Legends of the Old West - MOUNTAIN MEN Ep. 3 | “Hugh Glass: The Grizzly Bear”

Episode Date: September 25, 2024

Hugh Glass is an older veteran trapper when he joins the Ashley-Henry fur company. In 1823, he suffers a catastrophic attack by a grizzly bear in the woods along the Grand River in what is now South Dakota. Against seemingly impossible odds, Hugh Glass survives his devastating injuries and begins a quest for revenge against those who left him for dead.   Join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join   Apple users join Black Barrel+ for ad-free episodes, bingeable seasons and bonus episodes. Click the Black Barrel+ banner on Apple to get started with a 3-day free trial.   On YouTube, subscribe to LEGENDS+ for ad-free episodes and bingeable seasons: hit “Join” on the Legends YouTube homepage.   For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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for info on kraken's undertaking to register in Canada. Warning. This episode contains descriptions of graphic violence that some may find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. In the early dawn hours of June 2, 1823, along the banks of the Missouri River, a fierce battle raged. Amid the echoing of gunfire and war cries, Hugh Glass, a man of rugged endurance and indomitable spirit, followed the shouted orders of Jedidiah Smith. He followed

Jim Bridger and other members of Ashley's Hundred as they ran toward the safety of their boats on the Missouri. Even before he joined the Ashley Henry Furr Company, Glass's life was marked by adventure and adversity. Rumors of his early life spread through the other men in Ashley's hundred. Some said he was born in Pennsylvania and had once been captured as a sailor by the notorious New Orleans pirate Jean Lafitte and held for two years, escaping only by jumping overboard and swimming to Galveston Island. Others whispered that he and a partner had been taken prisoner by the Pawnee while hunting

buffalo and that he had witnessed the Pawnee burn his hunting partner at the stake. No one then or now seemed to be able to separate the legend from the truth. But by the time he joined William Ashley and Andrew Henry's expedition, he had already built a reputation for resilience and toughness. Like Jedidiah Smith, Glass had signed on with the Ashley-Henry Fur Company, lured by the promise of fortune and the call of the wild. Now here he was, fighting for his life and the lives of his comrades, his past adventures a prelude to the trials that lay ahead. As they escaped downriver, exhausted and battered, the mountain

men regrouped, buried their dead, and mourned their losses. After the attack, William Ashley and some of his trappers teamed up with the US Army and Lakota warriors to try to take the fight to the Arikara. The campaign resulted in a few skirmishes and would be called the Arikara War of 1823. But it wasn't the decisive blow against the Arikara that Ashley hoped it would be. Either way, the campaign worked in Ashley's favor. The other fur companies had been scared away from the prime trapping grounds by the increasing Arikara attacks, and now those grounds were wide open for the Ashley-Henry Fur Company. William

Ashley and Andrew Henry divided their trappers into two groups to maximize the ground they could cover. Jedidiah Smith led one group west through the southern portion of the modern day state of South Dakota on a path toward Wyoming. Andrew Henry led the other group up the Missouri River and then west through the northern part of South Dakota toward Montana. Shortly after they turned west and moved along the Grand River, Hugh Glass began a fight for survival that would make his name echo through history. From Black Barrel Media, this is an American Frontier series on Legends of the Old West. I'm your host, Chris Wimmer,

and this season we're beginning regular stories of the earliest days of American expansion across the continent. In this series, we'll focus on the lives and legends of mountain men Jedidiah Smith, Hugh Glass, and Jeremiah Johnson. This is episode 3, Hugh Glass, The Grizzly Bear. It was the second half of August, 1823, and the heat was sweltering. Weeks earlier, while Jedidiah Smith's group had set out south from Fort Kiowa in what

is now South Dakota, Major Andrew Henry had taken his men north. As they followed the Grand River to the west, Henry selected two of his men as scouts and sent them ahead to watch for hostile Native Americans and to hunt for game to feed the party. Hugh Glass was insulted. At 39, he was one of the oldest men in the group and as far as he was concerned, no man in the company was a better tracker, hunter, or scout. But Andrew Henry had not selected Glass as one of the Scouts. Hugh Glass ignored the order, took up his rifle, and set out with the Scouts anyway. The Missouri River basin was teeming with danger and opportunity, and Glass, a seasoned frontierman, knew the risks all too well.

