JIM BECKWOURTH: Black Mountain Man and War Chief of the Crows

Around 1800 Beckwourth was born a slave in Federick County, Virginia, the natural son of Sir Jennings Beckwith and a female slave. In 1810 Sir Jennings moved with his family to the wilderness of St. Louis, Missouri, where Jim was educated and eventually apprenticed to a blacksmith. He spent most of his life among the Crow Indians whom he loved. Photos.