A Valuable Member of the Team

A Valuable Member of the Team. . , Captain William Clark enlisted his slave, York, as one of the members of the Corps of Discovery. York grew up in Virginia with Clark and traveled with the party during the entire journey to the Pacific Ocean and back to St. Louis, Missouri. , York was valuable addition to the Corps, he was extremely strong and an excellent hunter. The Native Americans were amazed by his skin color and his coarse, black hair reminded them of the sacred buffalo. , After the expedition returned to St. Louis, York asked Clark for his freedom- which he was granted. It is said that York later started and ran a freight hauling business for several years. Many believe that York died of cholera, but unfortunately there is no written record of his death. There are stories that he returned and lived with Native Americans for many years, but there is no proof of his travels. Regrettably, there is no record of what happened to York, it appears that he has disappeared into history. , Picture Caption , Artist Michael Haynes drew this portrait of York depicted as a skilled hunter. Not one portrait of York was ever completed during his life and consequently his appearance is a bit of a mystery. In this portrait, Haynes drew him in Clark's old clothing - it is common in the time period for owners to give their slaves their older clothes. , Artist Michael Haynes' drawing of the expedition members cordelling a keelboat upstream on the Missouri River. York most likely assisted in this part of the work and his strength was an asset to this duty.