Hugh Glass
Hugh Glass (c. 1783 – 1833) was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, trader, hunter and explorer. He is best known for his story of survival and forgiveness after being left for dead by companions when he was mauled by a grizzly bear.
Hugh Glass | |
|---|---|
A picture depicting Glass being attacked by a bear, from an early newspaper illustration of unknown origin | |
| Born | c. 1783 Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | 1833 (aged approximately 50) Unorganized U.S. territory (near present-day Williston, North Dakota) |
| Other names | Old Hugh, Old Rinoe, Old Glass |
| Occupation(s) | Frontiersman, trapper, fur trader, hunter, explorer |
| Employer(s) | Rocky Mountain Fur Company, Jean Lafitte, self-employed |
| Known for | Surviving a grizzly bear attack |
| Spouse | Unknown |
No records exist regarding his origins but he is widely said to have been born in Pennsylvania to Scots-Irish parents. Glass became an explorer of the watershed of the Upper Missouri River, in present-day Montana, the Dakotas, and the Platte River area of Nebraska. His life story has been the basis of two feature-length films: Man in the Wilderness (1971) and The Revenant (2015). They both portray the survival struggle of Glass, who (in the best historical accounts) crawled and stumbled 200 miles (320 km) to Fort Kiowa, South Dakota, after being abandoned without supplies or weapons by fellow explorers and fur traders during General Ashley's expedition of 1823. Another version of the story was told in a 1966 episode of the TV series Death Valley Days, titled "Hugh Glass Meets the Bear".
Despite the story's popularity, its accuracy has been disputed. It was first recorded in 1825 in The Port Folio, a Philadelphia literary journal, as a literary piece and later picked up by various newspapers. Although originally published anonymously, it was later revealed to be the work of James Hall, brother of The Port Folio's 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.