Born c. 1800

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Died September 25, 1866

Near Denver, Colorado

Fur trapper, Indian chief, and mountain man

James P. Beckwourth. (© Hulton Getty/Liaison Agency. Reproduced by permission.)

"The restless youthful mind, that wearies with the monotony of peaceful every-day existence, and aspires after a career of wild adventure and thrilling romance, will find, by my experience, that such a life is by no means one of comfort."

Jim Beckwourth led an extraordinary life. Born to a slave mother, he grew up to become a skilled fur trapper, a mountain man, an expedition leader, an army scout, and an Indian chief. Near the end of his life he recorded the details of his life in an autobiography that made him famous and fueled Americans' ideas about the excitement and danger of life in the West.

James P. Beckwourth claimed to have been born on April 26th...