All language subtitles for America Unearthed S01E09 Motive for Murder

On this special episode of America
Unearthed, we investigate a

theory about the alleged murder of an
American icon.

Some images may be disturbing.

Viewer discretion is advised.

The history that we were all taught
growing up is wrong.

My name is Scott Wolter, and I'm a
forensic geologist.

There's a hidden history in this country
that nobody knows about.

There are pyramids here, chambers.

Tombs, inscriptions, they're all over
this country.

We're going to investigate these
artifacts and sites, and we're going to

the truth.

Sometimes history isn't what we've been
told.

He's one of America's most legendary
explorers, Meriwether Lewis.

Hand -picked by President Thomas
Jefferson in 1803 to team up with

to map out the land acquired in the
Louisiana Purchase.

The area was enormous, reaching from
Louisiana up to what is now Montana.

Jefferson hoped they'd find a direct
water route to the Pacific, create a map

the area, and catalog new species of
plants and animals in the region.

But there has always been some who
believe there was more to their

I got a call from a journalist friend
who said he had something interesting to

show me.

I've got something I want to show you
here.

Take a look at this. And I borrowed
these books and I want to show them to

What is this? What you're holding there
is the first edition of the Corps of

Discovery by Lewis and Clark.

Really? Yeah. Wow.

This is amazing.

Does this chronicle everything that they
saw? Well, see, that's the point. It

may not chronicle everything.

What do you mean by that? Well, it means
that there are missing pages in

Meriwether Lewis's journals.

Do we have any idea what is in those
missing pages? We don't have any idea

what's in it, but he could have known
something. He could have found something

that would be so frightening to that day
and age that somebody

might want to kill him for it.

Okay, I know that he died in 1809, and
this would have been about three years

after they came back from the
expedition.

I thought it was suicide. That's what
I've always heard. It's the prevailing

theory. And that's where the evidence
seems to point.

We do know that Thomas Jefferson tasked
the Corps of Discovery and Lewis and

Clark with finding out about tribes and
the flora and the fauna in the West.

But he also tasked them with something
very unusual.

He said, I want you to look for any
possibility of Welsh settlement.

In the West.

Pre -Columbian Welsh?

Pre -Columbian Welsh. Let's say they
found that.

Well, if they had that information, if
Meriwether Lewis possessed that in his

journals and it didn't appear it was
part of the missing, then we'd take the

whole idea of American colonial history,
our very foundation, and toss it out

the window.

Wow. That kind of a discovery could have
gotten Lewis killed.

You know what we call that?

It's a shocking theory. Did Thomas
Jefferson send Lewis and Clark on a

mission? Did the president want them to
find out whether the Welsh were here

before the original colonists?

And could whatever Lewis found have led
to his murder?

Well, this is really fascinating stuff.

But I'm a geologist.

I was looking for a geologist because I
think one of the answers rests in a

stone. And if it's authentic, may
suggest some evidence of pre

-Columbian Welsh settlement in the
United States.

It's called the Brandenburg Stone.

And I'd like you to take a look at that.
Where is the stone?

In Kentucky.

After talking to Don, it seems like
there's a lot we actually don't know

America's most well -known explorer.

Like whether Meriwether Lewis ended his
own life, or whether someone ended it

for him.

If he found evidence the Welsh were in
America in pre -Columbian times, it

mean they staked a prior claim to the
land.

Land Jefferson just spent $15 million on
in a move that would double the size of

the United States.

The missing journal pages could be a
clue.

And so could this Brandenburg stone.

A stone inscribed with what could be a
land claim and possibly written in

Jerry, what's been the reaction to the
stone? Some people believe the stone is

ancient. Well, some people dismiss it. I
think it's entirely possible that it's

an ancient inscription.

This is an amazing stone, and this
inscription here especially is really

amazing. You know, a couple things just
right off the bat. This is the first

time I've ever looked at this stone.

First of all, these are limestones,
probably oolitic limestones.

