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Hugh Glass
A True Story--a white man, whose story was so powerful it became a tradition among the Indians of the American Plains...
BOOK EXCERPT:
By the time Hugh Glass reached Fort Tilton it was well into November. A foot of snow lay across the countryside. Fort Tilton was a small fort that belonged to the Columbia Fur Company. It had been built by William P. Tilton and boasted a garrison of only five men. As it sat near the site of another Mandan village, the Mandans who escorted Hugh dropped him off, then immediately went to visit their cousins. Hugh went to see Tilton, where he learned right away that any hopes of finding a boat to continue his journey were in vain.
“Mr. Glass,” Tilton told Hugh, “I’d like to help you but I can’t. I’ve got five men here, besides myself. I can’t spare any of them. We’re under danger of attack here night and day by the Arikaras. I need every man I have to keep them away. Even if I could spare anyone, I doubt they would go. We’re watched constantly. I had one man who left the fort for only a few minutes. From out of nowhere, that devil Stanapat rode up and killed him, practically on our doorstep. If you hadn’t had the Mandans escorting you, don’t think for a moment that you would have made it in here. Those damn Arikaras would have gotten you before you even came within sight of the fort.”
Disappointed, Hugh exhaled heavily.
“Stanapat,” he said ruefully. “—The Little Hawk With The Bloody Hand…”
Tilton looked at him.
“You speak Arikara?” he asked Hugh.
“Pawnee,” Hugh said absently. “The two languages are almost identical.”
Tilton continued to stare at him. Slowly, a look of dread came over his features.
“Oh no,” Tilton said. “Oh, Christ, I should have known by your scars—you’re the one the Indians call White Bear.”
Hugh gave him a puzzled look.
“How did you know?”
“Mister, you’re the talk of the plains. BIG medicine. Went one on one with a grizzly, left for dead by two white men and still managed to crawl to Fort Kiowa. The Arikaras have tried to kill you and can’t, that’s what they say. Oh, I know all about you. So does every tribe from here to the Rockies. As soon as Stanapat finds out you’re here—and he will—he’ll tear this place down to get to you. New travels real fast in these parts, mister, and the news here is that the Arikaras want you real bad!”
PRAISE FOR "HUGH GLASS" by Bruce Bradley--
"--The kind of book you hate to put down!" Fraser Whitbread - Muzzle Blasts Magazine
"This recent book by Bruce Bradley is a great read and should be added to the library of those who have interest in the (Fur Trade) period or are an over-all student of early American History." - On the Trail Magazine
"A very readable telling of an amazing story!" —Bob Griffith-Amazon.com
BOOK EXCERPT:
By the time Hugh Glass reached Fort Tilton it was well into November. A foot of snow lay across the countryside. Fort Tilton was a small fort that belonged to the Columbia Fur Company. It had been built by William P. Tilton and boasted a garrison of only five men. As it sat near the site of another Mandan village, the Mandans who escorted Hugh dropped him off, then immediately went to visit their cousins. Hugh went to see Tilton, where he learned right away that any hopes of finding a boat to continue his journey were in vain.
“Mr. Glass,” Tilton told Hugh, “I’d like to help you but I can’t. I’ve got five men here, besides myself. I can’t spare any of them. We’re under danger of attack here night and day by the Arikaras. I need every man I have to keep them away. Even if I could spare anyone, I doubt they would go. We’re watched constantly. I had one man who left the fort for only a few minutes. From out of nowhere, that devil Stanapat rode up and killed him, practically on our doorstep. If you hadn’t had the Mandans escorting you, don’t think for a moment that you would have made it in here. Those damn Arikaras would have gotten you before you even came within sight of the fort.”
Disappointed, Hugh exhaled heavily.
“Stanapat,” he said ruefully. “—The Little Hawk With The Bloody Hand…”
Tilton looked at him.
“You speak Arikara?” he asked Hugh.
“Pawnee,” Hugh said absently. “The two languages are almost identical.”
Tilton continued to stare at him. Slowly, a look of dread came over his features.
“Oh no,” Tilton said. “Oh, Christ, I should have known by your scars—you’re the one the Indians call White Bear.”
Hugh gave him a puzzled look.
“How did you know?”
“Mister, you’re the talk of the plains. BIG medicine. Went one on one with a grizzly, left for dead by two white men and still managed to crawl to Fort Kiowa. The Arikaras have tried to kill you and can’t, that’s what they say. Oh, I know all about you. So does every tribe from here to the Rockies. As soon as Stanapat finds out you’re here—and he will—he’ll tear this place down to get to you. New travels real fast in these parts, mister, and the news here is that the Arikaras want you real bad!”
