the early
patriots who stepped forward in the commencement of the Revolution,
and commanded one of the regiments first raised in Virginia, and
placed on continental establishment.... Nicholas Lewis, the second
of his father's brothers, commanded a regiment of militia in the
successful expedition of 1776 against the Cherokee Indians.... This
member of the family of the Lewises, whose bravery was so usefully
proved on this occasion, was endeared to all who knew him by his
inflexible probity, courteous disposition, benevolent heart, and
engaging modesty and manners. He was the umpire of all the private
differences of his county,--selected always by both parties. He was
also the guardian of Meriwether Lewis, of whom we are now to speak,
and who had lost his father at an early age.

"He (Meriwether) continued some years under the fostering care of a
tender mother, of the respectable family of Meriwethers, of the
same county; and was remarkable, even in infancy, for enterprise,
boldness, and discretion.

"When only eight years of age he habitually went out in the dead of
night, alone with his dogs, into the forest to hunt the raccoon and
opossum, which, seeking their food in the night, can then only be
taken. In this exercise, no season or circumstance could obstruct
his purpose--plunging through the winter's snows and frozen streams
in pursuit of his object. At thirteen he was put to the Latin
school, and continued at that until eighteen, when he was returned
to his mother, and entered on the cares of his farm; having, as
well as a younger brother, been left by his father with a
competency for all the correct and comfortable purposes of
temperate life. His talent for observation, which led him to an
accurate knowledge of the plants and animals of his own country,
would have distinguished him as a farmer; but at the age of twenty,
yielding to the ardor of youth and a passion for more dazzling
pursuits, he engaged as a volunteer in the body of militia which
was called out by General Washington, on occasion of the
discontents produced by the excise taxes in the western parts of
the United States [the Whiskey Rebellion]; and from that station he
was removed to the regular service as a lieutenant of the line. At
twenty-three he was promoted to a captaincy; and, always attracting
the