Governor Meriwether Lewis died on October 11th, 1809. The death of Meriwether Lewis isn’t your ordinary everyday death. Many historians believe he committed suicide. Other historians believe he was murdered. I, myself, believe he was murdered. How could it possibly be difficult to tell the difference between a murder and a suicidal case?

The document “Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis” states Meriwether Lewis was 32 years old when he came back from the expedition he is most well-known for. Lewis was an extreme outdoorsman. When President Thomas Jefferson appointed him to be the Governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory, he was very grateful, but it wasn’t the job meant for him. Close friends stated he was having a drinking problem, due to a hard time adjusting.

In addition, the document also explained he had problems with the new Secretary of War. William Eustis …show more content…
Mrs. Grinder had told Alexander, Lewis had drunk a little alcohol and eaten very little food, the night he came. She had also told him that Lewis would walk up to her, then turn around and walk back as fast has he could. He then proceeded to take out his pipe and smoke for a part of the afternoon. He would sit down on a chair, then walk around in the yard for a while. When he went to sleep, he insisted on sleeping on his bear skins and in his buffalo robe, instead of sleeping on the bed in the room he was staying in. In this version, Mrs. Grinder stayed in the kitchen downstairs. The document, “Letter from Alexander Wilson to a Friend” also states she heard him walk backward and forward for hours while talking loud. Mrs. Grinder then heard two shots fired and soon after Lewis called for some water to heal his wounds. After shooting himself in the head and chest, he managed to walk around the house, outside of the house to a tree, back inside the house while hauling a bucket with a gourd for water, until he died hours