PRAISE FOR "HUGH GLASS" by Bruce Bradley--
"--The kind of book you hate to put down!" Fraser Whitbread - Muzzle Blasts Magazine
"This recent book by Bruce Bradley is a great read and should be added to the library of those who have interest in the (Fur Trade) period or are an over-all student of early American History." - On the Trail Magazine
"A very readable telling of an amazing story!" —Bob Griffith-Amazon.com
234 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 6, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 24, 2017
Having grown up in Cache Valley, I was familiar with the legend of Hugh Glass. I've only read Lord Grizzly, so it was interesting to read about parts of Glass's life that weren't covered in that book, specifically his seafaring years and the time he spent with the Pawnee...
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May 2, 2020None stop action and it’s true. How did this guy survive?
May 16, 2017
Hugh Glass book review
What would you do left alone to die in the woods after being mauled by a bear? Well hugh glass survived. This whole adventure started when hugh’s merchant ship was attacked by pirates, there ship was sunk and they were given the option of life as a slave or death. Hugh choose the unpopular choice of life, he watched the majority of his crewmates eaten alive by sharks. Upon the pirate ship he was forced into the horrible lifestyle of being a pirate. This eventually lead to his capture and sentenced to hanging when he stood up for a young girl being raped. When being awaited to be hung he then escaped and took off into the vast untamed wilderness with his best friend. They spent a long time trying to make it back to their city but after a year they were captured by Indians. In this tribe he found the love of his life and saw his best friend brutally killed in a ritual. After his love was swept away in a sudden flood he was left heartbroken. He then returned to white civilization. After spending so much time with the Native Americans and pirates Hugh was unable to operate in society. He joins a trappings group exploring new land. Hugh used his vast knowledge of the outdoors and of the land. When he was on his morning stroll he was brutally mauled by a bear. Two men stayed behind and were in charge of burying him once he passed away,but instead they just left him to die and took his rifle and other goods. He was so servilely injured at most all he could do was crawl alongside the riverside and survive on berries and bugs. Eventually he ran across a friendly tribe that helped him heal. The entire time once those men abandoned him he swore to himself that he was going to kill both of those men. After months of traveling he finally met one of the men at his camp. He ended up not actually killing him and after a short tussle he simply took his rifle back and left in search of the other man. He did not end up killing the guy because I believe he saw how much he has already mentally killed his brain about it. He also took into consideration of going back to his lover because he knew if he killed him he wouldn't come back being surrounded. Then after more traveling he found the other man and simply had a convo with him. After he was finished completing his his rounds he lived happily ever after with his new Native American wife.
I would rate this book a 4 out of 5. I chose this rating because overall it was a good book it did have its negatives. The overall plot of this story was incredible; I couldn't have asked for a better story. It kept me turning the pages mostly throughout the book. Another piece that I only realized about this book while writing this review is that everything this story can relate to our everyday life. Even though this book took place around 1825 we can all relate to losing somebody no matter the time like him losing both wife in the flood. And sometimes we feel like we are in a such dire situation where it feels like we were just left for dead.
This book really surprised me when it involved Hughs love life. This was prevalent all throughout the story. At the beginning Hugh was really missing his wife and kids. After years he found and then he devoted every single piece of love he had to his new eventual wife. Undoubtable love kept him going throughout these severely hard times, and gave him much more passion for pursuing life. This is not something that you really connect the ultra-masculine and outdoors man type.
Something that annoyed me was there would be a giant building up to something then at the climax it would just dissolve and there wasn't any climax. An example of this is when Hugh was determined to kill the men who abandoned him. Bradley decided to take upwards of thirty pages for his travels just to see the men, once he saw the men he did not kill only a brief convo then retrieved his rifle and left. After that fizzled out climax if it could even be considered that, we have to hear all about his travel back. Nothing of any significance happened on any parts of his travel, but we still have to hear every detail.
