Saga of Hugh Glass

by John Myers Myers

Book Overview

Before his most fabulous adventure (celebrated by John G. Neihardt in The Song of Hugh Glass and by Frederick Manfred in Lord Grizzly), Hugh Glass was captured by the buccaneer Jean Lafitte and turned pirate himself until his first chance to escape. Soon he fell prisoner to the Pawnees and lived for four years as one of them before he managed to make his way to St. Louis. Next he joined a group of trappers to open up the fur-rich, Indian-held territory...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803258348
• ISBN13: 9780803258341
• Release Date: March 1976
• Publisher: Bison Books
• Length: 237 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

loved it

Hugh Glass was an amazing man. The story was well researched from every possible angle and the author even captured the humor of the day. Some of the accounts of Indian behavior seemed a bit streached at times, but I took into account the authors' sources. I learned much more about the early days of the unsettled west than I expected. Buy it, read it, give it away.

A Legend Revived

Mountain man Hugh Glass was a legend to his peers, many of them legends themselves. His fame spread to the East, where his incredible story was told in the newspapers of Philadelphia. His legend entered the lore of Indian tribes as well, where it was still being told many decades after his passing. But with the coming of the 20th century, Hugh's legend faded into obscurity. John Myers Myers' The Saga of Hugh Glass is an excellent attempt to rescue Hugh from the obscurity that he had faded into and restore him to his rightful place among American frontier legends. The central tale of Hugh's legend is almost too fantastic to be believed. Attacked and mauled to the point of death by a grizzly bear, he was left in the wilderness to die by companions who robbed him of his rifle, knife, tomahawk, flint, and nearly all the tools necessary for survival in the wild. Yet Hugh, though horribly wounded, near death and weaponless, navigated over 300 miles of virgin wilderness back to a frontier outpost. Then, after refitting with weapons and equipment, and before his wounds were fully healed, he set out into the wilderness alone once more to make an incredible solo winter journey to retrieve his precious rifle and take vengeance on the companions who had robbed and abandoned him. Many historians had discounted this story as balderdash - nothing more than the outlandish boasting of a blowhard's self-aggrandizement. Myers addresses this in the first section of his book, carefully assembling the remaining evidence, and building a powerful case for the veracity of the legend. Before launching into Hugh's story, he has already reasonably established that though fantastic, the story you are about to read is true, not just another tall tale. John Myers Myers is a favorite author of mine. Though he thoroughly researched his histories, he had nothing of the academic about him when telling a tale. He was a pure folk historian, and his writing style is utterly idiosyncratic, and resembles nothing more than a grizzled old story teller telling tales around the fire. His prose is loaded throughout with colorful phrases - "pickled in print", "throwing lead", and "not a bet on which Lloyds of London would risk a confederate dollar". These are just a small sampling of Myers' unique voice. For ears accustomed to more traditional forms of history, his rambling and folksy style may be off-putting. I, however, find it perfectly suited to his subject matter and a charming and refreshing change of pace from the ordinary. This book should be of great interest for those who study the period of the mountain men and fur trade. It should be on the bookshelf of anyone who loves tales of great American legends. And it is highly recommended reading for anyone who loves stories of amazing true adventure told well. Theo Logos

Entertaining

This is an enjoyable read of an early day fur trapper and his adventures (misadventures) in the uncharted wilderness. I must agree with some reviewers that the author can be quite quirky in his writing style with offbeat, way-out puns and phraseology, but nevertheless a good read. Myers justifies the many hardships of Hugh Glass through several second hand sources for those unbelievers of this somewhat, but not, fictional character. Glass was captured by pirates, escaped, then was captured by the Pawnees and later lived with them for some years. He then left the Pawnees and joined Ashley's fur expeditions to the Rockies. Many a narrow escape with Indians, but probably the most celebrated adventure of his life was the mauling by a grizzly and the ensuing tales thereof. One reviewer mentioned how they should make a movie out of this book. Well, they did, many years ago. "Man in the Wilderness" starring Richard Harris is based on Hugh Glass and his heroic adventure with the grizzly.