born с 1775, in or near Staunton, Va.
died 1813, in present-day Missouri, U.S.
U.S. explorer.
A member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803–06), in 1807 he was sent to make contact with Indian tribes in the Yellowstone River area; he became the first white man to see and describe the region. In three expeditions to the head of the Missouri River (1808–10), he narrowly escaped death in battles with Indians. He retired to a farm on the Missouri.