Here are the true accounts of evasions from two of the baddest men to ever walk this Earth – Mountain Man John Colter and Mountain Man James ‘Jim’ Clyman.—

–

–

Mountain Man – John Colter’s Evasion!

Mountain Man John Colter’s resume will forever be towards the top of the list of ‘The Baddest Men To Ever Walk The Earth.’  Colter was part of the famous Lewis & Clark Expedition and was one of the baddest of all North American mountain men.

Colter has already gone down in history as surviving one of the most heroic evasions of all time because his pursuers were also some of ‘The Baddest To Ever Walk The Earth’ – Blackfeet Indians.  Colter’s historical evasion was successful because he had a great hide site that most would never use much less consider ever using.

–

Colter’s Hide Site:  In the Spring of 1808, Colter went on his 2nd expedition to trade with the Blackfeet.  On his 1st expedition (Summer 1807) where he was escorted by Crows, the expedition led to a battle resulting in Blackfeet deaths.  Only the Crow’s superior weapons had them survive deep in Blackfeet hunting territory.

On a following expedition, Colter had a man named Potts join him.  Paddling down Jefferson Fork, both men were surprised and suddenly surrounded by hundreds of Blackfeet on both sides of the creek.  Their canoe headed for the bank.  Potts refused to leave the canoe and paddled back into the creek.  Shot with an arrow, Potts raised his weapon and shot into the mass of Blackfeet Indians.  Immediately the air was filled with flying arrows sprinting for their doomed target.  Potts’s body was filled with killer Blackfeet arrows.

Colter was immediately stripped naked and several Blackfeet argued how to kill him.  The Chief stepped in and asked Colter if he could run.  Colter was given the life or death game – “Injun Run!”

The Blackfeet Chief escorted him 300-yards away from the mass of anxious Blackfeet.  A 300-yard headstart.  Off Colter sprinted, stone naked, barefooted through the unforgiving prairie.  Colter ran so fast and pushed himself so hard, blood flowed out of his nose and down his chest, belly,…  Colter initially had to run 06-miles to safety (Jefferson Fork).  And running through the prairie, Colter amazingly maintained a quick pace even though both feet were pierced with multiple cacti thorns.  With both feet swollen, cut, pierced, bruised, bleeding,… from rocks, thorns, debris,… he must have been in some serious sharp & pounding pain covering both feet.

Glancing behind real quick, he was encouraged to see only one warrior was within 01-hundred yards but closing on him.  Hearing the footprint thuds of the warrior behind him, Colter expected his back to be stabbed by the warrior’s spear.  But Colter didn’t want to die by being stabbed from behind.  Suddenly Colter stopped and turned to meet his quick advancing adversary.

The Blackfeet warrior was taken by surprise and tried to kill Colter by throwing his spear but he stumbled and fell with part of the spear breaking in his hand.  With the warrior down, Colter quickly picked-up the pointed lance-head and stabbed into the downed warrior.  And off Colter went for more Blackfeet were advancing on Colter.

Colter finally arrived at the river and the cold frigid current took him downstream towards an island.  Lucky for Colter, the island had a clutter of drift wood piled up on the bank.  Colter dived under the logs.  Coming up for air he painfully hit his head on an immoveable log.  Again, he tried to surface and again he smashed his head into another log.  Again, he tried to surface and again he hit his head against a hard immoveable log.  With his lungs ready to burst for fresh air, Colter finally surfaced within the pile of logs into a pocket of air.  Breathing hard and fast, Colter found his perfect underwater hide site.  The perfect cover and concealment from the very experienced searching eyes of Blackfeet above him.

Colter could see the searching Blackfeet through a few thin peep spaces between the piled-up logs but they could never discover his perfect underwater hide site.  Colter waited till the Blackfeet abandoned their search and he evaded down river and eventually to safety to Fort Raymond.  Stopping only to rest and eat roots and tree bark, Colter’s 200-mile, 11-day run for life is one of the most famous evasions in recorded history.

–

–

Mountain Man – James Clyman’s Evasion!

James Clyman was born on 01 February 1792 on land (foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia) owned by the 1^st President of the United States – George Washington.

Clyman was academically educated but his initial education was marksmanship, hunting, clearing land and planting crops.

In 1811, at only 15-years old, Clyman’s family moved to Stark County, Ohio.  Indians were raiding the region and young Clyman was appointed a ranger to scout for Indians.  This began his military experience.

Approximately 1820 at the age of 24, Clyman got a job as a substitute surveyor.  This surveyor job is very important because it imbedded Clyman’s ‘attention to details’ when he wrote his diaries as a mountain man.

