On August 23rd, 1823, Hugh Glass was attacked by a grizzly bear that was protecting her cubs.

Clawed, chewed, and mauled, none of the other mountain men in Andrew Henry's company thought

Hugh Glass would make it.

Henry left two men, seasoned Trapper John Fitzgerald, and young Greenhorn Jim Bridger to wait until Glass succumbed to his wounds and then provide him a proper burial.

Two days later, Glass hadn't died, and Fitzgerald and Bridger were worried that they would find themselves surrounded by hostile Native Americans or surprise by another bear.

Fitzgerald convinced Bridger to abandon glass, a decision Bridger regretted

for the rest of his life.

When they left, they took Glass's rifle and knife, and left him with the hide of the grizzly bear that had attacked him.

They had killed the bear, removed the hide, and used it to cover glass while he suffered.

But Hugh Glass refused to die. Pulling himself along, then crawling,

then limping his way hundreds of miles back to civilization, Glass focused on revenge against Fitzgerald and Bridger.

When Glass finally found Bridger at Fort Henry, where the Missouri River meets the Yellowstone River in the northwest corner of modern day North Dakota, Glass had a change of heart.

He decided Bridger, who was just 20 years old, was too young and scared to have known better. Glass forgave Bridger and set off to find Fitzgerald, but was

disappointed to discover that his arch enemy had joined the army, and it was now under the

protection of Colonel Henry Leavenworth at Fort Atkinson in modern day Nebraska.

Glass was able to reclaim his rifle from Fitzgerald, but he was not able to exact stronger revenge against the man who had betrayed him.

In the summer of 1824, with his battle for survival and quest for revenge now done, Hugh Glass left Fort Atkinson. He had his trusty rifle and $300 in his

satchel. The soldiers of the Sixth Regiment were captivated by the living legend and they passed the hat.

They collected $300 to give to Glass to help him get restarted.

It was a small fortune for a man who had survived on virtually nothing for the past year.

With the money, Glass returned to St. Louis. The city was a hub of activity, a crossroads for traders, trappers,

and adventurers. Glass saw an opportunity to turn his hard-earned notoriety into something more substantial.

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