I really loved how Agnes lemley summed up the story “The story about this larger than life man”. This is really the only way to sum up the story without giving away the story. Even though this is a pretty generic statement it describes Hugh’s life perfectly. According to Dan from amazon “The Hugh Glass story should be required teaching in our schools. I mean, we read about Odysseus in Homers book, a story about a 20 year journey home. We have our own Odyseus, he lived 175 years ago and we can retrace a lot of what he did. His name is Hugh Glass. He is our own.” I thought this a petty big exaggeration given that most people have no clue about the realism of the woods and couldn't understand. There is a line between corecircircluim and a good book/story and this book/story definitely stayed on the side of just a good book/story. But to play devil's advocate this book had some pretty good themes to be taken from it. Another banger quote from dan on amazon is “Unfortunately there is a LOT of fiction here. The author, to his credit, states he had no choice but to basically fill in the blanks to make the story flow, but my opinion is that too much was made up.” I feel kind of lied to. After finishing; realizing out that most of this might not be true except the, major story line. It takes away from the edge that I got from reading as almost I was watching it live. The strongest feelings towards the book by far it taken by Siliver wolf on amazon reviews when they said, “Mr. Bradley deserves kudos for spinning a readable, exciting story. But whoever edited this product should be fired with extreme prejudice. There are duplicated phrases and spelling and punctuation errors by the dozens. I ought to demand my money back: it really is that bad.” I found this quite funny given that I can't recall seeing one spelling mistake. It just shows how out of tune I am with spelling and punctuation. I am sure you are aware of that from even just this assignment.
Works cited
"Hugh Glass: Bruce Bradley: 9781515031062: Amazon.Com: Books". Amazon.com.
N. p., 2017. Web. 3 May 2017.
Glass, and Bruce Bradley. "Hugh Glass". Goodreads. N. p., 2017. Web. 3 May 2017.
What would you do left alone to die in the woods after being mauled by a bear? Well hugh glass survived. This whole adventure started when hugh’s merchant ship was attacked by pirates, there ship was sunk and they were given the option of life as a slave or death. Hugh choose the unpopular choice of life, he watched the majority of his crewmates eaten alive by sharks. Upon the pirate ship he was forced into the horrible lifestyle of being a pirate. This eventually lead to his capture and sentenced to hanging when he stood up for a young girl being raped. When being awaited to be hung he then escaped and took off into the vast untamed wilderness with his best friend. They spent a long time trying to make it back to their city but after a year they were captured by Indians. In this tribe he found the love of his life and saw his best friend brutally killed in a ritual. After his love was swept away in a sudden flood he was left heartbroken. He then returned to white civilization. After spending so much time with the Native Americans and pirates Hugh was unable to operate in society. He joins a trappings group exploring new land. Hugh used his vast knowledge of the outdoors and of the land. When he was on his morning stroll he was brutally mauled by a bear. Two men stayed behind and were in charge of burying him once he passed away,but instead they just left him to die and took his rifle and other goods. He was so servilely injured at most all he could do was crawl alongside the riverside and survive on berries and bugs. Eventually he ran across a friendly tribe that helped him heal. The entire time once those men abandoned him he swore to himself that he was going to kill both of those men. After months of traveling he finally met one of the men at his camp. He ended up not actually killing him and after a short tussle he simply took his rifle back and left in search of the other man. He did not end up killing the guy because I believe he saw how much he has already mentally killed his brain about it. He also took into consideration of going back to his lover because he knew if he killed him he wouldn't come back being surrounded. Then after more traveling he found the other man and simply had a convo with him. After he was finished completing his his rounds he lived happily ever after with his new Native American wife.
I would rate this book a 4 out of 5. I chose this rating because overall it was a good book it did have its negatives. The overall plot of this story was incredible; I couldn't have asked for a better story. It kept me turning the pages mostly throughout the book. Another piece that I only realized about this book while writing this review is that everything this story can relate to our everyday life. Even though this book took place around 1825 we can all relate to losing somebody no matter the time like him losing both wife in the flood. And sometimes we feel like we are in a such dire situation where it feels like we were just left for dead.
This book really surprised me when it involved Hughs love life. This was prevalent all throughout the story. At the beginning Hugh was really missing his wife and kids. After years he found and then he devoted every single piece of love he had to his new eventual wife. Undoubtable love kept him going throughout these severely hard times, and gave him much more passion for pursuing life. This is not something that you really connect the ultra-masculine and outdoors man type.
Something that annoyed me was there would be a giant building up to something then at the climax it would just dissolve and there wasn't any climax. An example of this is when Hugh was determined to kill the men who abandoned him. Bradley decided to take upwards of thirty pages for his travels just to see the men, once he saw the men he did not kill only a brief convo then retrieved his rifle and left. After that fizzled out climax if it could even be considered that, we have to hear all about his travel back. Nothing of any significance happened on any parts of his travel, but we still have to hear every detail.
