Hugh Glass

[Diane Amberg]

  Yes, I think John Colter and the other men actually ''heard" yellowstone before they saw it.  I've been there, and read up on the military history and tourist history of it... facinating stuff!  Even to this day, every year somebody gets badly scalded or dies during the short summer tourist season.  We went in '96 after they had reintroduced the wolves.  The last of them died a short time ago, but the various packs have been pretty successful.

[kdfrawg]

And we haven't even spoken yet of the truly loud noise that Yellowstone's mega-volcano is capable of.

Whew!

[Diane Amberg]

 If that caldera ever really goes off, well, I expect we'll know it here. They keep good measurements on it all the time and hope that the earthquakes relieve the pressure a bit.

[W. Gray]

We were up there a couple years ago and I recall seeing a sign that said something like a dozen people in that area were killed over a span of time by scalding just by wandering off the walks.

If that volcano should go up, Centennial and Denver will be history.

I always have thought there are some people who over react to forest fires. We had a big one in Colorado a few years ago.

I guess they do not know why a lot of Elk Countians and people elsewhere burn their pastures every year. Of course if I burn my lawn here I get arrested.

There are literally thousands and thousands of new trees still springing up in the 1988 Yellowstone fire area.

[Diane Amberg]

 I am very much in favor of controlled "cool" burns that keep what happened in the '88 fire from happening again. They almost lost Old Faithful Inn and Lodge. The Idaho potato farmers were a huge help in that one. It is amazing to see how quickly burned areas recover. Of course when it gets hot enough long enough to actually kill the trees, the snags are there and dangerous for many years.    Yes, those walks are there for a reason. You step off, even for a photo, and break through that crust and it is all over. We were there in late summer when the moose were starting to rub off their velvet and it was quite a show. There weren't many people there, but they insisted getting much too close. 

[kdfrawg]

Waldo, if that caldera ever goes up, you can say goodbye to a substantial portion of the country. Every projection that I have ever seen projects more than a foot of ash as far east as the Atlantic seaboard, as far North as Minnesota, and as far South as Alabama. The projection shows that my house in Lawrence would be buried to above the first floor ceiling. And that says nothing of the EMP.

That is just one of the things that makes me wonder whatever makes some people think that we are in control of our lives and the universe is not.

[Diane Amberg]

 Now that I think about it, we were there now in '96. We stayed in one of the cabins behind Old Faithful Lodge and we were there for Aug. Christmas on the 25th. They had a decorated tree over at the Inn and the few kids that were there made paper chains and got Christmas gifts. We were there across Labor Day and ate the last meal at Roosevelt Lodge before they closed. The big moose head over the fireplace had Christmas lights all over his antlers. We had frost on the car each morning, but the afternoons were beautiful. We spent some time after that in the Grand Tetons and saw snow at the 3,000 ft. level before we went home.

[Delmonico]

Here are the results of the last time it blew.

http://ashfall.unl.edu/

[kdfrawg]

This is one of the more conservative maps I have seen. Maybe that's what I get for paying attention to The Science Channel.   

[W. Gray]

Would be interesting to know how the below compares to the Longton presentation.

The 1971 movie, Man in the Wilderness, starring Richard Harris loosely portrayed the Hugh Glass affair. Another version appeared on Death Valley Days in the mid sixties.

In early 1823, a grizzly bear attacked Glass somewhere in the present day Dakotas. The bear mauled and badly slashed him. Glass was a scout for an 80-man Rocky Mountain Fur Company expedition and had startled the bear at a streambed. When the grizzly temporarily retreated from him, Glass tried to get away but the bear viciously attacked again. The main body came to his rescue killing the bear. However, Glass was severely cut up, lost much blood, and was rendered unconscious.

It was dangerous country and the expedition needed to make time to a safe base in Montana. The members passed a hat obtaining several dollars for two men to stay with him. The two were to wait for him to die, bury him, and then catch up with the company. One volunteer was Jim Bridger. He was eighteen and headed for his first trapping job. The other volunteer was a much older more experienced mountain man. Their first task was digging a grave.

Over the next several days, Glass drifted in and out of unconsciousness but refused to die. They could not build a fire because it might attract Indians. The older man became impatient because Indians were getting close even without a fire. Assuming he was going to die anyway, the older man discussed leaving before Indians discovered them. Bridger was reluctant but the other man talked him into departing. They took off after he drifted into unconsciousness taking his weapons and personal belongings, leaving only a blanket. When they caught up with the fur company at the Yellowstone River, no discussion took place about his status. Due solely to their appearance in camp all assumed Glass dead.

Hugh Glass was from Pennsylvania and some say was a pirate before becoming a mountain man. When he awoke, he was defenseless. He had on only ripped and shredded clothing and had nothing to eat. He was extremely upset having no weapons and no one with him. He vowed fatal revenge.

One leg was broken and the bear claw slashing exposed his ribs. Over a number of days, he became better and managed to make some type of carrier contraption for his broken leg so that he could drag himself along on one knee. After reviving sufficiently, he started shuffling overland to the nearest fort 200 miles away. The only items he had with him were the carriage and blanket. He lived on animal carcasses and snakes and was able to avoid Indians. One source indicates he had another run in with a grizzly and another says a buffalo stampede almost trampled him. 

It took two months to cover 100 miles to the Cheyenne River. There he pushed a dead tree into the water and rafted another 100 miles to the fort. After total recuperation, new clothes, and new weapons, he set out to kill the two leaving him for dead. 

He caught up with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company at their quarters on the Big Horn River in Montana. The fur company people were startled. His sudden appearance required Jim Bridger to do some heavy explaining. Glass, however, did not realize Bridger was so young and decided not to kill him.

Glass next went after the older man who had left the fur company and joined the Army. He trailed him to his duty station and threatened to kill him. However, the commanding officer vowed prosecution if he harmed the man.

Five years later, Hugh Glass returned to the Rocky Mountains. Five years after that Indians ambushed and killed him.

Jim Bridger let the other man talk him into leaving Glass. He vowed thereafter never letting anyone else make his decisions for him. He spent the next sixty years in the mountains as a trapper, guide, frontiersman, Army scout, and entrepreneur. He was one of the last of the mountain men. He married several Indian women, all of whom died. Indians killed his first child, a girl, at age nine. He had several other children who took care of him in his old age. His burial place is Mount Washington cemetery in my adopted hometown of Independence, Missouri.

The above 2007 post was made in response to a man portraying mountain man Hugh Glass in a presentation to about 70 people in Longton. The Flint Hills Express reported that the attendees were enthralled by the presenter.

On January 8, 2016, Hollywood is going to try again with a $135m story about Glass. It is called The Revenant. According to web sources a revenant is a visible ghost or animated corpse that was believed to return from the grave to terrorize the living

There have been several previews on TV for this movie but this time it looks like they are using a digital bear, which I think detracts from the drama. There are rumors that Leonardo DiCaprio who plays Hugh Glass was raped by the bear star. The only thing the producers are saying is that no rape occurred and  the bear was a female. There appear to be no credits for the bear at IMDB, sort of supporting my thoughts the bear is digital.

In the 1971 movie mentioned above, Peggy the Bear played the villain and her performance was very creditable. That was apparently the only movie she ever appeared in.

Bart the Bear would have been a good candidate for the movie and has had more numerous movie appearances, about 17 roles, but he died in 2000 from cancer.

Bart the Bear II made his last movie in 2011. Maybe he is not as good an actor as his namesake or he wanted too much money.

Bart and Bart II are Kodiak bears. I dont know about Peggy.