Making their way through the dense underbrush, Glass and the other Scouts kept their senses sharp, as lurking threats could emerge at any moment. They had faced the Iricarron attack two months earlier, a brutal assault that had left a ball lodged in Glass's thigh and a dozen of their comrades dead. The memory of that bloody encounter was still fresh in their minds, a grim reminder of the constant peril that shadowed their every step. Separated from the main group, the Scouts maintained a steady pace, covering ground quickly but cautiously. They were deep in the wilderness and far from the safety of their camp when they stumbled upon a promising patch of land. It looked like a good spot to hunt for food. The forest was thick, and the only sounds were the rustling leaves and the distant calls of the birds.

Hugh Glass moved quietly. His experienced eyes scanned the terrain for signs of game. Then, behind him, the silence was shattered by the ominous crack of branches. by the ominous crack of branches. Hugh Glass turned slowly and found himself face to face with a massive 700 pound grizzly bear. Unbeknownst to him, the mother grizzly had two cubs who were cowering in the underbrush near the river. She thought Hugh Glass was a threat, and she was determined to end that threat. Before he could react, the bear charged. Glass swiveled the barrel of his rifle toward the charging bear and pulled the trigger, but the shot only grazed the enraged animal.

The bear was on him in an instant. She knocked him to the ground with a powerful swipe of her paw. Glass fought desperately to pull himself from the grizzly's grasp, but her ferocity and her size were overwhelming. The grizzly's claws tore into his skin, ripping through muscle and breaking bones with ease. Her powerful jaws clamped down on his head, tearing his scalp and nearly blinding him. The other two scouts heard the shot and Glass's screams, and they raced toward the commotion. When they arrived, they saw a terrible sight. The bear was on top of Hugh Glass and continued

to slash and bite. The scouts leveled their rifles, took aim and fired, and after multiple shots, the bear fell dead. As the Grizzlies' bodies slumped to the ground, the Scouts rushed to Glass's side. The sight that greeted them was ghastly. Glass was barely recognizable. His body was a mangled wreck of torn skin and shattered bones. His breathing was shallow. His eyes were open, but they were glazed with shock and pain. As the scouts waited for the rest of the party to reach them, the extent of Glass's injuries became apparent. The wounds were catastrophic. Glass's back was shredded.

Deep gashes exposed muscle and bone. His left leg was broken and twisted unnaturally beneath him. His scalp was torn open and hanging in bloody tatters. One eye was swollen shut. Blood flowed down his face from multiple lacerations. His right arm was nearly severed. It hung by tendons and skin, and his chest was a mass of sliced skin and broken ribs. The bear's claws had ripped through his abdomen, leaving his intestines partially exposed. His throat had been slashed, his lungs had been damaged, and every breath he took was labored and wet with sick gurgling sounds. Expedition leader Andrew Henry arrived shortly afterward. He assessed the situation quickly,

knowing that the hostile territory and the urgency of their mission left them with little choice. Waiting meant ceding the best beaver land to other trappers. They couldn't afford to slow down, nor did they have the means to carry Hugh Glass over the rough terrain in his critical condition. Andrew Henry made the tough decision to leave Glass behind. Henry called for volunteers, offering a reward to anyone who was willing to stay with Glass until he succumbed to his injuries and could be given a proper burial. The camp fell silent, punctuated only by the rasping sounds of glasses breathing. For a few tense moments, the men exchanged uneasy glances.

Then two men stepped forward, John Fitzgerald, a seasoned trapper with a hardened demeanor, and Jim Bridger, who was all of 20 years old. Henry provided Fitzgerald and Bridger with supplies and instructions, emphasizing the importance of their task. They built a rough shelter over Glass to give him as much comfort as they could under the circumstances. Andrew Henry and the rest of the group set out to resume their journey, leaving the dying Glass in the care of the two volunteers. Hugh Glass, a man known by all of his companions for his resilience and strength, was now at the mercy of fate in the unforgiving wilderness.

