James Beckwourth

James Pierson Beckwourth (April 26, 1798/1800 – October 20, 1866) was an American fur trapper, rancher, businessman, explorer, author and scout.

Known as "Bloody Arm" because of his skill as a fighter, Beckwourth was of multiracial descent, being born into slavery in Frederick County, Virginia.

As a young man, Beckwourth moved to the Western United States, first making connections with fur traders in St. Louis, Missouri.

The book was published in New York City and London in 1856 as The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth: Mountaineer, Scout and Pioneer, and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians.

[4] The reliability of Beckworth's autobiography was called into question from the beginning; an editor of it quoted the observation "that some one said of him that some men are rarely worthy of belief, but that Jim was always Beckwourthy of un-belief.

Mr. Beckwourth, or his narrator, has it all his own way, and we can fancy a lurking smile at the thought how glibly he puts together such a discordant mass of material brought out from the storehouse of memory, where there is no one at hand positively to contradict him.

[6]Elinor Wilson has defended Beckwourth's narration as a valuable source of social history, especially for life among the Crow, although not all its details are reliable or accurate.

[8] As a young man in 1824 Beckwourth joined General William Ashley's Rocky Mountain Fur Company.

In July 1825, rendezvous, trapper and colleague Caleb Greenwood told the campfire story of Beckwourth's being the child of a Crow chief.

Independent accounts suggest his stay with the Crow was planned by the Rocky Mountain Fur Company to advance its trade with the tribe.

(Marriages between Native Americans and fur trappers and traders were common for the valuable alliances they provided both parties.)

"[13] From 1838 to 1840, Beckwourth was an Indian trader to the Cheyenne, on the Arkansas River, working out of Fort Vasquez, Colorado, near Platteville.

In 1842, Beckwourth moved to new settlement at Pueblo, Colorado with a wife (or consort), Maria Luisa Sandoval and a child Matilda.

However, when Beckwourth tried to collect his payment in 1851 after leading a party, Marysville suffered from two huge fires and town leaders were unable to pay.

His ranch, trading post, and hotel, in today's Sierra Valley, were the starting of the settlement of Beckwourth, California.

In 1864, Beckwourth was hired as a scout by United States Army officer John Chivington, who commanded the 3rd Colorado Cavalry Regiment.

Chivington's men perpetrated the Sand Creek massacre on November 29, 1864, in which the U.S. Army slaughtered an estimated 70-163 Cheyenne people, who had camped in an area suggested by the previous commander of Fort Lyon as a safe place and were flying an American flag to show their peaceful intentions.

William Byers, a personal friend and the founder of the Rocky Mountain News, claimed the Crow had poisoned Beckwourth.

[16][7]: 182–184  Beckwourth was buried at the lodge of Iron Bull near Fort Smith and Clarks Fork in Crow Territory.

Beckwourth as Indian warrior, 1856