York (explorer)

York was born in Caroline County near Ladysmith, Virginia. His skin was dark-colored.I give and bequeath to my son Edmund... three slaves, to wit Peter (Vegas child), and Scipio and Darathy (Rose's children)... I give and bequeath to my son William... one black man named York, also old York and his wife Rose, and their two children, Nancy and Juba; also three old negroes, Tame, Cupid and Harry. The most plausible family tree based on this description and others is that York was the son of Old York, not by Rose; that Scipio (also spelled Sippo, Seppo, Sep, and Pipo, likely named the same as the Roman general Scipio Africanus) and Daphny (also spelled Dafney, Daphney, and Daphne) were Rose's children not by Old York; and that Nancy and Juba were Old York and Rose's biological children. This would make Scipio, Daphney, Juba, and Nancy the half-siblings of York. == On the expedition ==

, in the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretative Center, Great Falls, Montana. Left to right: York with a rifle, dog Seaman, Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea and her infant, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. York "participated fully in the journey and contributed in significant ways to its success." The following excerpts are from the expedition's official report: {{blockquote|[October 9, 1804] The object which appeared to astonish the Indians most, was captain Clark's servant [slave] York, a remarkable stout strong negro. They had never seen a being of that colour, and therefore flocked round him to examine the extraordinary monster. By way of amusement he told them that he had once been a wild animal, and caught and tamed by his master, and to convince them, showed them feats of strength, which added to his looks made him more terrible than we wished him to be. In a reply, Dayton Duncan notes that Clark wrote down the views on the question of every member of the expedition, including York and Sacagawea. This was itself very unusual. The men believed that they, not the leaders, had made the decision. According to Duncan, it was a vote. Glen Kirkpatrick disagrees. Mentions in Clark's journal The name York is mentioned in the Lewis and Clark journals 135 times. • York is first mentioned in Clark's journal on December 26, 1803, when Clark writes that York and Corporal Whitehouse had been working with the whipsaws, indicating that he was already working with the other men on the expedition. • Clark mentions York again in his journal on June 5, 1804, noting that York had swum to a sand bar from the keelboat in order to collect some greens for dinner. The majority of the men on the expedition could not swim. • Clark and another man said that, on June 20, 1804, York almost lost his eye during an assault/altercation when he had sand thrown at him. • York was mentioned again in Clark's journal after a small party including York descended the Spirit Mound Historic Prairie. Clark said that "York was nearly exhausted by the heat, thirst and fatigue". Clark said this was because York was too fat and unaccustomed to walking quickly. • In September 1804 it was noted that while on a hunting party York had killed an elk. There is no record of York having trained to use a firearm, which was not generally allowed for slaves. == After the expedition ==

All the men of the expedition except York received double pay according to rank, $5 to $30 per month, and each enlisted man was granted of land. York, as a slave, received nothing. Manumission of a slave was a formal process that required documentation. No known documents exist confirming that Clark ever freed York. According to Darrell Millner, there is nothing to corroborate any of these claims, and York's alleged desire to return to slavery "lacks historical foundation".. Modern scholars consider it highly reliable. Passage 2 (1834) On the return, Leonard met the same man again, in 1834: Passage 3 Proposed identities for the Black man Edward Rose Edward Rose was a fur trapper who lived for three years among the Crow and spoke their language. He was employed by Europeans as a guide and interpreter. However, as reported in a letter that was only discovered in the late 1930s, Rose was apparently killed by Indians during the winter of 1832–1833, which means he could have not have been the black man Leonard saw in 1834. A John Brazeau was an employee of the American Fur Company and founded Braseau's Houses, a trading post on the Yellowstone River. Frank Grouard, an interpreter, was said to have been "the son of an American Fur Company employee named John Brazeau." York The man described by Leonard, who is never named and presumably did not want his name known, fits York's description in size, complexion, and age. Besides the statement that he was big, the only thing known about York's appearance is that his skin was very dark. He was a Black man, which neither Rose nor Beckwourth was. The man's success and comfort living with the Crows also supports York's identification. After his wife was taken to Natchez, York no longer had a reason to remain in Louisville, and he was quite upset at Clark's refusal to grant him his freedom, given his "immense services" during the expedition. It may be supposed that York ran away from his owner and was able to travel from St. Louis up the Missouri to Montana, some . == Legacy ==