And if you look very closely, you'll see
what looks like little sand grains.

They're actually sand of limestone, and
they're called oolites. When I look down

into the grooves, I can see some of
those ooids. So that's an indication of

weathering. Based on everything I've
seen, we're not looking at a hoax here.

Does anybody know what this inscription
says?

It's been translated as a property
boundary, a land claim stone. And if

the case, then certainly this would
indicate a possible ancient or prior

If Lewis found something like this,
indicating that other people came to

America prior to Columbus, prior to this
land acquisition, if they knew

something about what was in Lewis's
diary, that could have gotten him

Quite possibly.

Where this whole thing started for me, a
good friend of mine suggested I come

and look at this stone after we looked
at Meriwether Lewis's journal.

Oh, yeah.

Some of the pages in that journal have
gone missing. And maybe the reason is

because during the expedition, he found
something that indicated pre -Columbian

contact.

This could actually call into question
the whole legitimacy of the United

States.

I'm investigating whether famed explorer
Meriwether Lewis was murdered.

One theory is that his killing was
motivated by evidence he may have

on his expedition.

Evidence about voyages to America by the
ancient Welsh.

It may seem far -fetched, but for
hundreds of years, there have been

Welsh explorers coming to the New World
prior to Columbus, even intermingling

with native tribes.

Some say the Welsh left a land claim
behind in the form of an artifact called

the Brandenburg Stone.

I examined this clue and saw evidence of
weathering that takes a long time.

But now I need to see where it came
from, a place called Paradise Bottom.

Today, Paradise Bottom is a quarry. The
Brandenburg Stone is oolitic limestone.

And that's what I'm looking for here.

If the stone is really a Welsh land
claim, whoever carved it would have used

local rock.

I'm meeting with Lee Pennington, who
knows exactly where the Brandenburg

was found.

And maybe a little something about how
it figures into the mystery of

Lewis's death.

I understand you're an expert on the
Brandenburg Stone.

Well, I've been researching it over the
past 20 years, so I do know a little bit

about it. Okay.

I'm also investigating it, and it's
possible tied to the death of Meriwether

Lewis. Well, certainly could have a
connection.

Okay. My understanding is that the
Brandenburg Stone was found somewhere

here where this quarry is now.

The Brandenburg Stone evidently rolled
down from the top of this bluff to the

edge of the road there. I want to see...

If the stone that I've looked at matches
the rock that's here.

Well, you know, Lee, I wanted to ask
you.

what your thoughts were about pre
-Columbian Welsh that came to America.

I think that's the very group that
carved the Vandenberg Stone.

Information that I discovered in Wales
indicates that in the 6th century, the

fleet of 700 ships came to this
continent.

And I think that group of people
intermingled with the Mandans.

The Mandan were a Native American tribe
who lived along the Missouri River and

eventually settled in the Dakotas.

For hundreds of years, some people have
remarked that they have European

features and that they spoke Welsh.

What about some hard, physical, tangible
evidence? Well, we got one thing in

particular with the Mandans, where those
boats that they had, the bull boats,

are identical with the coracles in
Wales. Both were made with animal hides

stretched over wooden frames.

Well, that's interesting, Leah.

Maybe all of that stuff proves that
there was an early Welsh visit that came

North America hundreds of years before
Columbus. Well, certainly one piece of

the puzzle.

This is what we're looking for. It's a
very specific, unique kind of limestone.

It's an oolitic limestone, and when you
look closely on a broken surface, you

will see a little rounded grain.

All right, Lee, let's find a match.

I think we got it. I can say with
reasonable certainty that whoever carved

Brandenburg Stone found a rock in this
vicinity and carved it. But I tell you

what now has suddenly become very
important is we really need to

that inscription says.

If everything that we've talked about,
the rock is here, the Brandenburg Stone,

the Welsh, if that's all connecting
here, it's possible that Meriwether

found some of that evidence.

And if he did...

