Here’s a classic. Hugh Glass, wounded and unable to stand, crawls for months to reach safety :
[QUOTE=Wiki]
Near the forks of the Grand River in present-day Perkins County, while scouting alone for game to add to the expedition’s larder, Glass surprised a she-grizzly with two cubs. Before he could fire his rifle, the bear charged, picked him up, and threw him to the ground. Glass got up, grappled for his knife, and fought back, stabbing the animal repeatedly as the grizzly raked him time and again with her claws.
Glass managed to kill the bear, but was left badly mauled and unable to walk. Glass’s companions, hearing his screams, arrived on the scene after the fight. When Glass lost consciousness, Henry became convinced the man would not survive his injuries.
Henry asked for two volunteers to stay with Glass until he died, and then bury him. Bridger (then 17 years old) and Fitzgerald stepped forward, and as the rest of the party moved on, began digging his grave. Later claiming that they were interrupted in the task by an attack by Arikaree Indians, the pair grabbed Glass’s rifle, knife, and other equipment, and took flight.
Bridger and Fitzgerald reported to Henry – wrongly it turned out – that Glass had died.
The Odyssey to Fort Kiowa
Instead, despite his injuries, Glass regained consciousness. He did so only to find himself abandoned, without weapons or equipment, suffering from a broken leg, the cuts on his back exposing bare ribs, and all his wounds festering. Glass lay mutilated and lame more than 200 mi (320 km) from the nearest settlement at Fort Kiowa on the Missouri.
In one of the more remarkable treks known to history, Glass set his own leg, wrapped himself in the bear hide his companions had placed over him as a shroud, and began crawling. To prevent gangrene, Glass laid his wounded back on a rotting log and let the maggots eat the dead flesh.
Deciding that following the Grand would be too dangerous because of “hostiles” (aggressive natives), Glass crawled overland south toward the Cheyenne River. It took him months to reach it.
Glass survived mostly on wild berries and roots. On one occasion he was able to drive two wolves from a downed bison calf, and feast on the meat. Reaching the Cheyenne, he fashioned a crude raft and floated down the river. Aided by “friendlies” (sympathetic natives), Glass eventually reached the safety of Fort Kiowa.
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