Hugh Glass

For the Australian pastoralist, see Hugh Glass (pastoralist).

Hugh Glass
A picture depicting Glass being attacked by a bear, from an early newspaper illustration of unknown origin
Bornc. 1783
Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died1833 (aged approximately 50)
Unorganized U.S. territory
(near present-day Williston, North Dakota)
Other namesOld Hugh, Old Rinoe, Old Glass
Occupation(s)Frontiersman, trapper, fur trader, hunter, explorer
Employer(s)Rocky Mountain Fur Company, Jean Lafitte, self-employed
Known forSurviving a grizzly bear attack
SpouseUnknown

Hugh Glass (c. 1783 – 1833)[1][2][3] 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.

No records exist regarding his origins but he is widely said to have been born in Pennsylvania to Scots-Irish parents.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6][7]

  1. ^ Keys, Jim (April 7, 2013). "Hugh Glass: Mountain Man". The History Herald. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  2. ^ "Hugh Glass, mountain man: 'Revenant' tale intertwines with Montana history". The Montana Standard. January 17, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  3. ^ "Biographical Notes: Hugh Glass". Wandering Lizard California. Archived from the original on May 8, 2006. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  4. ^ "Hugh Glass: The Irishman who inspired the Revenant". February 2016. A newspaper article from June of (1825) headlined 'Missouri Trapper' published in a newspaper called The Port Folio reflected upon the quandary of Glass's origins: "Whether old Ireland, or Scotch-Irish Pennsylvania, claims the honour of his nativity, I have not ascertained with precision," wrote its author. The Scotch or Scots Irish were Irish-born or Irish residents that had previous Scots ancestry.
  5. ^ "Hugh Glass: Mountain Man | Civil War, American Indian Wars, Pioneers (1801–1900) | American History | Articles". www.thehistoryherald.com. April 7, 2013.
  6. ^ "Best served cold: the terrifying true story behind The Revenant". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  7. ^ Todd, Edgeley W (Winter 1955). "James Hall and the Hugh Glass Legend". American Quarterly. 7 (4). The Johns Hopkins University Press: 362–370. doi:10.2307/2710430. JSTOR 2710430.