Lewis And Clark

[CUarlottexville (Va.) Cor. New Ynvk.Smi. Capt. Tom Lewis, nearly ÍK) yêars oíd, was found frozen to death last night ín the public road in Albemarie eounty. He was farming in a small way in the eounty, and it is supposed that lie liad gone ont to cut some wood. Capt. Lewis had led an evontful life, and was famous as the last survivor of the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Missouri river. Merriwether Lewis, the oldest son of Mrb. Marks, of Locust Hill, by her former marriage with Col. William Lewis, of the Revolutionary army, was Private Secretary to President Jefferson shortly after tlr purchase of the Louisiana Territorv, and was selooted to explore that 1 emtory. He had permission f rom the President of scloeting his aid and companion, and he ehose Lieut. Clark, of the regular army. The company was organized with abont thirty private soldiers, and commauded by Capts. Lewis and Clark. Capt. Lewis also took along one of his slaves, a youth of 17, named Tom. Tom was remarkably black, and neither comely in person nor attractive in manner. Tom was Capt. Lewis' favorite bodyservant, and stuck by his master to the last. Capt. Lewis often told how Tom had saved his life after the expedition had crossed the Kocky mountains, and was about to desoend the Columbia river. Lewis was in the -wilderness, with no companion save Tom, who had been christened by the soldiei s " Capt. Tom Lewis," and which name stuck to him to the day of his death. The two were attaeked by three Indians from hostile tribes then in that country. Capt. Lewis was seriously wounded in the thigh. He sent the only ball in his rifle through the head of one of his assailants. The other two rushed on him vould have slain him had not Tom hurled one insensible to the ground, and with the butt end of the gun of his prostrate master brained the other. He was herculean in strength. He went through all the trials and hardships of that great expedition without flinching. The Lewis and Clark expedition terminated in 1806. Capt. Lewis came to his mother's home, near Joy depot, in Albemarie eounty, and went thence to St. Louis, the capital of Missouri Territory, of which he was then Governor. On his return he stopped for the night at a little inn on the roadside somewhere in Tennessee. In the morning he was found dead in his room with his throat cut, whether by another for some unaccountablc purpose Oï by himself remnins a mystery to this day. Tom was his body servant then, and knew more about this mystery than a.ny one else, bat he always shook his head when asked and said : " This is a matter the less talked about the better." On the dcaOi of his old master, Tom returned to Albe marie eounty, and with savings bought a small farm, which he occupied on the day of his death. It is supposed that, from feebleness and exhaustion, he feil in the road, and, not being alïïe to rise, was frozen to death. His death onds the list of survivors of that historie expedition.