Oregon Public Broadcasting

One of the great mysteries of the Lewis and Clark expedition is how Meriwether Lewis met his end nearly 200 years ago. 

Did he shoot himself, as is generally believed?  Or was he assassinated? 

Lewis’s descendents want to know for sure, so they’re asking the National Park Service for permission to exhume and examine his body. 

Lewis is buried in the Natchez Trace Parkway in Tennessee. 

For some reaction from the Northwest, we called David Nicandri.  He’s the Director of the Washington State Historical Society.  He says the idea of Lewis committing suicide is – for many – at odds with the man’s image.