by Mark Frost
With all humility, by the authority vested in me by my own confidential charter, this correspondent has endeavored to carry on the work begun by Captain Lewis: the spirit of fearless inquiry into enduring mysteries applied in the search for ancient truths that transcend and defy conventional wisdom. This dossier represents the fruits of that labor.17
As to the governor’s “suicide”? Based solely on slanderous “accounts” offered by political enemies, this notion became by default the prevailing narrative of Lewis’s tragic end. Mental illness was so poorly comprehended in his time that a more shameful fate for a hero of his stature is impossible to imagine. This shocking notion cast such a pall over his reputation that it nearly obliterated inquiry.
But not quite.
A U.S. congressional committee ordered an investigation into the matter in 1848. They also voted to erect a monument over his grave, which stands there to this day. Prior to placing the monument, his coffin was recovered, identified and briefly opened. A doctor engaged by the committee viewed the body, at that point still remarkably well preserved, and testified in the official report that “Governor Lewis almost certainly died at the hands of an assassin.”
As scientific techniques improved in the 20th century, Lewis’s descendants have pressed the government to exhume his remains for comprehensive forensic study, which may well reverse the 200-year-old calumny his reputation has suffered.
Two last telling details from that congressional inquiry: Mrs. Grinder testified that she witnessed Lewis crawling outside, begging for water, in the moonlight. I have examined records of the phases of the moon for that year: there was no moon that night.
Also: the carpenter who fashioned the crude coffin in which Lewis was hastily buried later told the committee that he had viewed the body and testified that he saw a wound in the rear of Lewis’s skull.18
Which raises this question: Governor Lewis was renowned as one of the great marksmen of his era, so are we to believe that while attempting suicide, he would shoot himself in the back of the head … and fail? That he then shot himself in the chest and again failed to finish the job, leading to several final hours of almost incomprehensible suffering?
It seems far more likely that Lewis had good reason to fear pursuit, as his behavior suggests, when he arrived at Grinder’s Stand. It seems equally likely he suffered an assault at the hands of unknown assailants that night, suffering grievous and fatal injuries. The slashes to his throat and arms sound like what forensic science would classically describe as “defensive wounds.”19
Given that the blood of two unknown men was found on his Masonic apron, it appears Lewis fought to defend himself against multiple attackers with every last fiber of strength in him.
Final questions: What motivated General Wilkinson and the Spanish to pursue the extermination of the Corps of Discovery? What were they so afraid of Lewis and Clark finding in the Pacific Northwest?
Did Lewis write about some darker secret in his missing journals? Was there something besides incriminating evidence he was conveying to Washington that inspired assassins to track him down in the wilderness, brutally murder him and then frame his death as suicide to deflect inquiry?20
* Here we see the broken column of the monument, designed to symbolize the tragedy of a remarkable life cut short.
* (L) Meriwether Lewis (R) The traitorous General James Wilkinson
*ARCHIVIST’S FINAL THOUGHT
I have recently verified one last curious aspect of this story. When Jefferson sent Lewis to the Northwest, he ordered him to keep an eye out for various strange phenomena often mentioned in rumors of the region, among them a tribe of “white Indians” and a race of giants. I have found dozens of strange references in the 19th-century American press to the recovery of skeletons of men in burial mounds that are between seven and nine feet tall. For instance, just one of many:
There is also no dispute that when Lewis and Clark returned east, they brought with them a chief of the Mandan tribe from the Dakotas named Sheheke-shote, aka “Big White.” The Mandan are often mentioned in connection with a pervasive rumor from the early expansionist era: that somewhere in the upper Midwest dwelt a tribe of Welsh-speaking “white Indians,” alleged descendants of a 12th-century Welsh prince called Madoc--in Welsh, Madog ab Owain Gwynedd--who sailed to America and followed the Mississippi north, founding a series of colonies along the way. Evidence for this is offered in the houselike structures in which the Mandan lived, which look like early Welsh villages, and the unusual boats they used, which closely resemble the Welsh seagoing “coracle.”
This much is fact: Chief Sheheke-shote was very pale complected, with blue or green eyes, and he stood at least six feet ten inches tall. Sheheke and his wife and son traveled with Lewis and Clark all the way to Washington, D.C., where Lewis introduced him to Thomas Jefferson.
After an absence of two years and two attempts to return him to his people that required an army escort of more than 600 soldiers through hostile territory, Sheheke finally made it back to his Mandan village.
Sadly, it is said that his people did not believe the chief’s stories of this powerful new civilization and its leaders that he had encountered. As a result Sheheke lost his standing with his nation and, a shattered man, died in a Sioux raid a few years later.21
1 No official headings identify who conducted this “inquiry,” close to 200 years after the incident. The Archivist emerges as the most likely candidate—TP
2 This was a common complaint of appointed officials serving in the western territories; the fledgling U.S. government was perpetually short of funds at this time and the new capital’s bureaucrats were notoriously slow to make reimbursements—TP
3 This references a traitorous plot conducted by Jefferson’s disgraced former vice president, Aaron Burr—who had fled west after killing former Treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton in a notorious duel on the New Jersey Palisades—and various co-conspirators, which was exposed in 1805. This faction planned to seize control of a large area in Texas, Mexico and Louisiana in order to create a new and separate republic to be ruled by Burr as feudal monarch.
General James Wilkinson, commander in chief of the country’s armed forces—before presidents regularly assumed that title—and Lewis’s predecessor as governor of the Upper Louisiana Territories, had written to Jefferson, warning him of the plot, which resulted in Burr’s arrest and trial for treason in 1807—TP
4 I can verify this charge has been substantiated. A Revolutionary War hero who served as commander in chief under three presidents, Wilkinson is now described by historians as “the most consummate artist in treason the nation ever produced.” Along with Burr and Benedict Arnold—both of whom Wilkinson knew well, conspired with and got the better of—they represent a triumvirate of treachery and deceit unsurpassed in the next 200 years.
All of these men are also, invariably, associated with the Illuminati strain of conspiracy—TP
5 Verified. This letter exists—TP
6 Verified—TP
7 Verified—TP
8 Confirmed—TP
9 This sounds reasonable to me as well. I’m embarrassed to confess that I didn’t know any of these details about Lewis or Wilkinson—and I was a history major—TP
10 Verified—TP
11 The definitive accounts of the Lewis and Clark expedition were published in 1814. According to numerous scholars, many of the private diaries Lewis was known to have written during the expedition have never been recovered—TP
12 This seems to describe the pouch that earlier may have held the jade ring—so it seems likely that Neely stole the ring as well—TP
13 Verified—TP
14 Confirmed—TP
15 I can verify that there are dozens of 19th- and early-20th-century newspaper stories from across the country detailing the recovery of various “giant skeletons”—usually seven to nine feet tall—most often from ancient burial mounds. These are believed to pre-date any previously known North
American civilization. Curiously, in most instances, the bones were apparently collected by the Smithsonian Institution … and never seen again—TP
16 From which we conclude, as we build a profile for him, that the Archivist has personal knowledge of the region—TP
17 Another crucial glimpse into the mind of the Archivist. Determining this person’s identity remains priority number one—TP
18 Both verified—TP
19 Agreed—TP
20 To which I would add: what happened to the ring in Lewis’s pouch after Neely apparently took it? And what happened to Neely himself, who vanished for good a few months afterward? Why did Twisted Hair warn Lewis about not putting on the ring?
The section concerning Meriwether Lewis left me determined to know more. I can report that at the urging of Lewis’s living descendants a grand jury was finally convened by the state of Tennessee in 1996, presumably after the dossier was compiled. After hearing expert testimony from two dozen witnesses in forensic, ballistic and criminal investigation disciplines, the jury returned a finding that the remains of Governor Lewis should be exhumed and examined for the purpose of identifying the exact cause of death.
After initially denying this request, the National Park Service reversed its ruling in 2008 and recommended the exhumation proceed. In 2010 the Park Service reversed itself again and declined the grand jury’s order to retrieve the remains. The only explanation they offered was that it would cause “untold damage” to a cherished historic monument. What such an examination could do to help restore the reputation of the man this monument was erected to honor goes unremarked upon.
So two centuries after his death the body of Meriwether Lewis, national hero, lies moldering in the grave, just off the ancient road known as the Natchez Trace. A seldom-visited site in a still-remote stretch of American wilderness, a more melancholy “tribute” would be hard to imagine—TP
21 All verified, and, I must concur, very very strange indeed.
The dossier continues on the following page, signifying the start of a new “section”—TP
*** NEZ PERCE HISTORY:
*1* THE STORY OF CHIEF IN-MUT-TOO-YAH-LAT-LAT (CHIEF JOSEPH) OF THE NEZ PERCE
In the 1870s, white prospectors discovered gold in the Wallowa Valley in the Pacific Northwest--now central Washington State--the traditional homeland of the Nez Perce, the people first encountered by Meriwether Lewis. Soon afterward, claiming that the U.S. government had already acquired the rights to their valley in a treaty with another tribe, General Oliver Howard was dispatched with a full brigade to escort the Nez Perce to a reservation. This was a direct violation of the government’s existing treaty with the Nez Perce.1
2
The Nez Perce had never before been a “hostile tribe” toward American settlers. After Joseph’s refusal, in spite of his efforts to keep the peace, hostilities escalated and the cavalry were mobilized to finish the job. To avoid being slaughtered where they lived, or forced onto a reservation, Chief Joseph led his people--a group of over 700 men, women and children, including only 200 fighting men--on a desperate flight toward Canada.
1 I can verify that the following is the statement made by Chief Joseph in direct response to Howard’s demand that he must abandon his land and lead his people onto a reservation—TP
2 Verified—TP
*2* CHIEF JOSEPH’S SPEECH TO HIS PEOPLE BEFORE THE RETREAT, SUMMER 1877
1
This sounds like a reference to one of their principal myths, common to many nations in the Northwest region, that refer to ancient relationships with mysterious beings they refer to as “Sky People.”
Chief Joseph had never before been called to serve his people as a military leader. His role was closer to that of a spiritual leader or elder. Despite this lack of military experience, when he returned from this mysterious “pilgrimage” Chief Joseph led his people on one of the great tactical retreats in history, during which they engaged in a series of 13 battles or skirmishes against more than 2,000 soldiers, cavalry and artillery under the command of General Howard.
1 This sounds similar to the place visited by Lewis and Chief Twisted Hair, an ancestor of Joseph’s—TP
*3* DISPATCH FROM GENERAL OLIVER HOWARD TO COLONEL NELSON MILES AT FORT KEOGH, AUGUST 1877
“Joseph and his band have eluded our troops and he is now continuing his retreat toward British Columbia. I shall never forget the actual pass through which he made his exit into Clark Basin near Hart Mountain. He seemed to travel through the mountain itself--by way of the dry bed of what was usually a mountain torrent, with such precipitous walls on either side that it was like going through a gigantic rough railroad tunnel. According to my scouts there had been water running through that channel just days before.
“I had troops stationed at Hart Mountain in accordance with instructions, ready and watching for them, but at daybreak, a giant cloud of smoke or dust appeared to the east. My men rode in pursuit, believing that Joseph’s whole body had got past him, and followed this long dust trail, abandoning the mouth of the pass. Once they had passed on, Joseph led his people out of the tunnel through the mountain. By the time we reached the spot a day later, a river once again flowed through that channel.
“We believe he is aiming at refuge with Sitting Bull. He is traveling with women and children and wounded at a rate of about twenty-five miles a day; but he regulates his gait by ours. We will lessen our speed to about twelve miles a day and he will also slow down. Please at once take a diagonal line to head him off with all the force at your command, and when you have intercepted him send word to me immediately and I will by forced marching unite with you.”1
1 Verified—TP
*4* THE TURNING POINT, ACCORDING TO COLONEL MILES, THE COMMANDER WHO CUT OFF JOSEPH’S RETREAT
After 11 weeks, having never lost a battle against this vastly superior force, only 30 miles from the Canadian border and freedom, Chief Joseph was surrounded in the Bear Paw Mountains of northern Montana. After a five-day battle, only 87 of his warriors remained. Rather than risk the lives of the surviving 350 women and children, Joseph chose to surrender.1
1 Verified—TP
*5* CHIEF JOSEPH’S SPEECH AT THE SURRENDER TO GENERAL HOWARD, OCTOBER 5, 18771
Thus ended the last war between the United States and a Native American nation.
Chief Joseph (left) pleaded his case to General Howard (right).
Joseph threw himself off his horse, draped his blanket about him and, carrying his rifle in the hollow of one arm, changed from the stooped attitude in which he had been listening, held himself very erect, and with a quiet pride, not exactly defiance, advanced toward General Howard and held out his rifle in token of submission. Although he spoke good English, in order to be understood by his own people Joseph spoke to Howard through an interpreter:
“Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, I have in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. The old men are all dead. My brother who led the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. Our little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are—perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead.
“Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. I have fought, but from where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.”
1 Verified as Captain Wood’s account of Joseph’s surrender. If I may, a personal reaction here: This seems to offer a clear mythologizing—i.e., expansion—of Chief Joseph’s authentically heroic struggle. We’re asked to believe that a “pilgrimage” to consult with some totemic deity—perhaps one of the “Sky People” referenced earlier?—gave Joseph the power to travel through mountains and create traveling clouds of smoke to misdirect their enemies. He seems to be referring to the same or a similar location earlier visited by Lewis—which prompted the hal
lucinogenic encounter he wrote about to Jefferson—allegedly in the Twin Peaks vicinity.
For the record, let me state that I am secular and a skeptic by nature. Intimations of the supernatural are always easier to report or suggest than verify, particularly with events that took place over 150 years ago. Show me the science, please—TP
*6* STATEMENT BY GENERAL HOWARD’S ADJUTANT, CAPTAIN CHARLES ERSKINE WOOD
Joseph and 400 followers were taken on unheated railcars to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where they were held in a prisoner-of-war camp for eight months. The following summer, the survivors were taken by rail to a reservation in Oklahoma that was little more than a concentration camp. By that time, over half of the Nez Perce had died of epidemic diseases.
For the next 31 years, Chief Joseph fought for his nation’s cause and met with three different presidents to argue his case. Captain Erskine Wood, good as his word, tried to carry on the fight for justice for them. He resigned from the army, practiced law in Portland and fought to get the matter before Congress. He eventually raised the money to bring Joseph to Washington to speak for himself.1
1 Verified—TP
*7* SPEECH MADE BY CHIEF JOSEPH IN LINCOLN HALL, WASHINGTON, D.C., 18791
ARCHIVIST’S NOTE
In an agonizingly slow response to Joseph’s appeal, six years later his people were allowed to move from Indian Territory in Oklahoma to a reservation in northeastern Washington. Once they arrived, the Nez Perce discovered they would be forced to live alongside the broken remnants of 11 other tribes. Joseph and the people of his nation were never allowed to see their homeland in the Wallowa Valley again.