Could that be a reason why some people,
perhaps factions within our government,

would want him murdered?

Well, I certainly think it was murder.
The circumstances surrounding his death

is just the farthest thing from suicide
from my perspective.

He was shot twice. It's difficult for a
person committing suicide to shoot

himself once and then turn around and
shoot himself again, with his old guns

especially. And there's this business of
the missing pages.

of the diary if there was something
there that he found on on that

perhaps evidence of the wells wouldn't
be a shock to me at all that there were

people at the highest levels of our
government that could have been behind

murder of one of america's greatest and
most beloved heroes

Hey, Don.

Hey, Scott. I just wanted to know how
things are going down in Kentucky for

Well, I tell you what, everything's
going great here. I had a chance to look

the Brandenburg Stone, and it's very
interesting.

It does show some evidence of
weathering.

That's exciting.

Hey, is there anything I can do to help?
Well, I tell you what there is.

I'm wondering if you can help me figure
out what the inscription says.

I did take some photos, and I will send
them to you, and if you can help me out,

that'd be great. I will.

If there's any connection between
Meriwether Lewis's death and possible

-Columbian wells coming here, I'm going
to get to the bottom of it.

I'm investigating the death of famous
explorer Meriwether Lewis.

I've learned that Thomas Jefferson asked
Lewis to look for evidence the Welsh

made it to America before Columbus.

I think there's reason to believe Lewis
might have found that evidence and wrote

about it in his journal, pages of which
mysteriously disappeared.

If Lewis did find evidence the Welsh
were here, It might be motive for his

murder because it would call into
question the ownership of the early

colonies and the land Jefferson bought
in the Louisiana Purchase.

Land that Lewis set out to explore right
from this very spot.

I'm looking into the death of Meriwether
Lewis.

And some people believe that he was
murdered. Others think that he took his

life. Well, you've certainly come to the
right place because it was here at the

Falls of the Ohio in October of 1803
that Lewis and Clark met to form one of

most famous partnerships in American
history.

Why don't we go on down towards the
falls? Sounds good.

They set off down the Ohio and up the
Mississippi.

Eventually, in 1804, they went up the
Missouri River. They wintered with the

Mandan Indian.

And then the next year, 1805, they go
all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Can you imagine back then what was going
through the minds of these guys before

they took off? I mean, for all they
knew, there was a good chance they were

never coming back.

Well, they didn't know that. They may
never come back. They were going into

unknown, the wilderness. They didn't
know what would be around the next bend

the river, over the next mountain. And
to think that they did come back, all

except one man. And he died of natural
causes.

Yeah. It's incredible how successful it
really was. Yeah.

What were some of the motivations in
Thomas Jefferson's mind behind the Lewis

and Clark expedition?

Well, he very quietly had $2 ,500
appropriated for the expedition. And

actually before the Louisiana Purchase
was made.

Ever since Jefferson was a young man, he
wanted to know what was out west.

What was to that unknown beyond the
Mississippi River? What were the native

peoples like? Did the native peoples
have agriculture, better plants that

actually help the American farmers?

The geography, the geology, even
thoughts of mastodons. You know, were

extinct? And then it actually became
national security.

And Jefferson had a fear of the British
and coming out of Canada. And what they

might want to do, would they hem in?

this young American republic, and keep
them from growing and going all the way

to the Pacific Ocean.

So, Jim, another thing. Many people
believe that Jefferson told Lewis and

to go looking for evidence of Welsh
contact amongst the natives.

Did they ever find anything?

Well, the legend of the Welsh Indians,
the Mandan Indians.

And Lewis and Clark never specifically
said that they did find that. Now, when

they got further west in the Rocky
Mountains among the Flathead Indians,

the men commented that their dialect
sounded a lot like the Welsh.

If Lewis and Clark had found evidence of
pre -Columbian Welsh contact and were

on the way to bringing that back,
couldn't that have strengthened the

claim to the western territories?

And could that also have made Lewis
possibly a target?

