York (explorer)

York (1770sbefore 1832) was the only African American on the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the first African American to have crossed North America to reach the Pacific. 
York was born enslaved, the son of Old York and Rose who were the slaves of John Clark III, William Clark's father. York was William Clark's slave, willed to him by his father on July 24, 1799. York was a few years younger than Clark but very large and naturally strong. 
After experiencing an unprecedented amount of freedom on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, York had trouble adjusting back to the life of a slave. After requesting William Clark for his freedom upon the completion of the expedition, William Clark declined multiple times which led him to become agitated with York and eventually hired him out for work in Louisville, Kentucky. According to Washington Irving, William Clark told Irving he had freed York and given him six horses and a large wagon to start a drayage business driving between Nashville and Richmond. 
There are conflicting reports on York's death but most historians believe he died from cholera on his way back to William Clark in St. Louis.
Early life.
York was born in Caroline County near Ladysmith, Virginia. He and several members of his family were owned by the Clark family. The will of John Clark III (father of George Rogers and William Clark) states:I give and bequeath to my son Edmund... three negroes, to wit Peter (Vegas child), and Scipio and Darathy (Rose's children)...
I give and bequeath to my son William... one negro 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.
William Clark called York his "playmate". York was left to William in his father's will. He had a fiancée whom he rarely saw and likely lost contact with her after 1811 when she was sold/sent to Mississippi. It is not known if York fathered any children.
Lewis and Clark Expedition.
During the expedition William Clark only mentioned York three times in journal he kept. York is first mentioned in Clark's journal on December 26, 1803, Clark mentions that York and corporal White House 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, York almost lost his eye during a playful 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. On September 19 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.
Once the party reached the Arikara villages they were fascinated with York since they had never seen a black man before. The natives called him "Big Medicine," which translates to something that cannot be explained. York would play with the children of the villages and tell them that he was previously a wild animal that was tamed by Captain Clark and that he thought children were very good to eat. While playing these games with the children, he would show them how strong he was and roar at them. The men and women of the villages adored York as well. On October 12, 1804, it is noted that an Arikara welcomed York to his lodge, where the native man's wife was waiting. The Arikara man stood guard outside for some time in order to permit no interruption of their business. "Their women are very fond of caressing our men, and are much pleased with York. He had fun terrifying the children who constantly follow him," October 15, 1804. York was not pleased with all the attention he received though. During a meeting with a Hidatsa chief named Le Borge, York became very angry and pulled a knife on the chief after he had tried to rub York's skin, thinking it was paint.
On November 18, 1805, York accompanied Clark to a tree at Cape Disappointment State Park, Washington where Clark added his name to Lewis's and carved in the tree "By Land from the U. States in 1804 & 1805". York became the first black man to reach the Pacific Ocean when he walked nineteen miles (30km) from their camp with Clark. In late November, York voted on a decision pertaining to the expedition, making him the first black man known to have voted west of the Mississippi. All the men of the expedition were paid according to rank $5 to $30 per month and granted 320 acres for each enlisted men, except for York.
Historian Robert Betts said the freedom York had during the Lewis and Clark expedition made resuming enslavement unbearable. After the expedition returned to the United States, every other member received money and land for their services. York asked Clark for his freedom based upon his good services during the expedition. According to one account discussed below, Clark eventually gave him his freedom.
"It is shown that York had gained a little freedom while on the expedition with Lewis and Clark. It is mentioned in journals that York went on scouting trips and going to trade with villages, experiencing freedom while doing that. Clark named two geographic discoveries after him; York's Eight Islands and York's Dry Creek, indicating that Clark may have respected him. When a poll was taken to decide where the group should stay over one winter, York's vote was recorded. He was also able to swim, unlike some of the men who were with them on their expedition.
Later years.
As to York's later life and death, Washington Irving was told by Clark in 1832 that Clark had freed York, but that York regretted being free because he was a failure at business, and died trying to get back to serve his master as a slave again in St. Louis. Some modern historians doubt the credibility of Clark's story because it reflects pro-slavery arguments that Africans were happy to be slaves, and could not lead successful lives as free people. Others contend that, as Clark's childhood playmate and long-time companion, the two men had a friendship and mutual respect that was unusual for the time. However, manumission laws and practices of the era often required freed slaves to leave the area, and their family and friends.
