Lewis R. Freeman facts for kids

Lewis Freeman at Lees Ferry, Arizona, 1923

Lewis Ransome Freeman (born October 4, 1878, died November 6, 1960) was an amazing American explorer, journalist, and war correspondent. He traveled all over the world and wrote more than twenty books and many articles about his exciting adventures.

Early Life and Sports

Lewis Freeman was born in Genoa City, Wisconsin, but he moved to Pasadena, California when he was a boy. He went to Stanford University and was a fantastic athlete! He played football, baseball, tennis, and track. He graduated from Stanford in 1898.

While he was still a student at Stanford, Lewis even coached the University of Southern California's football team in 1897. His team had a great record, winning 5 out of 6 games! The USC teams were called the Methodists back then, before they became the Trojans in 1912. Lewis was their first coach in many years and helped them get new uniforms.

World Traveler and Writer

After college, Lewis Freeman spent many years, from 1899 to 1912, traveling all over the world! He visited places in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. Even with all his travels, he still found time for sports, winning tennis tournaments in Pasadena.

In 1905, he worked as a war correspondent during the Russo-Japanese War, reporting on the conflict. Later, during World War I, he was a correspondent with the British, French, and Italian armies from 1915 to 1917. He even joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He reported from the Grand Fleet and was part of a group that went to Germany in 1918.

After World War I, Lewis focused a lot on writing. He wrote nine books between 1918 and 1922, and then one new book almost every year until 1928! He also continued his adventures. In 1925, he was a special correspondent with the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet on their trip to Australia and New Zealand. He covered Navy exercises again in 1929, 1932, and 1935.

Grand Canyon Expedition

Calamity Jane in her kitchen in Livingston, Montana, when she met Louis R. Freeman in 1901, a meeting described in his book "Down the Yellowstone"

One of Lewis Freeman's most famous adventures was in 1923. He was a boatman and photographer for a U.S. Geological Survey expedition through the amazing Grand Canyon. He had already piloted a boat for a similar survey in Glen Canyon in 1922. His exciting articles about that 1922 trip helped him get invited to the Grand Canyon expedition.

During the Grand Canyon trip, Lewis was nicknamed "The Gorilla." The expedition faced a big challenge at Lava Falls. The Colorado River suddenly rose very high, from a mild flow to a huge flood in just a few days! The group, including Lewis, had to spend a sleepless night and the next day moving their boats to higher ground to keep them safe from the rising water.

Despite the challenges, the expedition successfully completed its survey. Lewis Freeman was very excited when they confirmed their measurements were accurate. He called it a "real triumph!" Because of this success, an arch in the canyon wall was named Triumphal Arch, and the nearby rapid was named Triumphal Arch Rapid.

Later Adventures

Lewis Freeman continued his travels throughout the 1930s.

• In 1930–31, he was part of an airplane and motorboat trip to Central America and South America.
• In 1933, he explored the coasts and interior of South America by airplane.
• In 1935, he rode a bicycle more than 3,500 miles across North America, from Los Angeles to Vancouver, then to Montreal, and finally to New York City!
• In 1936, he went on cruises to the Juan Fernández Islands and Tierra del Fuego, and even an expedition to the start of the Amazon River in Ecuador.
• In 1938, he explored the highlands of southern Mexico and Guatemala.
• In 1939, he cruised to the Galápagos Islands and the west coast of Colombia.
• In 1941, he explored Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil.

Lewis Freeman was a member of the famous Explorers Club in New York City. He retired to Pasadena in 1955 and passed away there at the age of 82.

Books by Lewis Ransome Freeman

Here are some of the many books Lewis Ransome Freeman wrote about his travels and adventures:

• Many Fronts (1918)
• Stories of the Ships (1919)
• Sea Hounds (1919)
• To Kiel in the Hercules (1919)
• In the Tracks of the Trades: The Account of a Fourteen Thousand Mile Yachting Cruise to the Hawaiis, Marquesas, Societies, Samoas and Fijis (1920)
• Hell's Hatches (1921)
• Down the Columbia (1921)
• Down the Yellowstone (1922)
• When Cassi Blooms (1922)
• The Colorado River – Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (1923)
• Down the Grand Canyon (1924)
• On the Roof of the Rockies (1925)
• By Water Ways to Gotham (1926)
• Waterways of Westward Wandering (1927)
• The Nearing North (1928)
• Afloat and Aflight in the Caribbean (1932)
• South America – Airwise and Otherwise (1933)
• Marquesan Nocturne (1936)
• Discovering South America (1937)
• Many Rivers (1937)
• Brazil, Land of Tomorrow (1942)