1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you Missed in History Class from hot 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,200 Speaker 1: to bring a truck reporting and I'm fair Dowdy. And 4 00:00:16,239 --> 00:00:19,280 Speaker 1: if you're a regular listener of this podcast, you probably 5 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: know that we've covered our fair share of historical murders, 6 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: serial killers, and similar topics, especially during this time of 7 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: year October series tradition. Yes, but it's rare that we 8 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: talk about killers who have taken their crimes a step 9 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:37,879 Speaker 1: further to include an act that some considered to be 10 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:42,840 Speaker 1: even more disturbing, and that's cannibalism. We've actually never really 11 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 1: explored this topic, though Candice and Josh did back in 12 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: two thousand and eight when they talked about the infamous 13 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:50,480 Speaker 1: Donner Party, a wagon train that got trapped by the harsh, 14 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,560 Speaker 1: snowy winter weather in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in eighteen 15 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: forty six. Now, with that story, out of the eighty 16 00:00:57,160 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: seven people who set out on that trip, only forty 17 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,280 Speaker 1: even lived to tell about it, and some of those 18 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:05,759 Speaker 1: people did resort to cannibalism in order to survive. So 19 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 1: our story today is somewhat similar, and in fact, it's 20 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:12,920 Speaker 1: often confused with the Donner Party story. It involves a 21 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: man named Alfred Packer who was among a group of 22 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: prospectors who went into the San Juan Mountains in the 23 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: Colorado Rockies near the end of eighteen seventy three and 24 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:26,559 Speaker 1: also ran into some pretty treacherous winter weather on his trip. 25 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: Unlike the Donner Party situation, though, when the thaw came 26 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:34,520 Speaker 1: the following spring, Packer was the only guy from his 27 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: party to emerge from the mountains alive. A little more suspicious, 28 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: and it certainly adds to the mystery of the story. 29 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: It does and what kind of set up this mystery 30 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: was a series of suspicions, accusations, and confessions that didn't 31 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 1: really match up that followed Packer emerging from the mountains. 32 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: According to Michael Mayo in his book American Murder, all 33 00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: of this led to Packer becoming the American West only 34 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: convicted cannibal quite a distinction exactly, But it also created 35 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 1: one of the great mysteries of the American West because 36 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: to this day people still debate about whether Packer was 37 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:14,720 Speaker 1: guilty as charged. So we're going to look into that 38 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,600 Speaker 1: a little bit. And in order to do that, of course, 39 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:21,680 Speaker 1: we have to start where the story begins. So it 40 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,920 Speaker 1: all started in November of eighteen seventy three, when a 41 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,239 Speaker 1: group of about twenty or so would be a prospector 42 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: set out from Bingham Canyon, Utah, and headed toward Breckenridge, Colorado, 43 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: in the Rocky Mountains in search of what else gold 44 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: and serving as a guide on this expedition was Alfred Packer. 45 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,639 Speaker 1: And just a little note before you start writing your 46 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: email thing you were pronouncing it incorrectly. There is some 47 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: debate about Alfred Packer's name, even though he's generally known 48 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: as Alfred like with the r D e r D 49 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:58,919 Speaker 1: official documents list his name as the more traditional Alfred, 50 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: and it's supposed that he might have started going by 51 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: Alfred when a careless tattoo artists misspelled the name on 52 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:09,840 Speaker 1: his arm. Even though that's just kind of a rumor, 53 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 1: I do like that idea. Though you know your tattoos 54 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:15,600 Speaker 1: spelled wrong, You're just gonna go with it. Alfred legend. 55 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: According to information from the Alfred Packer Collection of the 56 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:23,080 Speaker 1: Colorado State Archives, Packer was born in Pennsylvania on November 57 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: twenty one, eight forty two, and during the Civil War 58 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: he enlisted in both the sixteenth U. S. Infantry of 59 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:33,400 Speaker 1: Minnesota and the eighth Regiment Iowa Cavalry, but he was 60 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: discharged from both of these due to epilepsy. The rest 61 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: of the details of his life are a little bit sketchy. 