A group from Wayne State College aims to unravel the mystery of a century-old time capsule.
In 1923, poet John Neihardt and members of a Neihardt Club from Nebraska Normal College dedicated a monument to Hugh Glass. Neihardt became fascinated with Glass’s story after discovering he was mauled by a bear and abandon by his colleagues a hundred years before. Miraculously, Glass survived.
According to the Nebraska Examiner, Glass “crawled, limped and rafted 200 miles” after being left for dead near what is now Lemmon, South Dakota. Neihardt preserved Glass’s memory in his 1915 poem, “The Song of Hugh Glass.”
Part of the mystery surrounding the monument is the lack of information about what is inside. In a special edition of the Nebraska Normal College’s newspaper, Neihardt hinted at leaving a manuscript inside of the monument. He also left specific instructions for the college to return to the monument and celebrate the bicentennial of Hugh Glass.
This summer, which marks 200 years after Glass’s story, a professor and three students from Wayne State College, the former Nebraska Normal College, plan to follow through with Neihardt’s request. The group searches for answers about what could be inside the monument and how to get it out.
The monument is hollow but made out of solid concrete. Questions arise about how to retrieve the contents without destroying the historical value of the monument. It is also unknown whether or not the manuscript was destroyed after intense flooding submerged the capsule.
In addition to these unsolved questions, ownership of the monument remains unknown. For now, no one can grant permission to further investigate the mystery left inside. Experts believe that inside the monument is an original copy of the poem Neihardt wrote in honor of Glass.
However, the professor and students plan to still commemorate the bicentennial according to Neihardt’s wishes, and attempt to find answers. The group will also leave their own time capsule near the monument for future generations to open.