There is no doubt from the journals written during the expedition that York played a vital role in its success. Not only did he fulfill his duties as a laborer through the course of the expedition, the journals also suggest that the color of York's skin intrigued the Native tribes so much they seemingly gave the expedition a pass through the land as well as became willing to trade. Creative works based on York • In 1972, one of the six sections of Peter Michaelson's poem/essay "Bestride the Mighty and Heretofore Deemed Endless Missouri: An Essay on the Corps of Discovery", deals with York. • As part of the Lewis and Clark bicentennial celebrations of 2003, an opera titled York, composed by Bruce Trinkley with the libretto by Jason Charnesky, was presented at the Penn State Opera Theater. • A one-man play, York, created by playwright Bryan Harnetiaux in collaboration with actor and African drummer David Casteal, directed by Susan Hardie, and performed by Casteal, premiered at the Spokane Civic Theatre in Spokane, Washington, on April 29, 2005. According to Harnetiaux, "One element you see is the affinity between York's African drumming experience and the Native American drumming". There were off-Broadway performances in New York City in July 2006, and a short production run in 2008. In commemoration of Black History Month, the play was again presented in Spokane on February 27–28, 2016, again with David Casteal starring. • Kentucky poet Frank X Walker has written two books of poetry about York: Buffalo Dance: The Journey of York (2004) and When Winter Come: The Ascension of York (2008). According to the publisher, the University of Kentucky Press, "This collection of persona poems tells the story of the infamous Lewis & Clark expedition from the point of view of Clark's personal slave, York. The poems form a narrative of York's inner and outer journey, before, during and after the expedition—a journey from slavery to freedom, from the plantation to the great northwest, from servant to soul yearning to be free." The books were very well received: "Singly and together, these books are a great success: they portray the complex character of York, [and] they enrich our understanding of an important chapter in American history", wrote William Joliff in a review article. In his 1964 Western novel Little Big Man, Thomas Berger mentions York as having possibly been the father of some dark-skinned Indians. Honors (in chronological order) ,'' by Charles Marion Russell, 1897. Left to right, Lewis, Clark, and York. Sacajawea and her child are seen from the back, in the foreground. , 1905. , 1908 , west face of the former Sovereign Hotel (Portland, Oregon). York is at bottom right. , placed on the base of the toppled statue of Harvey W. Scott, in Portland, Oregon • York appears in several paintings by Western artist Charles Marion Russell. In the painting commonly known as Lewis and Clark meeting the Mandan Indians (1897), York is well and distinctively dressed. In York (1908), no European Americans are present. York meets with Native Americans, who are curious about him, examining his dark skin. • "Bilalian Odyssey" by Isaka Shamsud-din (1983) "transfers York from the periphery to the center of the dramatic story of which he is a part." In 2020, the statue of York was removed from the sculpture. • In July 1989, a group of statues by sculptor Bob Scriver, "Explorers at the Portage", was erected in Overlook Park in Great Falls, Montana. It depicts Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, York, and the expedition's dog, Seaman, surveying the junction of the Missouri and Sun rivers. Scriver donated a copy of the work, now with Sacagawea added (photo above), to the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center, located near the city on the Crooked Falls of the Great Falls of the Missouri River. • ''York's Stripes'', by Porter Williams, 1998, shows the stripes of York's whipping on his back. which were named for York by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The privately owned islands were called by Clark "York's 8 Islands", A small tributary of the Yellowstone River was also named for York. • Western artist Michael Haynes in 2000 produced "Proud Hunter", an illustration of York alone, carrying a small deer. link • In 2000, a statue by Eugene Daub was erected at Clark's Point in Case Park in Kansas City, Missouri, depicting Lewis, Clark, York, Sacagawea, and Seaman. link • In 2000, York was mentioned on a historical marker at the former location of Mulberry Hill, Clark's family home in Louisville. link • In 2001, President Bill Clinton posthumously granted York the rank of honorary sergeant in the United States Army. • In 2002, the City Council of Portland voted to affirm that "York Street", the origins of which name were hitherto unknown, is to be understood as referring to this York. • In 2003, a statue of York by sculptor Ed Hamilton, with plaques commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition and his participation in it, was placed on Louisville's Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere, next to the wharf on the Ohio River. • Also in Louisville in 2003, the Kentucky Historical Society and the Kentucky Department of Highways erected a historical marker along the Ohio River. link • York has a prominent place in a 2005 mural of the expedition by David McClain in Liberty, Missouri. link • 2008: Lewis and Clark Trailhead Monument by Sabra Tull Meyer, in Jefferson City, Missouri. Group depicts, left to right, York, Lewis, Seaman, Clark, and interpreter George Drouillard. Funding problems had delayed it since 2002. link • 2010: York: Terra Incognita, a bronze statue by Alison Saar, was installed on the campus of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Since we do not know what York looked like, the artist focused instead on the statue's back, making it a focal point. The back is "scarred" with sections of William Clark's maps. The project was begun by four law students. • In 2021, a bust of York was secretly installed atop a pedestal which formerly contained a statue of anti-Native American pioneer Harvey W. Scott, in Portland, Oregon's Mount Tabor Park. Attached to the pedestal was a paper plaque describing York's role in the Lewis and Clark expedition. The artist at first was unknown, but subsequently revealed that he was Todd McGrain.{{cite web | last=Selsky | title=Bust of Black hero of Lewis & Clark trip mysteriously appears in Portland park | website=KOMO-TV | url=https://komonews.com/news/local/bust-of-black-hero-of-lewis-clark-trip-mysteriously-appears-in-portland-park | access-date=February 24, 2021 | archive-date=February 26, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226025408/https://komonews.com/news/local/bust-of-black-hero-of-lewis-clark-trip-mysteriously-appears-in-portland-park == Writings about York ==

There are no writings by York himself, as he was illiterate. The bitterness between him and Clark prevented him from telling his story for publication as a slave narrative. • General • {{cite book • • • Screenplay • {{cite book • Children's books • {{cite book • • {{cite book • {{cite book • {{cite book • {{cite book • {{cite book • {{cite book == Film ==

• 2005: York, the slave of William Clark. 16:34. Produced for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial by Executive Productions, Seattle. • 2009: Searching for York. 29:01. Oregon Public Broadcasting. • 2017: ''York: One Man's Story''. 6:56. Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. • 2018: ''York: American's Forgotten Explorer.'' 18:48. Stefan Milo. • 2020: A Conversation with Hasan Davis: York, Equity, Race and the Lewis and Clark Story. 58:28. Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, National Park Service. • 2020: York: The African American Man Traveling with the Lewis & Clark Expedition. 8:16. BrightRoad2Success. • 2021: Lewis & Clark State Historic Site, Illinois Department of Natural Resources. • York Before the Expedition. 9:16. • Building the Team VII: York On the Expedition. 8:30. • York After the Expedition 10:40. == See also ==