62 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: The next real evidence that we have of his whereabouts 63 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,000 Speaker 1: is from when he joined up with those miners in Utah. 64 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: He wanted to be a part of their prospecting party, 65 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: but he didn't have a lot of money for provisions 66 00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,119 Speaker 1: to make the trip, so, according to an article by 67 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:56,160 Speaker 1: Diana to Stephano in the Journal of Social History, he 68 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: offered up twenty five bucks and his services as a 69 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: guide to join them in their journey, and he told 70 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: them that he knew Colorado's high country well, so his 71 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: offer was accepted. They didn't know their way around, and 72 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: he did, so it seemed like a good match, he 73 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:15,360 Speaker 1: claimed he did, because, according to de Stefano's article, it 74 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: didn't take long for Packer to really robe his traveling 75 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: companions the wrong way, and there were a few reasons 76 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: for that. First of all, there was a rumor going 77 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: around that Packer had served some hard time back in 78 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,719 Speaker 1: Salt Lake City because he was suspected of murdering his 79 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:31,680 Speaker 1: trapping partner, so not the kind of guy you might 80 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:34,479 Speaker 1: want with you out in the wilderness. Second, he was 81 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: also inappropriately interested in the amount of cash that the 82 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: other men were carrying with them. He would apparently ask 83 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,120 Speaker 1: them outright, how much money do you have on you? 84 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,359 Speaker 1: And Then, thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, especially considering that 85 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,200 Speaker 1: the group was making this track with limited provisions and 86 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:57,560 Speaker 1: really relying on Packer's expertise, he seemed to have exaggerated 87 00:04:57,600 --> 00:05:00,040 Speaker 1: his skill as a guide. According to the article we 88 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:03,159 Speaker 1: just mentioned, he got them lost more than once, not 89 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:06,599 Speaker 1: something that would endear him to his traveling companion. So 90 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:09,440 Speaker 1: they're getting lost, they're running out of food, and the 91 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: weather just keeps getting worse and worse. By the time 92 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:14,719 Speaker 1: they make it to the winter camp of Chief Uray 93 00:05:14,839 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 1: along the on Campagre River in Colorado in mid December, 94 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,159 Speaker 1: they were starving pretty much. The chief made it really 95 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: clear to them that he thought it was a really 96 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,280 Speaker 1: bad idea for them to continue on with their journey. 97 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 1: At that point, he advised them to just stay where 98 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: they were and wait until spring, and about ten guys 99 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,400 Speaker 1: out of the party followed this advice. A small group 100 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: of men led by Oliver D. Lutzenheiser was itching to 101 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 1: get started, though, so they set out with directions from 102 00:05:42,279 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: the chief toward the Las Penis Indian Agency on the 103 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: other side of the mountain. According to Di Stefana's article, 104 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,160 Speaker 1: Packer wanted to be a part of this group, but 105 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: Lutzenheiser didn't trust him and threatened to shoot him if 106 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: he tried to follow him. So he really did not 107 00:05:57,400 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: like Packer at all, know that maybe that first point 108 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 1: on the jail time and all the lies that he'd 109 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:06,240 Speaker 1: been seeing along the trip not exactly the kind of 110 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 1: guy you want with you and already rough. But another 111 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,760 Speaker 1: eager group of men also set out in the same direction, 112 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: and Packer again served as their guide. The other men 113 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,040 Speaker 1: in this group where Shannon Bell, James Humphrey, George Noon 114 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:24,039 Speaker 1: or perhaps his last name was Moon. We see it 115 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:28,280 Speaker 1: both ways, Israel Swan and Frank Miller. Chief e Ray 116 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:30,800 Speaker 1: gave them supplies and advised them to stay close to 117 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:33,480 Speaker 1: the river. But it's clear from what happened that spring 118 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:37,920 Speaker 1: that things soon went awry. What happened to Balina Well 119 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: April six, eighteen seventy four, it was only one disheveled 120 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,080 Speaker 1: prospector who stumbled into Las Pinos Indian Agency near Gunnison, Colorado, 121 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: and that was, of course Alfred Packer, our old friends. 