I really loved how Agnes lemley summed up the story “The story about this larger than life man”. This is really the only way to sum up the story without giving away the story. Even though this is a pretty generic statement it describes Hugh’s life perfectly. According to Dan from amazon “The Hugh Glass story should be required teaching in our schools. I mean, we read about Odysseus in Homers book, a story about a 20 year journey home. We have our own Odyseus, he lived 175 years ago and we can retrace a lot of what he did. His name is Hugh Glass. He is our own.” I thought this a petty big exaggeration given that most people have no clue about the realism of the woods and couldn't understand. There is a line between corecircircluim and a good book/story and this book/story definitely stayed on the side of just a good book/story. But to play devil's advocate this book had some pretty good themes to be taken from it. Another banger quote from dan on amazon is “Unfortunately there is a LOT of fiction here. The author, to his credit, states he had no choice but to basically fill in the blanks to make the story flow, but my opinion is that too much was made up.” I feel kind of lied to. After finishing; realizing out that most of this might not be true except the, major story line. It takes away from the edge that I got from reading as almost I was watching it live. The strongest feelings towards the book by far it taken by Siliver wolf on amazon reviews when they said, “Mr. Bradley deserves kudos for spinning a readable, exciting story. But whoever edited this product should be fired with extreme prejudice. There are duplicated phrases and spelling and punctuation errors by the dozens. I ought to demand my money back: it really is that bad.” I found this quite funny given that I can't recall seeing one spelling mistake. It just shows how out of tune I am with spelling and punctuation. I am sure you are aware of that from even just this assignment.
Works cited
"Hugh Glass: Bruce Bradley: 9781515031062: Amazon.Com: Books". Amazon.com.
N. p., 2017. Web. 3 May 2017.
Glass, and Bruce Bradley. "Hugh Glass". Goodreads. N. p., 2017. Web. 3 May 2017.
January 5, 2025
Well that was an epic read
May 22, 2017
Marlene reviewed Hugh Glass on Goodreads and I have to say that it wasn't the most positive review out there. Marlene said “This is an author-published, print-on-demand book which shouldn't, but does, make me doubt its scholarliness.” I would have to disagree with this due to how many awards it got and how many people like the book. Just because Bruce Bradley published the book himself, does not mean that it is less credible. There isn't much we can do about the scholarliness part because it dates back so far and these men weren't well known, and they didn't stick around for long either. With this being said Marlene states “The truth is that not a lot is verifiable about Glass’s life.” I know that since this was taken place in a time where Native Americans roamed and America was founded, that there will be some patches in history that we will not be able to uncover. Therefore, the Book Hugh Glass is written in the author's own words and he tried his best to tell the story of Hugh Glass. However, i did enjoy Marlene stating “Probably should read another Bibliography, maybe more, to get closer to what is most likely true.” I liked this because she is trying to help the reader grasp a better understanding on the topic and what they are reading. This will help the reader enjoy the book that much more because they know how this story impacted America and how it came to be.
February 14, 2019
A man’s book
This is one of 5 or 6 books on the accounts and stories of Hugh Glass. It records his journeys and struggles. What is most important is that how it captures history and events of what may or may not have happened in the life of a man who was purely driven by anger and revenge to see how in the end being a man, a strong man defines his decisions that lead him to live a courageous life. His love for the back country defined his true grit. My next read will be “Lord Grizzly “ to continue the action packed adventures of a man they called Hugh Glass....
This is one of 5 or 6 books on the accounts and stories of Hugh Glass. It records his journeys and struggles. What is most important is that how it captures history and events of what may or may not have happened in the life of a man who was purely driven by anger and revenge to see how in the end being a man, a strong man defines his decisions that lead him to live a courageous life. His love for the back country defined his true grit. My next read will be “Lord Grizzly “ to continue the action packed adventures of a man they called Hugh Glass....
January 11, 2016
Excellent book. I enjoy books about the tools west and mountain men and this book did not disappoint me. It shows how our country was built by men who refused to quit. The historical references and situations take you to a time and place that will peak your curiosity about the original people who lived on this continent before the west was overrun by progress.
January 22, 2017
The story of Hugh Glass
If you enjoy reading about the men who really settled the west and explored the vast wilderness of the Rockies, Hugh Glass is a great start. This is a very good written story of Hugh's life as a young, as a sailor to a mountain man. It was hard to put this book down, a must read.
If you enjoy reading about the men who really settled the west and explored the vast wilderness of the Rockies, Hugh Glass is a great start. This is a very good written story of Hugh's life as a young, as a sailor to a mountain man. It was hard to put this book down, a must read.
January 29, 2016
Incredible story about the life of Hugh Glass (Dicaprio's character in "The Revenant"). The guy was a sailor who was captured by pirates, then escaped and spent time living with the Pawnee. Pretty fascinating guy.
