Although he was still alive after being attacked by the mother grizzly bear, the condition and future for Hugh Glass seemed to be hopeless.  He was so far from civilization and there was no one in the group who had more than the most basic medical knowledge.  His body was in a mutilated and fragile condition.  For the majority of the eighty-one members of the Henry and Ashley fur trapping party, they had never seen a man in this condition before.

Glass was unable to stand or walk.  His pain was intense.  There was no surgical aid available and it was impossible to move him.  Major Henry knew that if the entire party stayed with Glass, it would bring disaster to everyone.  However, it was repugnant to the feelings of the men to leave the victim to suffer alone.

After considerable discussion and deliberation on what to do, the decision was made to pay an individual a half-year pay, eighty-two dollars, for staying with Glass.  Henry asked for two volunteers to stay with Glass until his condition improved so that he could be moved to some trading house in the area or he died.  If he died, they were instructed to give him a proper burial.  He was to be wrapped in a buffalo robe which was used to cover him as he recovered.  Two members of the trapping party, John S. Fitzgerald and Jim Bridger offered to stay with Glass.

The record on Fitzgerald is limited.  Some of the record which is available on him is what one might call “uncomplimentary.”  Since leaving St. Louis, he had been hostile towards Glass.  Before Major Henry had made the decision as to what should be done for Glass, Fitzgerald wanted the party to continue up the river and leave Glass behind, alone and without any aid or support.  Later, he admitted to others that he had left Glass for dead on purpose; however, he did accept the additional pay which Henry offered to those who stayed with Glass.

Jim Bridger, the younger of the two who stayed behind with Glass definitely had a different opinion.  He would later become one of the most important fur trappers and guides in the American West.  He was described as “one of the truest specimens of a real trapper and Rocky Mountain man.”  His legacy and achievements as a frontiersman, guide, and Mountain Man are undeniable.

These men stayed with Glass for five days.  During that time, he was for the most part unconscious.  They could see no sign of improvement in his condition or were they able to see any prospects for his immediate death.  It was then that they callously abandoned him, taking with them his rifle and all his gear.  He was left behind without any means of defense, subsistence, or shelter.

The pair set out to follow the trail of Major Henry’s party.  When they overtook them, they reported that Glass had died of his wounds and that they had buried him, as instructed, in the best manner possible.  They showed his belongings to Henry’s men and their story was not doubted by anyone.

But Glass was not dead!  When Glass regained consciousness, he found himself alone on the prairie without a gun, canteen, or anything else needed to survive.  Although he was almost entirely helpless, he managed to drag himself to a nearby spring, over which hung buffalo berry bushes and a few branches containing wild cherries.  By superhuman effort he managed to live until his wounds had partially healed so that he could travel.  He had deep cuts on his back which exposed his bare ribs.  He had been horribly mutilated by that grizzly.  To prevent gangrene, he allowed maggots to eat the dead infected flesh in his wounds.

Suddenly he realized the treachery of his companions.  He did not despair, but grimly determined to live and to search them out and kill them.  With the utmost effort he managed to pick enough berries and cherries to keep from starving.  The spring provided him with fresh water.

Slowly he nursed himself back to the point where he was eventually able to crawl and drag his tortured body forward.  Finally he was able to stand and walk with a walking stick for balance.  He was able to crawl, drag himself, walk, and raft on the Cheyenne and Missouri rivers more than 200 miles to Fort Kiowa, a trading post in Lyman County.  Here he rested and regained his strength before pursuing Fitzgerald and Bridger.

Glass found Bridger at Henry’s new post at the mouth of the Bighorn, but because of his youth, forgave him.  Fitzgerald, who still had the rifle which he stole from Glass, was located at Fort Atkinson.  He was allowed to go his way unharmed.

After his encounter with the grizzly, Glass survived several more brushes with death.  His luck run out during the winter of 1832 – 33, when he and two companions were killed as they crossed the Yellowstone River.  He was 50 years old.  The average life expectancy back in 1850 was 38.  Considering his encounter with that grizzly and the rugged lifestyle of the fur trapper at the time, it is a miracle that he lived a half-century.  The courage and fortitude which he exhibited was remarkable!

It is a fact, much to be deplored, that many of our great heroes are scarcely known outside a tiny circle of historians.  Countless of those who became heroes because of something which they did in our region are now hardly known or recognized.  Tragically, many are simply forgotten.

Keep in mind:  “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

 

 

Author Clarence Shoemaker, originally published in the Gregory Times-Advocate on July 5, 2023