A mulatto slave and son of a nobleman, Beckwourth became a mountain man, fur trader, Crow Indian chief, and gold miner who established “The Beckwourth Pass.” Born to an African American slave mother and English father, Sir James Bechwourth, he played a major role in the early exploration and settlement of the American West. He is considered the only African American who kept a journal during that period and was published as The Life and Adventures of James Beckwourth: Mountaineer, Scout, and Pioneer, and Chief of the Crow Nation of Indians.