The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth: Mountaineer, Scout, and Pioneer, and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians

Legendary mountain man James P. Beckwourth was an icon of his time, and an inspiration to generations of wilderness explorers and adventurers. A chapter-by-chapter recollection of the greatest adventures of Beckwourth's life, this autobiography recounts the experiences which served to build the legend around his name. Born a slave to a white father and a black, enslaved mother, Beckwourth never knew or experienced easy living. Apprenticed as a blacksmith by his father and master, an argument with the smithy led to his expulsion from the job. After the family moved to Missouri, the assertive young James persuaded his father to free him from slavery; after a series of court hearings between 1824 and 1826, he gained his freedom. Life as a free man of black heritage was difficult in the United States of the early 19th century. Finding nature to be better company than his fellow man much of the time, the young Beckwourth headed westward and joined the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, which he saw as an opportunity to partially escape civilization and become trained in the ways of hunting in the deep wilderness. Little did Beckwourth know that this decision would come to define his entire existence; a hunter of unusual skill and prowess, he soon distinguished himself from his colleagues. The next four decades saw him variously enlist with the U. S. Army, run a hotel and open a storefront - however his primary vocation was to always be hunting, trapping and selling furs. In the 19th century, Beckwourth's dictated autobiography was dismissed as mere exaggerated campfire stories. Yet subsequent generations of historians and the black civil rights movement, gave both Beckwourth and his great adventures a new lease of life in the 20th century. Now regarded as an important work of social history, it is with pride that the publisher presents this memoir complete with illustrations of its author.