Because he had this information in his
journal. Maybe there were people within

the U .S. government that wouldn't want
that to come out. What do you think of

that? It's a conspiracy.

Maybe. And that's a theory.

And it could or should be investigated.
I think perhaps there are.

missing parts of his journal. Some
things that we know he should have been

writing about aren't there.

There's some gaps that just don't seem
to hang together.

That brings another question. When I
think about his death, you know, was it

murder? Was it suicide?

And could what was in those papers have
led to his death?

My own personal opinion is that he had a
breakdown and decided to end his own

life.

When he comes back from the expedition,
things just don't seem to connect for

him. He has just kind of a whole
cascading number of problems.

He was drinking too much. He was self
-medicating with the opiates.

At Grinders Stand along the Natchez
Trace in Tennessee, about 70 miles

of Nashville, he has his final
breakdown.

Lewis was shot twice, once in the head
and once in the body. And I've read

part of his skull actually was blown
off. And if he was shot first in the

I have an awful hard time believing
somebody's going to keep going and shoot

themselves in the body if their brain's
exposed.

But there are people out there who
believe he was murdered.

Who is that?

The Lewis family.

Was Meriwether Lewis murdered at an inn
on the Natchez Trace?

He died in the fall of 1809, just three
years after returning from his

exploration of the West.

If he was killed, could the motive have
been something controversial he found

during his expedition?

I've met people who believe that Lewis
did find evidence of pre -Columbian

in America, and that he wrote about it
in his journal, pages of which are now

missing.

If he did find evidence like the
Brandenburg Stone, which some believe is

Welsh land claim, it would call into
question the ownership of the land the

United States was founded on and could
provide a motive for murder.

I've heard that Lewis's own family
members insist their famous relative

commit suicide, but was shot dead by
someone else.

Can you tell me how you related to
Meriwether Lewis?

Well, his sister, Jane Lewis, was my
great -great -great -grandmother. So he

my great -great -great -great -uncle.

Okay. Hard to keep up with the great
sometimes. I think I got that, though.

What does the family think about his
death?

Pretty much the family thinks that he
would have been murdered.

You don't think he committed suicide?
No, we don't.

What do you know about some of the
circumstances that led up to his death?

Well, after he came back from the
expedition in 1806, he did get started

trying to publish the journals into a
book. But he really didn't get that far

along with it. Sure. He was carrying his
journals and going to Washington, which

put him on the natural trace.

He stopped at a place called the
Grinders Stand, which was run by the

Mrs. Grinder gave him a place to stay
for the night.

In the middle of the night, the
innkeeper heard several shots and found

next morning dead.

There were no first -hand witnesses that
actually saw the...

His death or the shots ring out? No, she
heard the shots, but she did not see

them actually occur.

And so she did not know who actually
pulled the trigger.

So what are the things make you think it
wasn't a suicide?

Well, one thing, there were two shots or
maybe three.

One was to the head, which by some
accounts partially took his brain out,

abdomen wound, which is kind of strange
for someone committing suicide.

He was overheard talking.

He may have been talking to someone
else, or maybe he was just practicing

he was going to say when he got to
Washington, or, you know, we really

know exactly what he was saying.

Elements at high levels in our
government, possibly even as high as

Jefferson, may have been involved in the
conspiracy to kill Lewis.

Well, it's possible there was political
intrigue. Some people suggest that he

found evidence that the Welsh came to
America prior to Columbus and placed a

land claim.

That might have been a reason for people
to want to silence him. If that were

the case, I could see where that would
be a problem for some people. A possible

motive. Has your family done anything to
try to get to the bottom of this, maybe

an autopsy or exhuming his body?

The family has tried to have the body
exhumed.

The National Park Service is in charge
of the land here, but to this point they

have refused to allow us to exhume the
body.

I look at this, I see that pillar.

It's a broken pillar, and I'm sure that
means something to you.

Well, the broken pillar is to represent
the life cut short, because Lewis's life

was definitely cut short.

