American Cannibal

OK I'm sure everyone had a great Easter and ate a lot of good food.

So, thinking about food, today I thought I would share a story about different tastes.

By now everyone has heard the story of the Donner Party but how many of you know about...


Alfred G. "Alferd" Packer?

Alfred G. "Alferd" Packer (January 21, 1842 – April 23, 1907) was an American cannibal.
First tried for murder, Packer was eventually sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter.

Packer's life
Packer was born as Alfred G. Packer in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania to James Packer (son of two first cousins, Moses Packer and wife Hannah Packer) and wife Esther Griner (or Crider).

He was a shoemaker by trade. Packer served on the Union side in the American Civil War, enlisting in April 1862 in Company F, 16th U. S. Infantry Regiment.

However, he was discharged for epilepsy the following December. He then enlisted in Company L, 8th Iowa Cavalry Regiment, but was discharged again for the same reason.

He then decided to go west and try his luck at prospecting.

In November, 1873, Packer was with a party of 21 who left Provo, Utah, bound for the Colorado gold country around Breckenridge.

On January 21, 1874 he met with Chief Ouray, known as the White Man's Friend, near Montrose, Colorado. Chief Ouray recommended they postpone their expedition until spring, as they were likely to encounter dangerous winter weather in the mountains.

Ignoring Ouray's advice, Packer and five others left for Gunnison, Colorado on February 9. The other men were Shannon Wilson Bell, James Humphrey, Frank "Reddy" Miller, George "California" Noon and Israel Swan.

The party got hopelessly lost, ran out of provisions, and became snowbound in the Rocky Mountains. Packer allegedly went scouting and came back to discover Bell roasting human flesh. According to Packer, Bell rushed him with a hatchet.

Packer shot and killed him. Packer insisted that Bell had gone mad and murdered the others.

On April 16, 1874, Packer arrived alone at Los Pinos Indian Agency near Gunnison. He spent some time in a Saguache, Colorado saloon, meeting several of his previous party.

He initially claimed self-defense, but his story was not believed. During the trial, the judge supposedly said:

"Damn you, Alferd Packer! There were seven Dimmycrats in Hinsdale County and you ate five of them!"

An alternate version of the judge's outburst is

"Packer, you depraved Republican son of a bitch! There were only five Democrats in Hinsdale County and you ate them all!"
The actual sentencing statement was more in character for an educated state judge:

"Close your ears to the blandishments of hope. Listen not to the flattering promises of life, but prepare for the dread certainty of death."

Packer signed a confession on August 5, 1874. He was jailed in Saguache, but escaped soon after, vanishing for several years.

On March 11, 1883, Packer was discovered in Cheyenne, Wyoming living under the alias of "John Schwartze."

On March 16, he signed another confession. On April 6, a trial began in Lake City, Colorado. On April 13, he was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to death.

Packer managed to temporarily avoid punishment again. In October 1885, the sentence was reversed by the Colorado Supreme Court as being based on an ex post facto law.

However, on June 8, 1886, Packer was sentenced to 40 years at another trial in Gunnison. At the time, this was the longest custodial sentence in U.S. history.

On June 19, 1899, Packer's sentence was upheld by the Colorado Supreme Court. However, he was paroled on February 8, 1901 and went to work as a guard at the Denver Post.

He died in Deer Creek, in Jefferson County, Colorado. Packer is widely rumored to have become a vegetarian before his death, reputedly of "Senility - trouble & worry" at the age of 65.

He was buried in Littleton, Colorado. His grave is marked with a veteran's tombstone listing his original regiment.
Packer is a legend in popular culture. He has been quoted as having said, in jest, "the breasts of man...are the sweetest meat I ever tasted."


In 1968, students at the University of Colorado at Boulder named their new cafeteria grill the Alferd G. Packer Memorial Grill with the slogan "Have a friend for lunch!" Even today students can enjoy the meat-filled "El Canibal" underneath a giant wall map outlining his travels through Colorado. In 1982 the university dedicated a statue to Packer.

From The Ballad of Alfred Packer
"In the Colorado Rockies
Where the snow is deep and cold
And a man afoot can starve to death
Unless he's brave and bold

Oh Alfred Packer
You'll surely go to hell
While all the others starved to death
You dined a bit too well"

There is an annual Alfred Packer 50 mile hike in Denver; there is an Alfred Packer barbecue cookoff held every May in Gunnison, Colorado. There is also a trail mix sold in Colorado called "Alferd Packer Gorp".

I looked all over the internet for possibly his cookbook with trailside recipes, but have not had any luck finding any.