in him. His skill in hunting with a rifle may have antedated the expedition. He also kept his eye out for new species, which the expedition was searching for. He played a major role in the heavy work of paddling upstream, portaging, and building shelters. He aided in navigating trails and waterways. York and Native Americans York's most spectacular contributions were with the Native American tribes the expedition came into contact with, whose assistance was sometimes very necessary. According to the journals of the expedition, York's blackness served as a passport with them; they were impressed by such a "strange creature". According to Richard Betts, he was "the main attraction in Lewis and Clark's travelling magic show." York was a sensation. The following excerpts are from the expedition's official report: York is not mentioned by name, but at their 1805–06 winter camp on the Columbia River, Indians brought their women to market "for a fishinghook or a string of beads", resulting in cases of "venereal disease". The memory of York persisted in Indian oral tradition until the 20th century. Arriving at the Pacific and voting On November 18, 1805, York accompanied Clark to a tree at Cape Disappointment State Park, Washington, where Clark added his name to Lewis's and carved in the tree "By Land from the U. States in 1804 & 1805". York became the first American Black man to reach the Pacific Ocean when he walked nineteen miles (30 km) from their camp with Clark. In late November, all the members of a party, including York and Sacagawea, were consulted by the leaders where to camp for the winter. According to Martin Plamondon II, to call this a vote, as it is often called, is to create a myth; there is no implication that the vote of the majority would be followed. He calls it "polling" rather than voting. In a reply, Dayton Duncan notes that Clark wrote down the views on the question of every member of the expedition, including York and Sacagawea. This was itself very unusual. The men believed that they, not the leaders, had made the decision. According to Duncan, it was a vote. Glen Kirkpatrick disagrees. Mentions in Clark's journal A search for the name York in the Lewis and Clark journals produces 135 hits. York is first mentioned in Clark's journal on December 26, 1803, when Clark mentions that York and Corporal