Was he not also a Freemason? Yes, he
was. He had joined, I think, 1796.

In fact, when he went to St. Louis, he
founded a Mason's Lodge in St. Louis.

first lodge in St. Louis. Yes.

I don't really know that much about the
Masonic practices, but I understand that

his apron is in Helena, Montana, at the
lodge there.

It's reported that he had it with him at
the time of his death, and there appear

to be bloodstains on it.

That's really important, because maybe
if this thing was tested, we might be

able to find something out, for example,
if there was a struggle. If we could

get access to it and test it, we could
do DNA on it.

another person other than his blood, we
might be able to get to the bottom of

this mystery once and for all.

Oh, hey, guys.

Reid Gardner. Hi, Reid. The Grand
Secretary and the Curator of the Museum.

Nice to meet you.

I'm Scott Tom Chisholm, Grand Master of
Masons in Montana.

So my understanding is Meriwether Lewis
was a Mason at the time of the

expedition. So would that make him the
first Freemason into what is now

Yes, I think that's true. It's been
recorded that he was initiated in 1796

his first degree.

What is the mission?

of Freemasons. In the general sense,
it's a fraternal organization that first

organized. modern versions of
Freemasonry developed in the late 1700s

that traveled with the colonial concept.

And it really took off in the Americas
because it fit the designs of the early

nation and even the colonies at that
time.

I'm here investigating the death of
Meriwether Lewis, and I see the painting

the wall there. And I understand that
his Masonic apron is here. Yes, that's

correct. Why is that significant to a
Freemason?

Well, the apron is the badge of a
Freemason. Every Mason, once he becomes

master Mason, receives an apron. And
much later, they may acquire, through

means, a more decorative apron. The one
that you're implying about, the long

Meriwether Lewis, was reportedly folded
in a pocket of Meriwether Lewis when he

met his demise.

And is it true that there's bloodstains
on it? There are.

Wow. Pretty amazing, isn't it? Yeah, I
mean, it...

It's really something. I've heard so
much about it. To see it for the first

time, it's really amazing.

Back in the 70s, we did have it tested.

And at that time, they were only able to
determine there was human blood and

deer blood on it.

Wow. This apron represents one of
America's greatest murder mysteries.

And what I would really like to be able
to do, with your permission, is to take

a sample of this blood. I think we can
answer this question about how did this

man die.

I'm not certain that that's a good idea.

I'm comfortable with that. You know, you
can see on the left side there, when

they did the testing in the 70s, they
literally picked up the apron, held it

over a beaker, and poured water through
the blood to collect the sample. You can

see that there's the stain on the side.

Well, that was back in the 70s. All we
need to do is take a very fine swab and

barely touch the surface and collect
some of the blood. Yeah, but as Grand

Master of Masons in Montana, I'm
responsible for all of these artifacts

museum.

This is quite an undertaking you're
asking of us here. We certainly wouldn't

want to send it out either because, I
mean, this is over 200 years ago. It is

extremely fragile and delicate.

Oh, I can appreciate that. And believe
me, I understand and I respect your

concerns. This is a critical piece of
American history right here.

If you're willing to grant me permission
to test the blood on this apron, we

finally have a chance to get the history
straight about whether or not.

Meriwether Lewis was murdered.

Well, as you guys know, there are many
people that believe that Meriwether

took his own life.

But there's a lot of evidence that I've
seen and people that believe that he may

have been murdered.

And that's the question we're trying to
answer here.

And really, the key, I think, is in the
blood. This testing I'm talking about is

not invasive. All we would do is take a
swab and just get a small sample.

It could get us the answer that we're
looking for.

We're referring to an artifact that is
not only family heritage, a Montana

artifact. This is something that belongs
to the nation. This is a national

artifact that you're talking about. And
I appreciate your point that this is an

American treasure.

But I also think it's important for
Americans and the world to know what

happened to this man. And if it was
murder, why was he murdered? And this is

critical test that we can perform that
might be able to help us answer this

question.