December 8, 2015
Great
I spent sometime getting through this book. The seafaring mountain man . A must read for those interested in early American fur companies and mountain men.
I spent sometime getting through this book. The seafaring mountain man . A must read for those interested in early American fur companies and mountain men.
March 22, 2016
Loved this book.
Wanted to read more about Hugh Glass after seeing the Revenant. This is a great read and I would definitely recommend.
Wanted to read more about Hugh Glass after seeing the Revenant. This is a great read and I would definitely recommend.
January 9, 2017
Exciting
Good adventure story. Interesting Indian history. Wish it was longer. Thanks for offering it on kindle .Hugh glass was a hero.
Good adventure story. Interesting Indian history. Wish it was longer. Thanks for offering it on kindle .Hugh glass was a hero.
February 25, 2017
captivating
loved it! held my interest thr out! without much dialogue the writer was still able to engage the characters with the reader. great read.
loved it! held my interest thr out! without much dialogue the writer was still able to engage the characters with the reader. great read.
August 2, 2018
Very good book about early America
November 21, 2018
good read solid book fairly accurate for what is documented enjoyed the storyline and images depicted of the territories traveled by High Glass recommended reading pleasure
May 22, 2022
Entertaining
A good all around mountain man story. Quick and easy read. I didn't realize how much this man went though.
A good all around mountain man story. Quick and easy read. I didn't realize how much this man went though.
May 27, 2021
Revenant
Hugh Glass is a semi-legendary figure that exemplifies the hardiness and spirit possesed by the brave men of the American frontier. This novel is an entertaining account of his purported life and deeds, and recommended for those who enjoy fiction set in early 19th century North America—a land full of danger, adventure, and opportunity.
Hugh Glass is a semi-legendary figure that exemplifies the hardiness and spirit possesed by the brave men of the American frontier. This novel is an entertaining account of his purported life and deeds, and recommended for those who enjoy fiction set in early 19th century North America—a land full of danger, adventure, and opportunity.
October 30, 2024
The writing was pretty simple, which made it a quick read. Not my usual cup of tea, but a favorite of a friend. I did find the story very interesting, but it was impossible to tell how much is based on truth - the author note in the beginning acknowledges this, but it'd be nice to have some documentation or a longer author's note.
January 8, 2022
Even if none of this actually happed to Hugh Glass, this was still an awesome story about a man's man, and his bravery, perseverance, and stubbornness to simply stay alive against insurmountable odds!
May 25, 2025
I’d give this 15 stars if I could. Such a fantastic story of a truly indomitable man. True grit and determination the story of the white bear is one that at times seems to crazy to be true. A real page turner that will have to up all night just to find out what happens next.
November 15, 2021
Quick interesting read
The writing is passable. The story more likely fiction. Imho there was more to the story that was left out.
The writing is passable. The story more likely fiction. Imho there was more to the story that was left out.
March 5, 2022
New information! Great!
Read a couple other books on Hugh Glass. This one seems to have the most current information and is more precise. Interesting read!
Read a couple other books on Hugh Glass. This one seems to have the most current information and is more precise. Interesting read!
May 22, 2023
a quick progression through Glass’ life.
I enjoyed how quickly the book moved from one era of Glass’ life to the next. Not a complete biography but tells a great tale!
I enjoyed how quickly the book moved from one era of Glass’ life to the next. Not a complete biography but tells a great tale!
September 17, 2024
Highly fictionalized story of a legend.
February 13, 2025
Super good book, love the story and legend of Hugh Glass. Non stop action and a fun read. Hope to see his statue South Dakota one day.
March 9, 2025
Good Read!
I have read many times in the past about Hugh Glass. This was a very interesting take on his life!
I have read many times in the past about Hugh Glass. This was a very interesting take on his life!
January 22, 2016
This is an author-published, print-on-demand book which shouldn't, but does, make me doubt its scholarliness. Certainly the treatment of Jim Bridger is quite a bit harsher than in the movie (The Revenant) which also probably took considerable license with the story of Hugh Glass. The truth is that not a lot is verifiable about Glass's life. Probably should read another biography, maybe more, to get closer to what is most likely true. Still, a rippin' good yarn.
January 11, 2017
Reading this book, I felt like I was reading a juvenile novel about a trapper. To be honest, I read only half of it and couldn't finish. The character of Hugh Glass in this book seems to mimic Disney's Daniel Boone, except this version has "seen things". I didn't like it. To be fair, though, the author has done a bit of research.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews