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Reviews
BY HIS OWN HAND?: THE MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF MERIWETHER LEWIS
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edited by John D.W. Guice
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| University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 2006. Illustrations, photographs, tables, notes, bibliography, index. 199 pages. $24.95 cloth. |
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| Shortly after the 1971 publication of my A History of Missouri, 1673–1820, the Kansas City Star's Missouri history editor took strong exception to my simple declaration that: "A major debate has raged over the cause of Gov. Meriwether Lewis's death, but the preponderance of evidence seems to suggest suicide." In a lengthy feature titled "Prof Stirs Up Old Debate" he pronounced me guilty of "lazy research at best" and wondered aloud how any historian could be so cavalier in the treatment of such a crucial issue. To his way of thinking, murder was the only acceptable explanation for Lewis's tragic and untimely demise. Nearly four decades later, the circumstances surrounding Lewis's mysterious death on the Natchez Trace continue to evoke similar strong reactions from proponents on both sides of the murder-suicide debate. |
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The persistence of the debate prompted historian John Guice to organize a session at the Southern Historical Association's 2003 meeting in Houston, Texas, to reassess the voluminous body of scholarship on this volatile subject. That lively and well-attended gathering spawned this engaging book, which brings together the thoughts of James Holmberg, Jay Buckley, Elliott West, Clay Jenkinson, and Guice. While they contain no dramatic new revelations, the thoughtful commentaries by this stellar cast of contributors offer new insights and illustrate the complexities of an issue that continues to bedevil followers of the Lewis and Clark saga. As West notes in the foreword, the competing essays can also serve as a primer on how historians work and argue. Clay Jenkinson's well-crafted introduction sets the stage for the debate that follows. |
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Jim Holmberg takes the lead in presenting the case for suicide. Given the absence of a suicide note or an eyewitness account, he relies on contemporary documents that describe Lewis's actions and his sometimes erratic behavior, along with other relevant observations and opinions from Lewis's friends and acquaintances. From those sources, Holmberg marshals an impressive array of evidence to support his conclusion that mental illness pushed Lewis to take his own life. His careful scrutiny of the available written testimony persuades Holmberg that, following Lewis's triumphal return from the Pacific, a series of personal problems and disappointments intensified his predisposition toward melancholia. Noting that Lewis's contemporaries clearly believed he had killed himself, Holmberg reminds readers that allegations of murder did not surface until the 1840s, long after the fateful events of October 10, 1809. Perhaps the most compelling argument of all is the ready acceptance of suicide as the cause of death by those who knew Lewis best — notably Thomas Jefferson and William Clark. Shortly after learning of his friend's passing, Clark confided to his brother Jonathan "I fear O! I fear the waight of his mind has over come him." Jefferson later echoed those sentiments when he ascribed his protégé's undoing in part to his "hypocondriac affections." |
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In seeking to make a case for murder, Guice sets out to discredit the witnesses Holmberg employs and to cast doubt on the works of others who embrace the suicide theory. Guice argues that the evidence for suicide is circumstantial, based on hearsay and speculation, which is sometimes contradictory and largely attributable to a few common and unreliable sources. Lacking any direct evidence to buttress a case for foul play, Guice raises further doubt by posing questions about Lewis's missing money and personal effects, the total darkness of the night in question, and the unlikelihood that a man skilled in using weaponry could so badly botch a suicide attempt. His conviction that there is reasonable doubt leads him to the conclusion that "murder was not only a possibility, but a probability" (p. 102). |
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With the cases for suicide and homicide having been well made, Jay Buckley takes up the challenge of sorting out the conflicting accounts and making sense of them. His marvelous concluding essay is the real winner in this book. In it, he invites readers "to exercise their 'cogitating faculties' while vicariously participating in a postmortem trial to determine whether or not Lewis's death was self-inflicted, accidental, or caused by someone else" (p. 109). He cautions readers to keep an open mind about all of the possibilities and to maintain a willingness to explore new avenues. Buckley's thoughtful dissection of the competing arguments is itself worth the price of this slender volume. In the end, it is unlikely that many minds will be changed, but those who pick up this book are sure to come away with a better appreciation for the reasons that this debate is likely to continue for years ahead. Meanwhile, this study should stand as the definitive work for the present generation. |
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| William E. Foley
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| University of Central Missouri |
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