122 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: So the first thing that Packer asked for when he 123 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:56,680 Speaker 1: stumbled in from the wilderness was a drink, specifically a 124 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 1: drink of whiskey, And of course people wanted to know 125 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,720 Speaker 1: what happened, what his story was. He told them that 126 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,600 Speaker 1: he had set out from Chief Eray's winter camp with 127 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:09,080 Speaker 1: the five other men, but the other men had soon 128 00:07:09,160 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 1: abandoned him when he wasn't able to keep up due 129 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: to snow blindness, and he said that he spent the 130 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: rest of the winter after that trapped in the mountains, 131 00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:21,880 Speaker 1: living off the land. But many people, and especially those 132 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:24,720 Speaker 1: other members of the Utah Party, the ones who had 133 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: opted to wade out the winter with the chief who 134 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: finally did make their way to the agency, those guys 135 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: especially were immediately suspicious of this story. And there were 136 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:37,360 Speaker 1: a few reasons for that. One. He just seemed too 137 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:40,360 Speaker 1: well fed for somebody who had been existing off the 138 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: land off of boiled buds and pine gum all winter, 139 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 1: And according to Mayo, Chief Eray astutely observed this that 140 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: he seemed a little too hefty and said you two 141 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:56,120 Speaker 1: damn fat. Another thing that seemed really off, Packer suddenly 142 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 1: had all this cash on him. So not only was 143 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 1: the pack in a few extra pounds, he had all 144 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: this money even though he had been pretty much broke before, 145 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: to really strange points. So of course people are asking 146 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,320 Speaker 1: more and more questions about this, and so, feeling under pressure, 147 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:17,280 Speaker 1: Packer offers up a very different version of events. This 148 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: one includes a kind of confession. According to De Stefano's article, 149 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 1: Packer said that just ten days after the six men 150 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: left the Chiefs camp, quote one after another, the men 151 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: quote had been killed by the remainder to be used 152 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 1: as food by the rest. After the men were picked 153 00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: off one by one, eventually, of course, there were only 154 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 1: two of them left, and Packer said he shot his 155 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: last remaining companion in self defense. So, uh, disturbing story, 156 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:52,319 Speaker 1: but one that sort of spreads the guilt around at least. Yeah, 157 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:56,040 Speaker 1: he's not seen as a murderer, not a murder in 158 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: cold blood anyway, the kind of the camps all together. 159 00:09:00,400 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 1: Later that summer, though, a search party was set out 160 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:07,600 Speaker 1: to look for the bodies of Packer's former companions. Packer 161 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:10,840 Speaker 1: led the search party, interestingly and epic as they needed 162 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: him to to try to show where he went, but 163 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 1: they couldn't find anything. Still though, even without any physical evidence, 164 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:23,720 Speaker 1: Packer was arrested under the suspicion of murder anyway, and 165 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:26,680 Speaker 1: the authorities just really had a feeling about this guy. 166 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 1: They had, They had a suspicion that something was up. 167 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 1: And confirmation of those feelings, or at least what seemed 168 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: to be a confirmation, came in August of eighteen seventy four, 169 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 1: when an artist for Harper's magazine named John A. Randolph 170 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: discovered the bodies of the missing prospectors near Lake City, Colorado. 171 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:48,600 Speaker 1: An article by Andrew Curry and Archaeology includes just a 172 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: little snippet from the beginning of the Harper's account of 173 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: the find, which read quote, They were lying in a gloomy, 174 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: secluded spot, densely shaded by tall trees, at the foot 175 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:00,760 Speaker 1: of a steep hill, near the bank of the Gunnison River. 176 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,480 Speaker 1: Marks of violence on each body indicated that a most 177 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 1: terrible crime had been committed there. The bodies lay within 178 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: a few feet of each other in their blankets and clothes. 