I was excited to read this book because this past school year my school celebrated Lewis and Clark Day. While we did learn about York during this unit, it was not extensive.
I like that the author gave us background information on how York's and Clark's relationship began. I found it very interesting and sad at the same time; however, considering the standards by which most slaves were forced to live, York was one of the more fortunate slaves. At least he had freedom to roam and play with Clark when he was younger and live inside the plantation home. Although they say that it was forbidden for slaves to learn to read and write, I can't help but wonder if Clark helped York learn to read. The author did state that York could not write. Maybe we will find out in the chapters to come. I think that the fact that the Clarks allowed York to marry someone from another plantation showed that they cared about him, betting that this was not a common practice, especially since any children that came out of that union would belong to his wife's owners.
While on the expedition, York was able to demonstrate his many talents and strengths. He earned the respect of all the men with whom he worked. I bet this was the closest he ever felt to being an equal. I think it was neat that he was revered by some of the Indian tribes. I wonder if it made some of the other members of the expedition party jealous?
I found it interesting that the author continued to point out that while there were no records to support certain actions, this was what "probably" happened. She used the term "probably" quite frequently. I've never read a book that did that, but I was glad that she distinguished between the facts and assumptions.
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3 comments:
I was so glad to here that Rhoda wrote about York in York's Adventures with Lewis and Clark: An African-American's Part in the Great Expedition. I appreciated her taking the time to research York. I was glad to read this book. I like to read about the Lewis and Clark Expedition during my westward movement unit. I have heard about Sacagawea helping Lewis and Clark, but not York. I have enjoyed reading these chapters (pages 1-34)and look forward to reading the others. York seemed to been taken care as a child and as a young adult. I was surprised that he wore such nice clothing. Something slaves did not have. Marriage was such a simple step for York and his wife, but then it was a hard step also. They were not really married because they could have been sold off at anytime. That would have been too hard for me. They never mentioned his wife anymore. I would like to know how did she feel about him just running off on her? She was a slave so it would not have mattered if the master said go. I liked it that Clark knew York and trusted him enough to take in on the expedition. Rhoda gave some background information of Clark and York relationship which helped bring clarity to the story. She also said there were many gaps of information still missing about York. I like York for his strenght, courage, and poise.
(1-34)
This book has been very interesting. I never knew about York until now. I thought it was interesting that the Indians were very fascinated because of the color of his skin. Slaves were not thought of as equals and having the Indians chose York over the whites made him have a higher status than the whites. Even though York was Clark’s slave, York was treated better than most of the slaves that we hear about in history. However, his marriage was not seen as an important event, but he was allowed to marry outside of the plantation. This just doesn't seem fair that the two could not be together and taken seriously. I really don't think that York had a choice about whether to go on the expedition. I wonder how Clark would have felt or treated York if he disagreed to go.
Even though I have only read 34 pages of this book, I am learning so much. I knew that Sacagawea was part of the expedition, but I didn’t know that she was only about eleven or twelve and that she was a had an infant with her. I can’t wait to read the next part of this book. This is very interesting.
Hey Jennifer and Katherine,
I think the three of us felt the same when reading pages 1-34. Poor York. It's almost like your watching a movie and you want it to have a happy ending even though you know this is in the past.
Debbie
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