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Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com slash Realm, all lowercase. When Andrew Henry and the rest of the Trappers disappeared from sight, John Fitzgerald and Jim Bridger set to work constructing a makeshift camp next to Hugh Glass. They set up a rough shelter for their injured comrade and covered him in the hide of the bear that had attacked him, and waited for him to die. As the hours of the grim vigil passed, the severity of Glass's condition weighed heavily on them. Every breath Glass took was a painful rasp. passed, the severity of Glass's condition weighed heavily on them. Every breath Glass took was a painful rasp. He was too weak to swat away the flies that explored his injuries. His wounds, deep and festering, showed no signs of improvement, and infection seemed

inevitable in the sweltering summer heat. Fitzgerald grew increasingly impatient. He had seen men die from far less severe injuries, and he was convinced that Glass's death was imminent. The sound of Glass's breathing, escaping through a gash in his throat, resembled a quote, death rattle to Fitzgerald's ears. Whether it was a genuine misinterpretation or a convenient excuse, Fitzgerald used it to justify his growing desire to abandon Hugh Glass. Jim Bridger, only 20 years old and far less experienced, was uncertain. He wanted to impress the older men and prove he was reliable, which was why he volunteered. But he also seemed to have had a strong sense of duty,

or at least an honest belief that Glass would pull through. In the early stages, Bridger was steadfast. He didn't want to leave Hugh Glass. But as the hours ticked by, Fitzgerald's words, combined with the reality of their situation, began to erode Bridger's resolve. began to erode Bridger's resolve. Both men knew that the danger of an attack, either by another Grizzly or Native Americans, was very real. They were less than 100 miles from the site of the Iriquera attack two months earlier. Fear mingled with exhaustion and the dread of watching a man die. The longer they waited,

the more Fitzgerald's pragmatic cruelty seemed to make sense. The next morning, Fitzgerald made the final decision. They would take Glass' rifle and knife, essential tools for their own survival, and leave him to what they believed was his inevitable fate. As they prepared to depart, Fitzgerald stood over Glass, who was barely conscious. Fitzgerald grabbed Glass' rifle and knife and secured them with his own gear. Bridger hesitated, looking at Glass' broken body, but eventually followed Fitzgerald's lead. The two men left the rough shelter, cast one final glance at the man they were abandoning, and disappeared into the woods.

They crossed a lot of territory and reunited with Henry and his men at the mouth of the Yellowstone River. They showed Henry Glass' rifle and knife as proof that they had buried the dead man. In thanks, Henry let Fitzgerald keep the rifle and handed the knife to Bridger. At the crude camp along the Grand River, hours turned to days as Hugh Glass lay alone, fighting against the overwhelming urge to slip into unconsciousness. Each wound on his body throbbed, his head ached from the bear's bite, and his vision blurred. Every breath sent searing pain through his chest, and his throat felt

like it was on fire. But Hugh Glass was not a man easily defeated. Somewhere deep within him, a fierce determination took root. He knew that if he succumbed to despair, he would die alone in the trees, and he knew that the man who abandoned him would live out the rest of their lives feeling fully justified in their decision to leave him behind. That thought fueled his resolve to survive, no matter how insurmountable the odds seemed. Struggling against unimaginable pain, Glass began to drag himself across the ground. Each movement was an agony.

He reached for his rifle and then for his knife. Both were gone. He reached for his water pouch and found it empty. The other men hadn't thought he would need it. Desperately thirsty, he crawled toward the sound of a nearby spring. The water, though muddy and warm, may have been the best drink of Hugh Glass's life. He drank deeply, feeling a slight renewal of strength. His mind raced with thoughts of survival. He needed food and a way to treat his wounds, or at least to keep them from getting worse.

Using what little strength he had, Glass scavenged the bank of the creek for berries and wild cherries. He found maggots in a decaying log, and knowing they could keep his wounds clean, he placed them on the worst of his injuries. Each day that passed was a battle against pain and exhaustion, but Glass persevered. He fashioned crude bandages from his torn clothing and used the bare skin as a coat to protect him from the elements. He knew he had to move to find help or he would die in his camp. The nights were the hardest. The cold seeped into his bones and the darkness amplified his fear and loneliness. But every morning when the sun rose, Glass renewed his vow to survive. He decided to try to make it to Fort Kiowa.

It was the nearest outpost, but it was still more than 200 miles away. The journey would be long and excruciating, but it was his only chance, though there would be no chance to make it if he couldn't do something about his broken leg. To brace his leg, a whole new agony awaited. Summoning every ounce of strength and willpower, Glass prepared himself for the task ahead. He gathered two sturdy branches, roughly the same length to use as splints. He tore strips from his shirt, now a bloodied and tattered rag, to bind his leg. Taking a deep breath, Glass gritted his teeth and pulled his legs straight,

aligning the bones as best he could. The pain was otherworldly, a white-hot blaze that threatened to overwhelm him. He screamed, and there was no one around to hear him. He pulled the strips of cloth tight and secured the branches to his leg. The makeshift splint would have to do. Next, Glass turned his attention to his other injuries. His back, chest, and abdomen were torn with deep gashes from the bear's claws. He used the bear hide to cover his wounds and protect them from dirt and insects as best he could. The hide also provided some protection from the summer sun during the day and a little warmth during the cold nights. And that was the best he could do. He just had to let the injuries heal on their own and hope they did.

The days that followed were a blur of pain and determination. Glass knew he couldn't survive on berries and roots. He needed substantial food. Moving was a slow, torturous process, but he oriented himself toward Thunder Butte on the horizon and started crawling and dragging himself through the underbrush. His broken leg throbbed with every movement and sparked with pain every time it hit a rock or a branch. His progress was bitterly slow, but he pressed on. Near the bank of the Grand River,

a pack of wolves had brought down a buffalo calf. The predators paid no attention to the broken figure of Hugh Glass as he crawled toward them. His movements were deliberate, every inch gained with immense effort. Mercifully, two things he still had with him were his razor and flint for creating

fire. Glass used the tools to strike fire to the dry grass. Flames flickered to life and crackled through the underbrush. The wolves, snarling and reluctant, retreated from the sudden blaze. Glass was able to pull chunks of meat from the buffalo carcass and sear them over the open flames. The meat was tough and gamey, but to glass it was a feast. He gorged himself and then turned the spot into a crude campsite. He stripped some of the hide from the animal

and used it to construct a rough shelter. He stayed there for days, using the meat from the buffalo to renew his strength a little at a time. Eventually it was time to leave. He had to keep moving. Glass pushed forward on his journey and resumed foraging for berries and roots to sustain himself. Progress was slow, but he was now up on his feet at least some of the time, limping along with his broken leg dragging behind him. No one knows for sure what happened next. Some believe Glass crawled, limped, and dragged himself the rest of the way to Fort Kiowa.

Others say that he fell in with a group of trappers from the French Fur Company who aided him in returning to civilization. The third version says he found help from an unlikely source. In that version, which is loosely adapted and combined with the discovery of the buffalo and the wolves in the movie The Revenant, Glass met Native American travelers. One quiet evening, as he lay beneath a makeshift shelter, Glass could make out the distant sound of horses' hooves. It was the first sign of other people he had encountered since Fitzgerald and Bridger had left him to die. He crawled out of his shelter and called out in a voice that was weak but

determined. He hoped they were trappers and prayed they weren't the Iricara. To his immense relief, a band of Lakota warriors emerged from the trees. They were the traditional enemies of the Iriqara and had established a trading relationship with the Ashley Henry Fur Company. They approached the injured man cautiously, but with curiosity. Glass conveyed his desperate situation using a combination of hand gestures and the few Lakota words he knew. The Lakota, recognizing his dire condition, decided to help. They lifted him gently onto

