JAMES PIERSON BECKWOURTH, 1856-1866: An Enigmatic Figure of the West - A History of the Latter Years of His Life by Mumey, Nolie - 1957

Denver: Fred A. Rosenstock, The Old West Publishing Company, 1957. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. This is Number 459 of 500 copies signed by the author. Beckwourth (1798-1867), a Virginia-born hunter, adventurer, and mountain man of the Rockies, was part of the Ashley-Henry fur-trapping and trading expedition up the Missouri River (1823), probably serving as a horse wrangler. A mulatto who lived easily among the Crow and other Indian tribes, he later ventured into California where he fought against Micheltorena's forces in 1844. He returned to California in 1851 via the northern Sierra Nevada pass that he discovered, and which now bears his name (Beckwourth's Pass). This biography picks up where Beckwourth's 1856 memoir leaves off. Tipped-in color frontispiece, with 24 illustrations and a folding map. Octavo. Original blue cloth binding, with gilt titles. Largely uncut. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket.