they thought he was white. "On the basis of both age and appearance, Beckwourth having been Leonard's 'old negro' simply does not stand up." John Brazeau Without any explanation or documentation, in a study of black fur traders John Brazeau, "a black war leader among the Sioux", is stated to be the man. "It was very likely that Brazeau told Zenas Leonard that he had come west with Lewis and Clark. As far as anyone can tell, Brazeau was telling a bald faced lie, probably for fun." A John Brazeau was an employee of the American Fur Company and founded Braseau's Houses, a trading post on the Yellowstone River. Frank Grouard, an interpreter, a "strange character", was said to have been "the son of an American Fur Company employee named John Brazeau. (John Brazo, you may remember, was the man hired by Kenneth McKenzie, bourgeois at Fort Union, to shoot a man who had threatened his life.)" York The man described by Leonard, who is never named and presumably did not want his name known, fits York's description in size, complexion, and age. Besides the statement that he was big, the only thing known about York's appearance is that his skin was very dark. He was a Black man, which neither Rose nor Beckwourth was. The man's success and comfort living with the Crows fits York completely. After his wife was taken to Natchez, York no longer had a reason to remain in Louisville, and he was quite upset at Clark's refusal to grant him his freedom, given his "immense services" during the expedition. We have to suppose that York ran away from his owner and was able to travel from St. Louis up the Missouri to Montana, some . Legacy There is no doubt that York played a vital role while reading through the journals written during the expedition. Not only did he fulfill his duties as a laborer along the expedition, the journals also suggest that the color of York's skin intrigued the Native tribes so much they seemingly gave the expedition a pass through the land as well as commencing with trade. The journals also suggest that York had gained the respect of many of the men who were part of the expedition as well. The Sambo and the superhero Darrell Millner has studied how York has been shaped and presented over 200 years. He classifies scholarly