Beckwourth, James P.

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | 700+ words | Copyright

Beckwourth, James P. (1798–c. 1867), Virginia‐born hunter and adventurer in the Rocky Mountains, California, and Missouri, began his career as a “mountain man” while still a boy, and in 1823 joined the expedition of Ashley which ascended the Missouri River. His daring exploits and his life among the Indians made him a famous hero of frontier tall tales. In 1856 T.D. Bonner wrote “from his own dictation” the colorful and bombastic book, based on facts but exaggerated and disproportionately heroic, which was published as Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth, Mountaineer, Scout, and Pioneer and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians. It is probably the best account we have for the pre‐1830 societies of the Crow, Cheyenne, and Comanche.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Beckwourth, James P." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Beckwourth, James P." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-BeckwourthJamesP.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Beckwourth, James P." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-BeckwourthJamesP.html

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