Testing can be done on site. We can do
it right here, yeah.

Well, I think as Grand Master, in
speaking for everybody in Montana

of the respect that's due to the history
of the artifact, and more importantly,

the honor that's due to Meriwether Lewis
as a Freemason, I'll grant you

permission to take your samples.

Thank you. Thank you so much. This is
great.

With the blood sample from the apron
sent off to the lab, we finally have a

chance to shed more light on Lewis's
death.

If he shot himself, it stands to reason
only his blood would be on the apron.

But if he was shot during a struggle,
someone else's blood might be on there

too. Either way, it's a clue to the
mystery surrounding his death.

Another clue may be the Brandenburg
Stone.

an artifact thought to prove that the
ancient Welsh claimed the New World long

before Columbus.

My analysis of the stone's weathering
suggests it could have been carved

1492, but there's no way to get a more
precise date because it was taken out of

its original environment and its
provenance isn't clear.

But understanding what the stone says
and the language it was written in could

help me prove whether this was the kind
of evidence Jefferson asked Lewis to

discover.

I've got a lot to tell you. I've got a
lot to tell you, but I want you to go

first. Okay.

I just got back from Montana, where I
was able to obtain a sample of blood

Meriwether Lewis' Masonic apron.

Wow. We sent that sample of blood off to
the Lakehead Paleo DNA lab in Thunder

Bay, and we're hoping that when those
results come back, if there's a second

person, somebody else's blood that is on
that Masonic apron, it could indicate

that there was somebody else in that
room the night he died.

Unbelievable.

I've got the translation of the stone.

It says, toward trying to promote
immunity, divide the land we are spread

purely between offspring is wisdom.

Divide the land?

This sounds to me like a land claim,
Doc.

Here's the problem.

It's not ancient Welsh.

It's not? No. It is in a language called
Cobran, and it was invented in the 18th

century.

It was invented by a guy named Edward
Williams. He was a Welsh poet.

And he also was, and you won't like
this, one of Wales' greatest

forgers.

So this is not ancient Welsh.

Well, let me add one more point. Edward
Williams was also a man given to getting

high on laudanum.

And that is basically liquid heroin.

Really?

This is a crazy story. It looks like we
can't use this artifact as part of our

evidence of this possible Welsh contact.

Just because this does not appear to be
authentic doesn't mean the Welsh weren't

here because there is other information,
eyewitness accounts from explorers that

ran into Indian nations that had...

European features, light skin, light
hair, sometimes blue eyes, particularly

Mandan nation.

But let me ask you about this. What do
you think about the whole Welsh theory?

I've been looking at that for quite some
time, but there's no real way to know

for sure because there is not a lot of
evidence that exists to this day.

Have you heard of John Dee?

Absolutely. I've heard of John D. His
name has come up a number of times in my

investigations. I know him very well.
Well, John D., based on the research

I've done, may have been responsible for
the claim that the Welsh arrived in the

New World prior to Columbus's discovery.

And his motives were primarily political
because being from the British Empire,

he wanted to be able to establish that
there was a British claim.

in the New World before Spain.

To hear you talk about that doesn't
surprise me at all. But what we can be

specific about are these DNA results.

If we get results back that say that
there was somebody else's blood on that

Masonic apron, that could very well mean
that someone else was there when

Meriwether Lewis died, and maybe that's
the person that killed him. I've talked

to some forensic pathologists who say
that if the sequence of events was a

gunshot to the head, And that failing to
work, losing, according to some people,

a portion of his skull, exposing his
brain, and then shooting himself below

sternum, a gut shot, in other words,
that that doesn't seem realistic.

We're never going to be able to know for
sure. Did he shoot himself in the head,

the stomach? We'll never know which came
first. So that is why these test

results on the blood with the DNA are so
important.

It may be the only piece of physical
evidence that we're ever going to have

help us try to figure out what happened
in the death of one of America's most

important heroes.