one of their horses and took him to their camp. There they treated his wounds with traditional herbal remedies and cleaned and bandaged them with care. They provided him with food and water and nursed him far greater than he could by himself. For several days, Glass stayed with the Lakota, his body slowly beginning to heal under their care. They gave him a blanket and some basic supplies, including dried pemmican and a small pouch of medicinal herbs. The Lakota were wary of white men encroaching on native land,

but they respected Glass's resilience and determination. When it was time for Glass to continue his journey, they pointed him in the direction of Fort Kiowa and wished him well. Glass set out once more, his resolve stronger than ever. Each step was still a struggle, but for the first time since the grizzly rushed toward him, it seemed like Hugh Glass would survive. He continued his journey, though no one knows if the Lakota provided him

with a horse or a canoe to complete the last leg of his trek. What we do know is that on October 11th, 1823, six weeks and 200 miles later, Hugh Glass staggered into Fort Kiowa. Fort Kiowa was a vital hub for fur traders navigating the Missouri River. Originally established by a prominent trader,

the fort was strategically located to facilitate trade with various Native American tribes, including the Mandan and the Iriquera. The landscape of the Missouri River had changed dramatically since Hugh Glass and Jedidiah Smith had fought the Iriquera on the beach. The previously hostile Iriquera had formed a precarious peace with the Mandan, a powerful tribe with significant influence in the region. The alliance shifted the dynamics of trade and conflict in the area, creating both opportunities

and perils for traders like Glass and his companions. At Fort Kiowa, Glass joined a French trapper and his small crew on a boat heading up the Missouri River. Their mission was to trade with the Mandan and continue to Fort Henry near the mouth of the Yellowstone River. As they navigated the treacherous waters of the Missouri, tensions ran high. Each bend of the river could conceal an Arikara war party. Toussaint Charbonneau, one of the crew members, feared an imminent Arikara attack and requested permission to travel overland, promising to rendezvous with the boat further upriver.

His request was granted and he set off on foot. Shortly thereafter, Hugh Glass also decided to take the overland route, driven by a sense of urgency and a desire to reach Fort Henry more swiftly. urgency and a desire to reach Fort Henry more swiftly. The decision proved fortuitous for Glass and Charbonneau. The day after they left, the remaining crewmen were ambushed by the Iricara. The attack was swift and brutal, leaving no survivors. Glass eventually encountered Charbonneau at a Mandan village. The Mandan, aware of the Iricara threat, offered them shelter and provisions. Despite the relative safety provided by the Mandan, Glass was haunted by the dangers that

lay ahead. The journey to Fort Henry required passing through territories controlled by the Blackfeet and other tribes who were known for their hostility toward intruders. Undeterred, Glass pressed on. His mind was focused on revenge against John Fitzgerald, the man who had abandoned him after the bear attack. On November 20, 1823, Hugh Glass arrived at Fort Tilton, near present-day Bismarck, North Dakota. His stay was brief, and he pushed on, driven by a singular purpose. Unknown to Glass, Fitzgerald was nearby. As Glass left Fort Tilton and continued to move overland toward Fort Henry, Fitzgerald

floated down the Missouri River and arrived at Fort Tilton the day after Glass left. At Fort Tilton, Fitzgerald learned the news that had shocked everyone before him. Hugh Glass was alive. Somehow he had survived, and worse, he was hell-bent on finding Fitzgerald. But Glass was unaware that Fitzgerald was so close, and Glass continued his journey in the wrong direction.

By December 5th, 1823, he had reached Fort Henry at the mouth of the Yellowstone River, only to find it abandoned. A note informed him that the men had moved upriver to establish a new fort at the mouth of the Bighorn River. Exhausted but resolute, Glass made his way further upriver, determined to complete a quest that he thought would lead him to John Fitzgerald. New Year's Eve 1823 found the men at the new Fort Henry celebrating the end of a grueling year. Laughter and song filled the air, and the men were drunk on whiskey.