In 1822, the Ashley Expedition set out to Yellowstone to build a fort (Fort Henry) and trap & trade furs.  In the Spring of 1823, Ashley recruited a clerk – James Clyman.  This is where his mountain man experience started but he already had a great foundation of marksmanship and hunting skills when he was a boy.

In 1823, Clyman was 31-years old and working under the Ashley Expedition.  Clyman didn’t know it but he was working with future mountain men – living legends like:

• Bill Sublette (age 24)
• Jedediah Smith (age 25)
• Jim Bridger (age 19)
• Tom Fitzpatrick (age 24)

–

Clyman’s Evasion!

Approximately March 1824, Arikarwa Indians were in pursuit of a female Sioux prisoner.  The female Sioux evaded to a trading post some 60 to 80-miles from the Arikara village.  In sight of the trading post and within range of weapons fire, trappers fired at the Arikarwa pursuers and killed two.  The Arikarwa Indians declared war on the white trappers / mountain men.  Ashley himself tried to remedy the problem.

Three days later, that evening, one of the men (Aaron Stephens) was killed by Arikarwa Indians when he was in their village.  The mountain men were alerted.  Most wanted to cross the river and evade but Ashley ordered to wait till morning.  The next day the mountain men were attacked by a superior force of Arikarwa Indians.

The trappers had recently traded with the Arikarwa’s and gave them plenty of gunpowder and ball ammunition.  And the Arikarwa’s firing became more ‘thicker and faster.’  The trappers were attempting to evade in the skiffs and boats.  Trappers were being shot-up.

Clyman boarded a skiff and initially evaded by water.  Coming to shore, he got out of the skiff to do a quick recon for any Indians.  He then realized Indians in the water swimming towards him.  Clyman saw there were too many of them, so he evaded cross-country.

The other mountain man (Gibson) in the skiff, evaded to the nearby brush while Clyman evaded into the open prairie.

Clyman turned around real quick to find the Indians in hot pursuit.  The savvy and experienced Arikarwa pursuers were already in their tracking formation.  One Indian pursued Clyman’s on his left flank, one on Clyman’s right flank and the 3^rd Indian directly behind Clyman’s path.  This way, Clyman couldn’t escape their pursuit.

Clyman’s evasion for his life was now 01-hour of non-stop running.  Clyman discovered a hole that was 03-feet long, 01 ½-feet wide and about 02-feet deep.  Plus, it had grass and weeds 01-foot high surrounding it.

Clyman immediately dropped into the hole.  And sure enough his pursuers passed his position.  Clyman waited a bit and took off in a different direction using the terrain (low ground) to hide his continued evasion.

During that battle, 11 mountain men lost their lives at the sandbar and Gibson died later.  Three or four days later, another mountain man named Jack Larisson wandered into the mountain man camp.  He was stone naked with his skin peeling off all over his body because of the sun.  Larisson evaded the battle scene by first hiding between 02 dead horses and then taking off all his clothes (buckskin) so he could swim.  Larisson took a ball in the fleshy part of the thigh but still evaded for 03 or 04-days to safety.

Note:  Clyman’s own physical make-up helped save his life during his evasion.  Friends of Clyman described Clyman as: “…he was tall-six feet or more-and thin, with brown hair and ‘clear greyish blue’ or blue eyes.  His face was described as ‘rather long and sharp.’  He had a sandy complextion, a Roman nose and high forehead.  His mouth was a little twisted, as if he had lost many teeth on one side.”

As you read, Clyman was clocking-in at 06-feet tall or more (long legs) and he was thin (in-shape).  These 02 physical attributes kept Clyman at a high speed evasion equal or better than his Indian pursuers.  And I can tell you from all the Indian heritage soldiers I knew in the US Army, they had an inherent ability in running and ruck marching with heavy loads of equipment.  I knew a few that were heavy smokers and could still outrun most soldiers.

See Clyman’s Evasion, Again below.

–

–

Clyman’s 600-Mile Evasion!

The following event is one of the longest solo treks / evasion in recorded history.  Mountain man James Clyman was separated from fellow mountain men after a losing fight with Arikarwa Indians and was forced to evade eastward.  Clyman covered part of Wyoming and all of Nebraska, ending his trek to what is now Omaha, Nebraska (Fort Atkinson at Council Bluffs).  Clyman walked approximately 600-miles in 80-days.  That’s an average of about 07.5-miles per day.  It’s one thing for a person to walk several miles.  But to walk an average of 07.5-miles continuously for 80-days in the wilderness with absolutely no outside support is absolutely phenomenal.

Here are a couple Clyman’s survival experiences worthy of your attention.