Another account led to speculation that York returned west and lived among the Indians. This speculation seems to be based on the account by Zenas Leonard who reported meeting with an African man living among the Crows in north-central Wyoming in 1834, writing:
In this village we found a negro man, who informed us that he first came to this country with Lewis & Clark—with whom he also returned to the State of Missouri, and in a few years returned again with a Mr. Mackinney, a trader on the Missouri river, and has remained here ever since—which is about ten or twelve years. He has acquired a correct knowledge of their manner of living, and speaks their language fluently. He has rose [sic] to be quite a considerable character, or chief, in their village; at least he assumes all the dignities of a chief, for he has four wives, with whom he lives alternately.
However, the black man who lived among the Crow was most likely a well-known African American mountain man, Edward Rose (c.1780-c.1833). Leonard's account of this unnamed man came after the reported deaths of both Rose and York.
York had experienced freedom on his adventures with Lewis and Clark. He was part of the team, and he contributed just like the rest with hunting, fishing, putting up tents etc. He had crossed rivers and mountains on the expedition and had a taste of what true freedom is like. On the expedition he felt like a free man, but when he returned east he was a slave again. Relations between Clark and York deteriorated and in 1809 was removed from the position of body servant and hired out to a farm owner named Young. It is unclear if this was a punishment, Young being notorious for abusing his slaves, or so that York could be closer to his wife, who lived in the region.
In the PBS series "", director Ken Burns states that York continued to work for Clark as a slave after the expedition. York asked for his freedom and at first Clark refused but did send him to Kentucky so he could be closer to his wife. Ten years after the expedition Clark granted York his freedom and York worked in the freighting business in Tennessee and Kentucky. In 1832, York died from cholera.
Legacy.
There is no doubt that York played a vital role while reading through the journals written during the expedition. Not only did he fulfill his duties as a laborer along 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 commencing with trade. The journals also suggest that York had gained the respect of many of the men who were part of the expedition as well. 
Popular culture.
In 1999 Kentucky actor and writer Hasan Davis evoked York through the Kentucky Humanities Council's Chautauqua Living History program. As the Bicentennial Commemoration of the Lewis and Clark Expedition neared, Davis was invited to share York's story along the trail and across the nation as part of the national retelling of the expedition and its impact on the nation, native communities, and future generations.
In 2019 Davis' book "The Journey of York: Unsung Hero of the Lewis and Clark Expedition" was released by Capstone Publishing.
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). Both books were published by the University of Kentucky Press.
In his novel "Little Big Man", Thomas Berger mentions York as having likely been the father of some dark-skinned Indians.
The opera "York" (composer Bruce Trinkley and librettist Jason Charnesky), based on York's life, was composed for the first international conference on the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial and performed at Penn State Opera Theatre.
The play "York" was created by actor and African drummer David Casteal and playwright Bryan Harnetiaux, and premiered at Spokane Civic theatre on April 29, 2005, as directed by Susan Hardie and performed by David Casteal, (with performances in New York City i July 2006). In commemoration of Black History Month, the play was again presented on February 27–28, 2016 with David Casteal returning in the lead role as York in a one-man performance.
Honors.
A statue of York, by sculptor Ed Hamilton, with plaques commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition and his participation in it, stands at Louisville's Riverfront Plaza/Belvedere, next to the wharf on the Ohio River. Another stands on the campus of Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Dedicated on May 8, 2010, it does not focus on York's face, since no images of York are known to exist. Instead, it features fragments of William Clark's maps "scarred" on the statue's back. NW York Street in Portland also commemorates the explorer. 
In July 1989, a statue group 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 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.
Yorks Islands are an archipelago of islands in the Missouri River near Broadwater County, Montana, which were named for York by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The islands were originally named "York's 8 Islands", but have since become known as "Yorks Islands" or simply "York Island".
In 2001, President Bill Clinton posthumously granted York the rank of honorary sergeant in the United States Army.
A four-foot bust of York on a pedestal was secretly installed in Mount Tabor Park, Portland, Oregon, in 2021. On the pedestal is a plaque describing York's role in the Lewis and Clark expedition. The artist is unknown.