Edward Carter II Director, American Philosophical Society Library
		Why didn't the expedition take along a doctor?

The Corps elected to not take a physician. Many times Meriwether Lewis resorted to wild plants to cure sick expedition members. For that he owed his mother.

Lucy Meriwether Lewis Marks was a renowned herbalist. She taught her son all she knew about natural remedies and the medicinal properties of wild plants. Not only did her son appreciate her warmth and knowledge, her slaves and Virginia neighbors also appreciated it. She lived to 86, and even in her old age she could be seen riding on horseback to attend to the sick.

The knowledge Lucy Marks passed on to her son still served as the standard for medicine in the early 18th century. And in the wilderness Lewis was exploring, knowing the ins and outs of wild plants was as good as anything.

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