi to the Pacific and a tall
obelisk which stands near the town that bears
his name. Meriwether. Mont, is known the
Lewis monument" commemorating the most
northerly point reached by the expedition. But
even without ali these memorials the fame OF
Meriwether Lewis and his friend William Clark
would be secure. Lewis and Clark Is a famil-
lar phrase on the American tongue and in the
American mind IL Is perpetual symbol OF those
whs 20 forth 10 adventure, clad in the shining
armor OF youth and high enterprise
cby Western Newspaper Union