James Pierson Beckwourth was famously known as “Bloody Arm” due to his skill as a fighter. He fought in the Seminole War in 1842 and the California Revolution of 1846. In 1850, he discovered a route through the Sierra Nevada’s that was safer to travel, which is now called “Beckwourth Pass.” From 1851 to 1855 the Beckwourth Emigrant Trail was the preferred route for those seeking fortune in the California gold rush. The trail proved effective in getting travelers over the Sierra Nevada mountain pass and into gold country.