Many early mountain men and their adventures have been sensationalized in books, movies and television. Pennsylvania born Hugh Glass would be considered one of the more famous. Featured in numerous books, several movies and at least one television serial, Glass and his wild adventures are the makings of legend. The Hugh Glass resume includes capture and escape from the famous New Orleans pirate John Lafitte, as well as escaping capture from the Pawnee tribe (in the area of present day Nebraska). Of course neither event was ever documented and may only be embellished stories.

We do know that Glass became a "hired hunter" in 1823 for the Ashley-Henry Fur Company (eventually to be known as the Rocky Mountain Fur Company) and was known as one of Ashley's one hundred fur traders to ascend the Missouri River in search of prime pelts. Glass operated in the area of present day North & South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. Hugh Glass is the mountain man portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the 2015 film Revenant.

With increased conflicts by the native tribes along the upper Missouri, Ashley and Henry decided that the Missouri wasn't a viable travel way to access the Rocky Mountains. Andrew Henry decided to take a party in search of a new route by traveling up the Missouri to the Grand river and west along the Grand, continuing overland to the Yellowstone river. A second party led by Jedediah Smith would follow the Cheyenne river west. Story has it that Glass, who was scouting and hunting game ahead of the Henry party was mauled by a sow grizzly when he stumbled onto the bear with her two cubs along the Grand River in present day South Dakota. Severely mauled and eventually left for dead, Glass amazingly overcame his wounds enough to struggle for six weeks while he ate berries, crawling and eventually fashioning a crude raft to float his way down the Missouri river to Fort Kiowa.. which was located just up river from present day Chamberlain, South Dakota.

Learn more in my book Master Trappers available in the webstore.