The fort, hastily constructed and barely offering protection from the elements, was nonetheless a haven for weary trappers. As the revelry peaked, the door to the fort swung open. A ghostly figure, emaciated and scarred, staggered inside. The room fell silent as the trappers recognized the man before them was the dead man, Hugh Glass. man before them was the dead man, Hugh Glass. The celebration inside the newly constructed Fort Henry came to a sudden halt when Hugh Glass stumbled through the door. His presence sent a chill through the room, turning the festive atmosphere into one of eerie silence.

No one could believe their eyes. The man before them looked nothing like the Hugh Glass they had known. The grisly attack and his epic trek to safety had drastically altered his appearance. His body was gaunt, his face was a canvas of scars, and his once-powerful voice was now a raspy whisper due to the severe wounds to his chest and throat. The men stared in disbelief, unable to reconcile the skinny, twisted figure with the robust trapper they remembered. Among them, young Jim Bridger stood frozen, his face a mask of shock and fear.

He could barely comprehend that the man he had left for dead had somehow survived. Hugh Glass locked eyes with Bridger and took a step forward. His movements were slow and deliberate, each one a testament to the immense pain he had endured. The room remained silent as Hugh Glass approached Jim Bridger. Glass confirmed that he was, in fact, the man who had been attacked by the Grizzly and then robbed of his rifle and knife and left behind to die alone in the wilderness. Bridger's eyes widened as Glass continued,

I swore an oath that I would be revenged on you and the wretch who was with you. For this meeting I have braved the dangers of a long journey. But I cannot take your life. You have nothing to fear from me. Go, you are free. For your youth, I forgive you." Bridger's relief was mixed with a deep sense of shame and guilt. For the rest of his life, while telling tall tales of his legendary exploits on the American frontier, Jim Bridger refused to talk about what had happened with Hugh Glass. And now, with the confrontation with Bridger behind him, Glass turned his focus to the future and finding John Fitzgerald. At the end of February 1824, a party of five, including Glass, left Fort

Henry carrying a message for William Ashley. Their route took them up the Powder River, across to the Platte River, and down toward Fort Atkinson, near the future city of Omaha, Nebraska. The journey began with a mix of hope and trepidation. As they traveled up the powder, the harsh winter landscape tested their endurance. The men moved with caution, aware of the dangers that lurked in every shadow. By April 1824, they reached the Platte River, a critical juncture in their journey. There, they encountered a Native American hunting party. The hunters hailed the trappers. The trappers thought the hunters were Pawnee and therefore peaceful. The trappers dropped their guard when the hunters summoned

them to the shore. The trappers were invited to a feast at the largest lodge and only one member of the party carried a rifle. As the trappers ate, Glass was alarmed to find that the hunters were not speaking Pawnee, but instead another native tongue of which he knew a few words, Iriqirah. The hunting party was from the same band that had once been led by Grey Eyes, the head man during the Iriqirah War the previous year.

Their current leader, Elk's Tongue, had been Grey Eye's sub-chief. The hospitality was a trick. The hunters intended to kill the trappers to avenge their chief's death. Gesturing and smiling as if he were complimenting the meal, Glass quickly told the other trappers about their situation. At once, the five mountain men leapt up and ran for their boat. Their rifles and ammo were gone, stolen by the hunters. Two dozen Iriqirah splashed into the waist-deep water in hot pursuit. On the opposite shore, the trappers split up. The Iriqirah killed three of the trappers, but Hugh Glass escaped. He scrambled up into some rocks and hid. He was temporarily safe, but now he had to witness the murder and mutilation of two of his comrades.

As the sun began to set in the west, Glass crept out of his hiding spot and began the long walk east. He was around 500 miles from Fort Atkinson and once again, Hugh Glass found himself alone in the wilderness. His rifle had been stolen, but he still had his knife. If he had to endure another long walk, at least he was in better shape than the last time. The loss of his companions was a heavy blow, but it also reignited the fierce determination that kept him alive through his previous ordeals. He knew that survival depended on his ability to remain vigilant and resourceful. As he navigated the treacherous terrain, Glass relied on his deep knowledge of the land.