179 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,440 Speaker 1: There had been no attempt to conceal the remains, and 180 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 1: Curry's article also mentions that the Harper's account came quote 181 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:24,000 Speaker 1: complete with lurid illustrations of the badly composed bodies lovely, yeah, 182 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 1: pretty graphic. According to Mayo's account, all the bodies were 183 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: missing most or at least some of their flesh. DeStefano 184 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,680 Speaker 1: says that an inquest conducted after the bodies were found 185 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 1: determined that it looked like the men had been brutally 186 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:39,520 Speaker 1: murdered in their sleep, and as a result of this, 187 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:42,800 Speaker 1: fine Packer was formally charged with the murder of all 188 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 1: five of his former companions. So facing this hefty charge, 189 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:50,679 Speaker 1: Packer somehow managed to escape from jail and was on 190 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: the lamb for nine years. After that, he was finally 191 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: discovered by a merchant named Frenchy carbon Zone in a 192 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: saloon in Cheyenne, Wyoming, picked up March eleventh, eighteen eighty three. 193 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: From there, he was sent back to Colorado to stand trial. 194 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:10,080 Speaker 1: But he had a little bit more to say before 195 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:14,400 Speaker 1: that trial. Yeah, March sixteenth, eighteen eighty three, he offered 196 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:17,160 Speaker 1: up his second confession, and this one was the one 197 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 1: that he would more or less stick to throughout his life, 198 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:23,800 Speaker 1: though In later confessions, some of the details did change, 199 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,480 Speaker 1: but they were more ancillary details. I mean, this is 200 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: I guess sort of not to make a bad pun, 201 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:31,960 Speaker 1: but the meat of the argument stays at the same 202 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,199 Speaker 1: warm here on out. Okay, So basically his second story 203 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,120 Speaker 1: went like this. He said that he and his party 204 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:40,760 Speaker 1: got lost in the mountains and had to resort to 205 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:44,080 Speaker 1: boiling rosebuds and pine gum as you referred to before, 206 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 1: after their food ran out. After wandering around on ridgelines 207 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:50,679 Speaker 1: for a while, the prospectors made camp on the banks 208 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: of the Gunnison River. Packer said he took his gun 209 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,199 Speaker 1: and he went off by himself to see if he 210 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: could find a way out. But when he returned, he 211 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:03,000 Speaker 1: found four of his companions lying there around a fire, 212 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 1: and they had all taken a hatchet to the head. 213 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,400 Speaker 1: The one remaining, who was Bell, was by the fire 214 00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 1: roasting a piece of meat which was supposedly yes flesh 215 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:19,200 Speaker 1: from one of the men. Upon spotting him, Packer said, 216 00:12:19,240 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 1: Bell immediately came after him with a hatchet, and Packer 217 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:24,920 Speaker 1: shot him in self defense and then hit him over 218 00:12:24,920 --> 00:12:27,439 Speaker 1: the head with his own hatchet. He had then eaten 219 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:30,000 Speaker 1: the flesh of the men to survive the harsh winter. 220 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: So he admitted to cannibalism it was just, and to 221 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,280 Speaker 1: killing Bell in self defense, but he wanted it to 222 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 1: be I mean, murder was the thing that people were 223 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:43,959 Speaker 1: really up in arms about here murdering five men. It 224 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:47,200 Speaker 1: suggested when you read these accounts that people would have 225 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:50,760 Speaker 1: pretty much understood the cannibalism. You know, you have you 226 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:53,280 Speaker 1: gotta do what you gotta do to survive when you're 227 00:12:53,280 --> 00:12:57,320 Speaker 1: out there and in these harsh conditions. But it was 228 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:02,200 Speaker 1: the fact that Packer was also suspected of murdering these 229 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:07,319 Speaker 1: guys that for their money as well, it seemed. So. 230 00:13:07,679 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: The Journey apparently didn't buy this new confession though, because 231 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: Packer was found guilty and was sentenced to hang. When 232 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:19,000 Speaker 1: the judge, who was Judge Melville B. Gary, handed down 233 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:23,040 Speaker 1: his sentence on April thirteen, three, legend has it that 234 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:25,720 Speaker 1: he said something to the effect of quote, there was 235 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:28,920 Speaker 1: seven Democrats in all of Hinsdale County, and you ate 236 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 1: five of them. I sentence you to be hung by 237 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:34,080 Speaker 1: the neck until you are dead, dead, dead, as a 238 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 1: warning against further reducing the democratic population of this county. Yeah, 239 00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 1: this is act worrying about the Democrats. It doesn't seem 240 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: to be in the version of sentencing that's in the 241 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:48,200 Speaker 1: Colorado State Archives. The dead dead dead part is. But 242 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: according to Curry's article, during the New Deal, Colorado Republicans 243 00:13:53,520 --> 00:13:57,520 Speaker 1: did form these Alfred Packard clubs, and members of these 244 00:13:57,559 --> 00:14:02,800 Speaker 1: clubs swore to quote eliminate at least five Democrats. Oh, 245 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,079 Speaker 1: I hope they didn't have like luncheon parties for their 246 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 1: Alfred Packer clubs. But ultimately the Packer was not hanged 247 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: due to a technicality. Essentially, the territorial murder laws had changed, 248 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 1: and the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that prosecutions of murders 249 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: before May eighty one were invalid. Packer's keith was retried. 250 00:14:24,920 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 1: He did get forty years in prison, he only ended 251 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:31,360 Speaker 1: up serving eighteen of those. He was finally paroled in 252 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:35,360 Speaker 1: nineteen o one. He died six years later, and according 253 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 1: to the Colorado State Archives, the cause of death, which 254 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:44,040 Speaker 1: was on April nineteen oh seven, was listed as quote senility, 255 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: trouble and worry on his death certificate. So a court 256 00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 1: decided Packer was guilty of murder, and of course many 257 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 1: people still assume that he was. After all, it does 258 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 1: make for a good grizzly legend, but throughout the years, 259 00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,440 Speaker 1: what really happened on that mountain has really remained a mystery, 260 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:04,840 Speaker 1: and many have argued that Packer was convicted on pretty 261 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 1: flimsy evidence. George Washington University law professor James starrs who 262 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:14,080 Speaker 1: he's been responsible for the exhimation of many controversial historical figures, 263 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 1: including Lizzie Borden's parents and Jesse James. He was curious 264 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:21,400 Speaker 1: enough about this mystery that he organized a team to 265 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,880 Speaker 1: exhume and examine the remains of Packers prospecting party in 266 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:28,760 Speaker 1: nine and they found a lot of things there. They found, 267 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,400 Speaker 1: first of all, plenty of evidence of trauma on the bones, 268 00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:35,480 Speaker 1: which suggested that almost all of the flesh had been removed. Also, 269 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:38,440 Speaker 1: a lot of the cut marks were on the victim's back, 270 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: suggesting that the person removing the flesh didn't want to 271 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 1: look at the victim's faces, which is just kind of 272 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:50,120 Speaker 1: an interesting look into the mind of psychological angle to cannibalism. Yes, 273 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 1: according to Curry's article, Stars concluded that Packer was the 274 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 1: killer because a war wound that was found on Bell's 275 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 1: remains would have supposedly made it too difficult for him 276 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 1: to inflict the wounds that they found on the other men. 277 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:08,040 Speaker 1: But not everyone agrees with stars findings. No. The Museum 278 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:12,120 Speaker 1: of Western Colorado curator and historian David Bailey is one 279 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:14,680 Speaker 1: of those people who has led the charge to prove 280 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:19,320 Speaker 1: Packers innocence. So Bailey started digging into Packers story when 281 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 1: he was working to tie a thirty eight caliber cult 282 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 1: pistol from the museum's collection to the site where the 283 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 1: bodies were found. He was working in the late nineties 284 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 1: the early aughts, so he couldn't exhume the bodies, you know, 285 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,920 Speaker 1: which had just been exhumed in nine nine, because they 286 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 1: were sealed off over after the last extimation to protect 287 00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: them from relic hunters. He did, however, have access to 288 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:48,800 Speaker 1: some soil samples that were left over from the previous excavation, 289 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:51,960 Speaker 1: and by having those tested, Bailey was able to prove 290 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 1: the pistol was at the site because lead found in 291 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: the soil was an exact match for the bullets remaining 292 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:02,119 Speaker 1: in the gun, so starting sound kind of like Packer's 293 00:17:02,200 --> 00:17:07,480 Speaker 1: story of having to shoot Bell lined up a little bit. Also, 294 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,160 Speaker 1: the gun still had three bullets in it. There were 295 00:17:10,200 --> 00:17:14,560 Speaker 1: two empty chambers which matched up