In Search of York: The Slave who Went to the Pacific with Lewis and Clark"The sole black member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, William Clark's body servant York has been something of an enigma to students of the expedition. More often than not, reputable historians have assumed that the myths surrounding York--that he was a man of superb physique and stamina; that he clowned and womanized his way across the continent; or that he made no significant contributions to the outcome of the undertaking--were reliable characterizations of the first black man to reach the Pacific Ocean. In this concise and solid study Robert Betts removes many of the fallacies surrounding York and pinpoints the important role he played in the success of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Neither the hero that a few romantic chroniclers have drawn nor the buffoon of many accounts tainted with racism, Betts's York emerges as a believable human being touching both the heights and depths of the world he lived in. On the one hand, York suffered the limitations and degradations of life as a slave; on the other hand, as a participant in the Lewis and Clark Expedition he must have had the rare sensation of knowing that he helped to shape the destiny of the American people"--Book jacket. |
Contents
The York of the Lewis and Clark Journals | 7 |
York as a Buffoon | 63 |
York and the Indian Women | 68 |
Copyright | |
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American Arikaras Beckwourth Biddle Bitterroots Blackfeet boats body servant canoes Captain Charbonneau Charles Clark Expedition CLARK JOURNALS Clatsop Columbia Crows documents Donald Jackson Elliott Coues Eva Emery Dye expedition's explorers Falls Field Notes Fort Clatsop free blacks freed freedom frontier Fur Trade Gass George Rogers Clark Historical Society History horses Ibid Irving's notes James Beckwourth Jefferson John Clark's journey Juba keelboat Kentucky knew known later Leonard Lewis and Clark Lewis's lived Louis Louisville Mandan villages manumission master Meriwether Lewis Missouri mountains Mulberry Hill named Negro never Nez Perce O'Fallon O'Fallon's letter old York Ordway Oregon Original Journals Pacific party Patrick Gass Persimmon Hill Reuben G River Rockies Rose Russell's Sacagawea Sergeant Shoshonis slave slavery story Thwaites tion told trappers tribe Virginia Washington Irving West wife William Clark William Clark Kennerly words writers written wrote Yellowstone York YORK OF MYTH York's young