If it were not for York, Clark's slave, Clark may not have returned from the expedition. York saved him from going down stream. He also saved Sacagawea and her baby.

When they met Indians at an Indian village, the people had never seen a black man before. They wanted to touch his skin but he didn't mind. He always wanted to be free, but

Clark never freed him legally. He and Clark were the first ones to see the Northern Lights. Throughout the journey, York thought that Clark's compass would someday point his way to freedom. He got married in Louisville, Kentucky and died, of Cholera, in Tennessee.