Hugh Glass

Charles Marion Russell (1864–1926),also known as Charlie Russell, and "Kid" Russell, was an artist of the Old American West. Russell created more than 2,000 paintings of cowboys, Indians, and landscapes set in the Western United States and in Alberta, Canada, in addition to bronze sculptures. Known as 'the cowboy artist',Russell was also a storyteller and author.

Hugh Glass (1780–1833) was an American fur trapper and frontiersman who was mauled by a grizzly bear and left for dead by his companions. He crawled about 200 miles (320 km) over six weeks to reach Fort Kiowa.

Glass was born in Pennsylvania to Scots-Irish parents from Ireland. An explorer of the watershed of the Upper Missouri River in present-day Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and the Platte River area of Nebraska.

Glass's life before the bear attack is uncertain. His life story is noted for its frequent embellishment. He was reported to have been captured by privateers under the command of Jean Lafitte off the coast of Texas in 1816 and forced to become a pirate for up to two years. He allegedly escaped by swimming to shore near what is today Galveston, Texas. Glass is later rumored to have been captured by Pawnee Native Americans with whom he lived for several years. He eventually wed a Native American woman. He traveled to St. Louis in 1821, accompanying several Pawnee delegates invited to meet with United States authorities.

In August 1823, near the forks of the Grand River in present-day Perkins County, South Dakota, while scouting for game for the expedition's larder, Glass surprised a grizzly bear with two cubs. The bear charged, picked him up, and threw him to the ground. Glass managed to kill the bear with help from his trapping partners, Fitzgerald and Bridger, but was left badly mauled and unconscious. Ashley (who was also with them) became convinced he would not survive his injuries.