York

=//York//= toc = = I will be talking about when York was born and his early life. How he met Lewis and Clark. Then the expeditions they went on. Also why William Clark took York on his expedition.

**Early Life**
York was born in Caroline County near Ladysmith, Virginia. He was born in March around 1770. His real name is Ben. He had a family and his dad's name was Old York and his mother's name was Rose. Clark's dad inherited York for William around July 24th, 1799. Then his father died later that year. York was about 29 when he was inherited by Clark. From there on he was Clark's servant. By 1803 they lived together in Clarksville, which was part of the Indiana territory. Then on October 29, Clark and him met Lewis and "Nine young men from Kentucky" and went on a journey.

York's Description
York was very strong, he was a really good dancer, and he was athletic. He was sort of a large man. He was sort of a hunter, not the best, but not the worst. He was allowed to carry a gun on the journey. That's important because Lewis and Clark let him carry one and that if he was back in Virginia as a slave, that would be impossibe for him to even touch a gun.

York's Contributions
Even though York made a lot of contributions to the Lewis and Clark expedition, he's not mentioned a lot in any of the two's journal. He was a great help to the expedition. He made some really good contributions. Some of the contributions he made was risking his life to save Clark's life in a flash flood, on the Missouri River, near the Great Falls, which is in present day Montana. He also put up the captain's tents, he managed the sails, and he was part of the team. The team was all of Lewis's and Clark's members that came on the journey with them.

Indian's and York
Lewis and Clark traveled into a lot of Indian Territory and Indian camps. When they got there they were greeted in a nicely manner by the Indian's. Actually a lot of Indian's appreciated York. Many Indian's liked York a lot. York would often play with the little Indian children. Then sometimes he would perform for the Indian's. One of the tribes, which was the Arikara tribe, called York "Great Medicine". Most of the Indian's respected York more than Lewis and Clark.

After The Expedition
They got back to St. Louis around noon on September 23, 1806. Everyone thought they were heroes when they got back. York was even counted as a hero. After that York had to go back to his daily life as a slave. He asked Clark for freedom, or to be hired as a slave out in Louisville. He asked this because he wanted to be closer to his wife. When he first asked he said no, but after a couple years, in 1809, he sent York to Kentucky. About 10 years have passed since the expedition. Then Clark granted York his freedom. Later York went into the freighting business in Kentucky and Tennessee. He died later of cholera sometime before 1832.

Refrences
"Lewis and Clark. Inside the Corps. The Corps. York/PBS". Pbs.org <[|http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/living/idx_5.html>] James P. Ronda, Lewis and clark Among the Indians. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1984 "The Lewis and Clark Journey of Discovery". Nps.gov __<[|www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/LewisClark2/CorpsOfDiscovery/TheOthers/Civilians/York.htm]>__ "Did the Lewis and Clark expedition Include a Slave?" History1800s.about.com __<[|history1800s.about.com/od/lewisandclark/f/lewisclarkyork.htm]>__