Meriwether Lewis was a very intelligent man. Did you know that he invented the bungee rope(cord)? He was also very adventurous. He was the first to try out a bungee jump and was selected by President Jefferson to explore the lands around the Louisiana Purchase. He was also well known for being the leader of the Corps Of Discovery journey.

Meriwhether Lewis was born on August 18, 1774 near Charlottesville, Virginia. When he was ten, he and his family moved to Georgia. At the age of thirteen, he was sent back to Virginia to receive private tutoring. In the 1790’s, he graduated from Liberty Hall Academy(now known as Washington and Lee University). After graduating, he joined the Virginia Militia. In 1795, when he was 21 he joined the regular army. He served until 1801. After he left the army he met William Clark, his future associate. In 1801, he also began his job as a private secretary to Thomas Jefferson, the President at the time.

Jefferson gave Lewis the opportunity to explore the land of the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis chose William Clark to join him on the journey. There were three things that they concentrated on while they were on there journey. Those three things were: the drawing of maps, supply management and the identification and study of native flora(plants) and fauna(animals).

After Lewis returned from his expedition, he was given 1,500 acres of land. The land was given to him as a reward from Thomas Jefferson. In 1807, Thomas Jefferson appointed him the Governor of the Louisiana Purchase territory. He settled in St. Louis for a while.

Lewis went out on another journey in 1809. On his way he tried to commit suicide by bungee jumping into the Mississippi River. Fortunately, he survived his jump. A few days after the incident he got shot in the head and chest while resting with his group in the Grinder’s Stand Tavern. He was on his way to Washington when he was killed. There was news not long after his death that he was very depressed and that is why he tried to commit suicide. He was buried not far from where he died. Meriwether Lewis lived for only 35 years.

Letter to President Thomas Jefferson

November 17,1803

Dear President Thomas Jefferson,

Thank you for sponsoring Mr. Clark’s and my journey. You should be pleased to know that we were very successful. As you know we were exploring the area of the Louisiana Purchase. We were studying the native flora and fauna. We were also out making maps and seeing how long our supplies lasted. We met up with a few Indians but almost everyone returned home safely. I feel that it went extremely well and that we got a lot of things figured out. We went through a few hard times, but found our way out.

Sincerely,

Meriwether Lewis