He moved stealthily, avoiding a ricorra patrols and subsisting on whatever he could forage or hunt. Days turned to weeks as Glass made his way down the Platte River. The journey was tough as he was still plagued by pain from wounds that weren't fully healed. The thought of reaching his destination, delivering the message to William Ashley, and then finding Fitzgerald kept him going. By the time Glass finally arrived at Fort Atkinson in late June or early July of 1824, he was a shadow of a shadow of a man. But his determination paid off. He finally found John Fitzgerald.

Fort Atkinson was a bustling military outpost and a stark contrast to the isolation Glass had experienced in the wilderness. Soldiers went about their duties, and the Fort's robust defenses were a reminder of the constant threat posed by the surrounding frontier. Glass's arrival caused a stir. His haggard appearance and the tales of his survival had preceded him. Most of the men who saw him knew exactly who he had come to see. But by the summer of 1824, there was a twist to the story. Two months earlier, John Fitzgerald had quit the mountain man life

and joined the army. The former trapper now wore the blue wool of a soldier's uniform. The confrontation that had been brewing for nearly a year finally came to a head. Glass approached the man who had left him to die in the woods ten months earlier. Fitzgerald, Glass said in the same rough and raspy voice that Jim Bridger had heard a couple months ago. I want my rifle. Fitzgerald offered to hand over the weapon, but Glass wanted more. He was filled with rage, and the confrontation almost certainly would have turned physical

if Colonel Henry Leavenworth, the commanding officer at Fort Atkinson, hadn't been in the room. The Colonel's presence forced Glass to choke down his rage. If Glass killed a soldier, he knew he would hang, even if the soldier was a no-account like Fitzgerald. Glass warned Fitzgerald that if Fitzgerald ever deserted the army like he had deserted Glass, Glass would hunt him down and kill him. Then, Glass told Fitzgerald to go. The trapper-turned soldier would have to answer to his own conscience and his own God. Glass said he had suffered enough from Fitzgerald's cruelty, and he was turning the page on that chapter of his life. The weight of Glass's words hung in the air.

Fitzgerald knew that it was not an idle threat. The intensity in Glass's eyes spoke volumes. Having reclaimed his rifle, Glass turned and left, and the tense standoff at Fort Atkinson marked the end of his quest for revenge. The presence of Colonel Leavenworth had prevented a bloody reckoning, but Glass's words ensured that Fitzgerald would live with fear of retribution hanging over him.

Like many of the Mountain Men, Hugh Glass became a legend in his own time. His story of survival and resilience echoed through the remaining years of the Mountain Man era, and then it proved it would never fade It inspired epic poems songs biographies novels TV episodes and two movies The real events of Hugh Glass's life differed significantly from the dramatized version in the movie the revenant But the quest for revenge and the incredible struggle for survival probably have the right tone of the real man. In the movie, Glass gets the revenge he wanted so badly in real life. After all, it makes for a better story and a better ending. In reality, Hugh Glass was constrained by the presence of military authority, and he was forced to choose harsh words and a warning over violence.

In popular media, that's where the story of Hugh Glass usually ends. But again, the reality was different. There were more chapters of Glass' life after his confrontation with John Fitzgerald, and his story wasn't nearly done. Next time on Legends of the Old West, Hugh Glass moves on with his life as an explorer and trapper. He heads out on the Santa Fe Trail and spends time in Taos, New Mexico. He attends the rendezvous at Bear Lake with his fellow trappers, and he has one last deadly

encounter with the Iricara. That's next week in the second half of the Hugh Glass story here on Legends of the Old West. Members of our Black Barrel Plus program don't have to wait week to week to receive new episodes. They receive the entire season to binge all at once with no commercials, and they also receive exclusive bonus episodes. Sign up now through the link in the show notes or on our website, blackbarrelmedia.com. Memberships are just $5 per month. This series was researched and written by Matthew Kearns.

Original music by Rob Villeur. I'm your host and producer, Chris Wimmer. Thanks for listening.