Hey, Keith.

Oh, Scott. Good to see you again. Good
to see you, too.

These test results that we're about to
get could open the door to a whole host

of questions about what happened the
night Meriwether Lewis died.

You brought your family results, right?
Yes, I was given a copy of the profile

of his family for comparison purposes.

You realize if these test results come
back indicating that the blood is

somebody other than your relative,

That's a big deal. Either way, I think
it might raise more questions than the

exhuming of the body might be the only
course left.

Well, Steve, you're going to look at
these results to compare with what you

So are you going to be able to tell us
if there's a match with this family?

Yes, what I'm looking for is an exact
match of the unique profile.

Well, Keith, are you ready?

I'm ready to find out. You've got your
family record there? Great. I have my

results right here of the apron, and
I'll make a comparison.

So the faces are not a match.

What?

This means that the Lewis family member
is not related to the profile that we

recovered from the apron.

Wait a minute, wait a minute. So you're
saying this is not Mary Weather Lewis's

blood? Yes, that's correct.

Well, we do have more information.

We analyzed two swabs, and on each swab,
we got different DNA

profiles. Different human? Different
human. The first swab contained one

individual, but the second swab was a
mixture, meaning there's more than one

individual's DNA present.

What?

And none of those two profiles were a
match to the Lewis family member.

Keith? I don't know. It's incredible.

You didn't expect that, did you? Not
really, no.

Wow, that's a big deal.

The fact that you've got someone else's
blood, possibly two people. At least

two. At least two. That, to me, really
only points to the night that he died,

that there may have been a struggle.

Didn't Mrs. Grinder say that she heard
what she thought was arguing?

Yes, she did.

Okay. That there may have been some
other people there.

Not necessarily.

It could be two different individuals'
blood. It could mean that...

There was some kind of contamination.

The blood on the apron and somebody else
spitting on it could be from a handler

over time.

Anything is possible.

But the fact is, I mean, there was a lot
of blood on that apron.

And I don't know how, why would he be
carrying around a bloody apron that

somebody else's blood is on? There's no
way a Mason would do that. A Mason would

keep his Masonic apron pristine. It's
one of the most important things to

And to have it spattered with somebody
else's blood.

has to mean it had to have happened that
night.

The accepted story here is that
Meriwether Lewis took his own life. I

believe that before. I sure as heck
don't believe it now.

Right now, I would say it looks like
murder to me.

And if so, there has to be a motive.

And one of the motives...

to me, could possibly be something that
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark found

during their expedition.

Possibly evidence of pre -Columbian
contact. Maybe even evidence of an

land claim that would certainly have
been a motive for him to be killed.

The families always thought that it's
been murder.

And this could be a critical or crucial
point.

Everybody thought and accepted that it
was suicide.

No way. Not in my mind. It was murder.

Many people believe that the death of
famed explorer Meriwether Lewis has

been an American murder mystery.

The circumstances of his death over 200
years ago still lead us to question if

he actually committed suicide or was
murdered.

Lewis had a presidential mandate to
search the American West for evidence of

ancient Welsh presence prior to
Columbus.

Along the way, there were reports of
natives who spoke Welsh and looked

European. And missing sections of
Lewis's journals tell me there is a

motive. I believe that what Lewis
discovered on his expedition could have

him killed.

Now. Testing that I've had carried out
on the blood that stained Lewis's apron

has proven the presence of more than one
DNA profile.

I think someone else had to be there the
night Meriwether Lewis died.

And to me, the only reasonable
explanation is that he was killed for

found out. I believe my investigation
has blown a hole in the history we've

been told about what happened to one of
our nation's most pioneering explorers.

Next time on America Unearthed.

This is really an important group of
artifacts.

That's 800 A .D. I want the answer of
what these things are.

Do you know what that is?

Oh, my God, I can't believe it.

If you have a mysterious artifact or
site I need to see, I want to know about

it. Go to history .com slash unearthed.