How It All Goes Down
- Glass is still staring at the rattlesnake, and it's making him pretty hungry. He creeps over and promptly bashes it over the head with a rock.
- Glass then crawls over to his bag to take stock of his supplies: "a few rifle patches, a razor, two hawk's feet on a beaded necklace, and the six-inch claw of a grizzly bear" (1.8.4).
- So Glass grabs his razor and gets to skinning the rattlesnake. It's tough going with that dull blade, plus his arm still hurts, but he eventually gets it done.
- Finally finished, Glass eats the raw snake in tiny bites so as not to inflame his clawed up throat. It's not Zagat-rated, but it does the job. He also cuts off the snake's rattles and tosses them in his bag.
- And now...it's crawling time. Glass is planning on going to Fort Brazeau, which is three hundred and fifty miles east. That's the opposite direction from the betrayers, but Glass needs to recharge if he's going to have any hope.
- Glass cuts up his blanket to make pads for his hands and knees.
- As he agonizingly crawls to the river, Glass sees tracks left by the Arikara warriors Fitzgerald had noticed. Although he doesn't know this, the Indians had been distracted by a bear attack.
- Glass crawls along the rocky riverside terrain, picking cattails, onions, dandelions, and berries to sustain himself. This food makes a nice snack, but Glass finds himself craving meat.