with some of the 296 00:17:14,600 --> 00:17:18,879 Speaker 1: testimony Packer had given. So bell skeleton had some holes 297 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:22,280 Speaker 1: in it, possibly gunshot wounds in the pelvic region. Also, 298 00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 1: his wallet or his pocket book whatever he was carrying 299 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 1: with all that cash, the being Packer was interested in 300 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,120 Speaker 1: also seemed to have been shot. So this was enough 301 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,840 Speaker 1: to convince Bailey and many others that Packer was telling 302 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,840 Speaker 1: the truth, that that second confession was real. He held 303 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:43,479 Speaker 1: a mock trial for him in two thousand two, in 304 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: which Packer was found innocent. Whether he was guilty or innocent, 305 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,440 Speaker 1: one thing that's for certain is that Packer became sort 306 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:53,520 Speaker 1: of a kitchy kind of folk hero in the twentieth century. 307 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,400 Speaker 1: Since the nineties sixties. For example, students at the University 308 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 1: of Colorado at Boulder have eaten at the Alfred Packer Grill, 309 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,920 Speaker 1: and according to Curry's article that l cannibal burrito is 310 00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: apparently a popular menu item there. Oh goodness. A bust 311 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 1: of Packer was also placed in the Colorado state capital 312 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:14,480 Speaker 1: in two So he made it into the capital, I 313 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,320 Speaker 1: mean like he did. That's pretty official. There are also 314 00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:19,760 Speaker 1: a lot of references to Packer and pop culture, and 315 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:22,639 Speaker 1: one of the funniest examples is Trey Parker, who co 316 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,840 Speaker 1: created the animated TV series South Park, which we all 317 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:28,439 Speaker 1: know and love, wrote a play about Packer when he 318 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:31,520 Speaker 1: was studying at the University of Colorado called Alfred Packer 319 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:34,400 Speaker 1: the Musical. Later, he turned it into a film called 320 00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:39,040 Speaker 1: Cannibal the Musical. And unsurprisingly, Packer has also just made 321 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 1: his way into folk songs too. There's actually been several 322 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:46,679 Speaker 1: songs written about Packer, including nineteen sixty four is the 323 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:50,040 Speaker 1: Ballad of Alfred Packer, which was written by folk singer 324 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:53,680 Speaker 1: Phil Off. The chorus for that song went, they called 325 00:18:53,760 --> 00:18:56,920 Speaker 1: him a murderer, a cannibal, thief. It just doesn't pay 326 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 1: to eat anything but government inspected beef. There's even a 327 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:05,600 Speaker 1: cookbook out there called Alfred Packer's High Protein Cookbook. All right, well, 328 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:08,840 Speaker 1: I feel like you may be picking that up. Oh 329 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:14,240 Speaker 1: you you do? After I go try the l cannibal burrito. 330 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,760 Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't. Well, you like to cook, 331 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 1: I mean like you like meat, like cooking, but I 332 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: usually try to avoid any associations with cannibalism, and to 333 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:27,400 Speaker 1: my cooking as a rule of thumb, that's a pretty good. 334 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:33,040 Speaker 1: It's a pretty thumbs in your daily cuisine. There you go. Well, 335 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:35,280 Speaker 1: I feel much more comfortable sitting in the studio with 336 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: you right now. I'm I'm glad I was able to 337 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:46,720 Speaker 1: reassure you I'm not a cannibal alright. So to wrap 338 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:51,040 Speaker 1: up our Spooky Halloween October series, we have a good 339 00:19:51,040 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 1: piece of listener mail, don't we. We do one that 340 00:19:54,520 --> 00:19:59,640 Speaker 1: relates to haunted houses and how every now and then 341 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:03,320 Speaker 1: you can really spook yourself. And we've been hearing from 342 00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:05,960 Speaker 1: a lot of listeners who are saying I can't go 343 00:20:06,040 --> 00:20:08,680 Speaker 1: to sleep at night now because I listened to podcasts 344 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:12,000 Speaker 1: before bed and I'm having bad dreams. So sorry for that. 345 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:15,000 Speaker 1: You know, maybe you'll feel better in November. But this 346 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: is kind of a fun example of just creeping yourself 347 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 1: out a little bit. Yeah, it's a letter from the 348 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: listener Phil and he says, I thought i'd write to 349 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,120 Speaker 1: you about your recent ghost Stories podcast. As I work 350 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:28,480 Speaker 1: in Cardiff Castle in Wales Capital, we often get requests 351 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,240 Speaker 1: for ghost stories during tours from our tourists, and our 352 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:34,040 Speaker 1: go to tail is of the Second Marquest of Butte, 353 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:36,919 