In 1823, Hugh Glass (c.1783-1833) joined a fur-trading venture out of Missouri. Along the way, Glass surprised a grizzly bear with two cubs; the bear charged and severely wounded him. Glass killed the bear with help from his trapping party, but was left badly mauled. The men were convinced Glass would not survive his injuries; they carried him on a litter for two days, which slowed the hunting party.
The expedition owner asked for two volunteers to stay with Glass until he died and then bury him. John S. Fitzgerald and a man later identified as "Bridges" (possibly mountain man Jim Bridger [1804-1881]) stepped forward, and began digging his grave. Claiming that Indians interrupted them, they grabbed Glass' rifle, knife, and other equipment, and ran; they caught up with the others and incorrectly reported that Glass had died.
When Glass regained consciousness, he had festering wounds, a broken leg, and deep cuts on his back that exposed his bare ribs. He was more than 200 miles from the nearest American settlement at Fort Kiowa, on the Missouri River. Glass set his leg bone, wrapped himself in the bear hide, and began crawling back to Fort Kiowa. To prevent gangrene, Glass allowed maggots to eat the dead infected flesh in his wounds. He crawled toward the Cheyenne River where he fashioned a crude raft and floated downstream to Fort Kiowa. The journey took him six weeks, and he survived mostly on wild berries and roots.
Glass found Bridges, but apparently forgave him because of his youth, and learned that Fitzgerald had joined the Army and was stationed in present-day Nebraska. Glass reportedly spared Fitzgerald's life because he would be killed by the Army captain for killing a soldier. However, Glass warned Fitzgerald never to leave the army, or he would still kill him.
Despite the story's popularity, its accuracy has been disputed. In 1825, the story was published anonymously in a Philadelphia literary journal; it was later revealed to be written the by the brother of the editor. There is no writing from Hugh Glass himself to corroborate the veracity of it. Also, it is likely to have been embellished over the years as a legend.
