He arrived at a stand, the home of the Grinders (some say Griners) to spend the night. While staying in his room, two gunshots were heard by Mrs. Grinder. The next morning Lewis was found dead.
Who killed Meriwether Lewis ?
This has been an unanswered question for almost two hundred years. There are many speculations. When one visits the cabin exhibit today, he/she is left with the definite impression that it was suicide. But many different aspects must be considered.
Statements and legends - (more details are added as research allows.)
- statement - - there were numerous thieves on the trace. Many murders and robberies were commited which were never solved. Since so many used the trace for returning north with their earnings from Natchez Miss, it was a gathering place for robbers.
- statement - - It was reported that Lewis had tried to commit suicide twice while on the way to Philadelphia.
- statement - - Mrs. Grinder reported that Lewis ate very little the night of his visit, and paced about.
- statement - - Mrs. Grinder told on one occasion that she heard one shot, on another occasion two.
- statement - - Mrs. Grinder was alone at the time. Mr. Grinder was away. She claims to have entered his room after hearing the shots to see him wounded. On another occasion, she claims that she never left her room out of fear. And again, she claimed to have left her room, only to peek through the logging to see the wounded Lewis as he apparently begged for water.
- statement - - Other reports say that there were Grinder children present, and that they slept in the nearby barn that night.
- statement - - it is reported that soon after the death of Lewis, the Grinder's moved to west Tennessee and purchased a large tract of land, along with slaves.
- statement - - the post commander at Memphis Tennessee, Gilbert Russell, claimed that Lewis was in a state of mental derangement when his party arrived. Several days were spent in his recovery before they could set out again.
- statement - - Lewis was often moody and depressed.
- statement - - Lewis was upset. He was on his way to clear away some political and financial entanglements, and to make some corrections on allegations against him.
- statement - - His last words were reportedly - "I have done the business my good servant give me some water." Another statement was - "I am no coward, but it is hard, so hard to die."
- statement - - Lewis' friend Alexander Wilson visited his friend's grave and talked at length with Mrs. Grinder about a year after the death. He left some money for a fence to be put up around the grave. He was convinced that Lewis had been murdered.
- statement - - in 1848 the monument was installed over the grave. The body was exhumed for positive identification and reburied. It stands today having recently been restored (2001)
- statement - - recently, some have requested that the body be exhumed again to be examined by forensic experts, to see if indeed he was murdered or took his own life.
- theory - - some have offered that the French servant traveling with him robbed and killed him.
- statement - - an official investigation into the death of Lewis was never carried out
- legend - - One can hear Lewis' last words and the sounds of his cup scraping while he sought for water. It is rumored that this can be heard before daylight at the Grinder Site.
There seems to be very little hard evidence to go on. All reports
seem to conflict each other. It is said that the possibility of a
conspiracy exixts from another official who wanted Lewis killed. Lewis
was possibly going to report some evidence on this person. It is
highly unlikely that the case will ever be solved. It will remain an
intruguing mystery.
- other details
The Grinder site today -
The actual house is gone now. Only a few sunken stones remain
where the fireplace once stood. A visitor center now stands next to
the location of the house.