Speaker 1: who died at the castle in the chapel, and legend 354 00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:40,360 Speaker 1: has it he will walk through the walls of the library. However, 355 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: I don't believe in ghosts. Something I've noticed is that 356 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:46,199 Speaker 1: more imagine if people often tell me they see Victorians 357 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:48,680 Speaker 1: in the Victorian house and Romans by the Roman wall, 358 00:20:49,119 --> 00:20:51,879 Speaker 1: but never Romans in the Victorian parts or vice versa, 359 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:54,919 Speaker 1: even though they each spent time in those areas. Also, 360 00:20:55,359 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 1: where are the ghosts from the late eighties? So with 361 00:20:58,320 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 1: this attitude, I wandered around into the house at all hours, 362 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:04,439 Speaker 1: often working a function or covering for a security guard, 363 00:21:04,800 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 1: and I never saw anything, apart from one occasion. As 364 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:09,960 Speaker 1: I was heading up the stairs from the entrance hall, 365 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:12,680 Speaker 1: it was about two am. I was on my own 366 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:14,680 Speaker 1: in the house with the majority of the lights out. 367 00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:20,480 Speaker 1: As I walked up the stairs, I heard a sound aloud, cough, 368 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:26,119 Speaker 1: ending very abruptly. I froze on the stairs for what 369 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 1: felt like an age, but I could it couldn't have 370 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,199 Speaker 1: been more than five seconds. My mind was racing with 371 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:33,639 Speaker 1: all the possibilities of this noise, and the stories of 372 00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: ghosts and ghoules I tell tourists flashed through my brain. 373 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:39,800 Speaker 1: Then the reality hit me. It was the automatic air 374 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:42,879 Speaker 1: freshener and the toilet going off, But it was humbling 375 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: for a cynic like me to be that worried, even 376 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:48,800 Speaker 1: if it was only for a short time. Pretty funny story, 377 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:51,800 Speaker 1: that is, and it just goes to show how these 378 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:54,119 Speaker 1: stories can get to us, whether it's a podcast or 379 00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:56,879 Speaker 1: like me doing the research for the podcast, so I 380 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:00,320 Speaker 1: can totally relate to all those people. And I've written 381 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:02,359 Speaker 1: back to a few folks saying like, Okay, well this 382 00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:05,639 Speaker 1: is why we don't do too many Colorado Cannibal episodes, 383 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,200 Speaker 1: because yeah, once you start, I mean, if you're having 384 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: bad dreams listening to it, imagine how we feel. Absolutely 385 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,800 Speaker 1: gets to us too, So that's why we will and 386 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,919 Speaker 1: do move on to other topics. All we do. We 387 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:23,400 Speaker 1: even when it's not Halloween, we sprinkle in some some 388 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: tales of horrors. They're always fun to do, So thank 389 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:31,200 Speaker 1: you Phil for that story. Sometimes those air fresheners startle 390 00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: me too, I don't know. They can make a funny 391 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:37,160 Speaker 1: noise um. And if you want to suggest more spooky episodes, 392 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:40,119 Speaker 1: like Develina says, we are always open to them. You 393 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,680 Speaker 1: can email us that History podcast at Discovery dot com. 394 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,959 Speaker 1: We're also on Twitter at mixton History and we are 395 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 1: on Facebook, and I hope everybody has a fantastic Halloween 396 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,360 Speaker 1: and you've had a fun time leading up to it. 397 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 1: Send us pictures of your costumes, especially if they are 398 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:01,119 Speaker 1: historically inspired. We'd love to see them on Facebook or 399 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:03,720 Speaker 1: Twitter and get our own ideas from them. I know, 400 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: because I got to decide. I'm down to the wire here. 401 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:09,840 Speaker 1: I need an idea for my baby. Still, it's coming 402 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:13,080 Speaker 1: down to the wire for sure, all right, So ideas 403 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 1: for Deplina's baby, ideas for us and your own costs 404 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:20,360 Speaker 1: we want to fa Yeah, And if you want to 405 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:22,160 Speaker 1: learn a little bit more about some of the things 406 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,199 Speaker 1: we talked about on this podcast, we do have an 407 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,320 Speaker 1: article called how the Donner Party Worked, and you can 408 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 1: find that by searching on our homepage at www dot 409 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:36,119 Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com for more on this and 410 00:23:36,200 --> 00:24:01,119 Speaker 1: thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff works dot com. 411 00:24:00,520 --> 00:24:01,560 Speaker 1: The Patus