• Clyman shot 03 buffalo with one ball. He retrieved his ammunition from each dead buffalo.
• Clyman re-shaped his ball ammunition into a round ball in order to shoot it again. He reshaped the ball ammunition using his teeth.
• Clyman killed a badger using a bone. He then ate the badger raw.
• Clyman used the badger’s skin to make shoes (mocasins).

Note:  With respect to my own military career, I was brought up and raised in the Airborne Infantry.  When we jumped out of that plane at one o’clock in the morning, once we hit the ground it was LBE (Leather Boot Express).  We patrolled or road marched everywhere we went.  I’ve been on plenty of ‘death marches’, plenty of ‘endless’ patrols.  All were with heavy rucksacks and weapon.  And when I was involved with Special Forces (Green Berets), I’ve logged thousands of miles patrolling, forced marches (for time), runs,…

But I can’t even compare myself to stubbornly bad ass James Clyman’s.  His very impressive 600-mile trek cross country has gone down in history as one of the longest wilderness solo treks in recorded history.

–

–

Clyman’s Evasion, Again!

On 04 November 1835, Clyman and Ellsworth Burnett left Milwaukee, Wisconsin and headed north to Rock River to look for land.  On their 2^nd day of travel, they reached Rock River and found a wigwam with a female Indian in it.  They bought a canoe from her for .50 cents.  They loaded their gear and headed down river.  Just as they were almost out of sight downriver, the Indian woman’s husband and her son arrived at the wigwam.

Both Indians immediately went after Clyman and Ellsworth.  The Indians had a score to settle.  First, they wanted to get back their canoe.  Second, they wanted payback from 02-years back when a Fort Winnebago soldier killed the female Indian’s brother.

Clyman and Ellsworth stopped for the night at an abandoned cabin.  Ellsworth was inside the cabin starting a fire while Clyman was outside gathering wood.  Both men were unaware that they were being pursued by the 02 avenging Indians.

Clyman heard a shot followed by a scream from inside the abandoned cabin.  He looked up to see the oldest Indian waving him to come into the cabin.  The older Indian told him Ellsworth had accidently shot himself.

Clyman believed him and quickly headed to the cabin.  Clyman was closing-in on the cabin when the Indian raised a weapon to shoot Clyman.  Clyman turned and ran.

But what saved him was Clyman when he ran, he zig-zagged like a jackrabbit to make himself a hard target to hit.  The older Indian shot and hit Clyman in his left arm below the elbow – breaking his arm.

But Clyman still continued to run and zig-zag.  Then the Indian’s son came out of the cabin with Clyman’s own weapon and shot him in the leg with buckshot but Clyman still ran, zig-zagged and was now evading both Indians.

Clyman evaded with both Indians in pursuit.  With Clyman ahead of the 02 pissed-off Indians, Clyman found a fallen tree and hid underneath it.  At one point both Indians were standing on the fallen tree he was hiding underneath.  It turned dark and both Indians gave up the chase.

Clyman bandaged himself and started his 50-mile evasion back to Milwaukee without a weapon and no food.  In his own words Clyman was mad:  “Mad as hell” to be shot with his own gun.

James S. Buck who wrote Pioneer History of Milwaukee (1881) wrote about Clyman’s evasion:  “As an exhibition of physical endurance, this had seldom if ever been equaled; and as a specimen of skill in woodcraft, never.”

–

Paperback Book—————Kindle E-Book

Thank you for taking interest in my Survival Work.  I just re-published “169+ Mountain Man Survival Tricks!”  I’ve added more mountain man survival tricks from one of the baddest men to ever walk this Earth – mountain man James ‘Jim’ Clyman.

Here’s a list of the survival subjects you can learn from so You’re Ready Anytime Anywhere!

• Mountain Man – James ‘Jim’ Clyman
• Clyman’s Catching Beavers
• Lewis & Clark Beaver Attractant
• Clyman’s Campfire Learnin’
• Clyman’s Evasion
• Clyman’s Water Finding
• Clyman’s On The Job Doctoring
• Jedediah’s Emergency Surgery
• Crow Indian ‘Art Of Suffering’
• Clyman’s Buffalo Hunt
• Clyman’s Fire-Starting
• Clyman’s Fighting Hypothermia
• Clyman’s Buffalo Hunt, Again
• Clyman’s Water Finding, Again
• Clyman’s 600-Mile Evasion
• Clyman’s Evasion, Again
• Mountain Men Best Guides & Best Advice
• Mountain Man Tasty Canine Vittles
• Invisible Mountain Men
• Clyman’s Weather Forecasting
• Clyman’s Catfish Fishing
• Clyman’s Bear Hunting

And don’t forget about all the other “169+ Mountain Man Survival Tricks!” from all the other bad ass mountain men.

–

IRISAP Copyright 2018 – All Rights Reserved