The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-03-18
TELEGRAPHIC new S
HORRIBLE.
The TanntbIe Packer Tells IA .
story.
A Crazy Nan Kills FOur of the
Party.
HOR BIBLE.
He Kills the Insane One.
And Subsists on the Flesh Of
Another Named Wells.

Denver, 17.-SherlH Smith, OF
Hinsdale County, arrived from Fort
Fetterman with j. L. Packer, the
and cannibal, who killed
five men near the site of Lake City
nine years ago. After the slaughter
the slayer lived for a number of
days off the body eff one of his vic
tins. Packer belonged to party of
five prospectors, oyertaken in the
winter by famine. According to
statements made by him when cap
tured at Sagache a few weeks after
the occurrence, the party were upon
the point of starvation and agreed
among themselye to kill eadh other
by lot, at such times as the bodies of
victims were required for fOod.
This story has been discredited
from first to last by the people of
that country, because the bodies of
four men were found lying together
with bullet holes through the skulls,
and one with his head chopped off.
General Charles Adams, at the time
of the slaughter, Indian commits
sioner of Colorado, obtained the fol-
lowing statement from Packer: /,
Alfred Packer, desire to make a
true and voluntary statement in re-
gard to occurrences in southern
Colorado during the winter of 1878.
/ wish to make it to Mr.. Adams,
because l made him one before
about the same matter. When we
left Ouray Camp we had about
seven days food for one man. We
travelled two or three days and it
began to storm. We came to a
mountain crossed by gulch on
about the fourth day, and we had
only about a pound of flour left.
We followed the mountain till we
came to the main range. do not
remember how many days we were
travelling then; 1 think about ten
days, living on rosebuds and pine
gum. and some of the men crying
and praying. Then we came
over the main range and
.camped twice on a stream
which runs into Big Lake; the Sec
ond night just above the lake next
morning we crossed the lake and
cut holes into the ice to catch fish.
There were no fish, so we tried to
catch snails. The ice was thin and
some broken through, We crossed
the lake and went into a grove of
timber. All the men were crying
and one or them was crazy. Swan
asked me to go and see if l could
see some thing from the mountain.
l took gun and went up the hill
and found big rosebush with buds,
sticking through the snow, but
could see nothing but snow all
around. I had been a kind of a
guide for them, but l did not know
the mountains from a side of sole
leather. When l came back to the
camp, after being gone nearly all
day, / found the red headed man,
who had been crazy in the morn
ing, sitting near a fire roasting a
piece of meat which he had cut out
of the leg of the German hatcher
Mills, the latter's body was lying
down the stream. His skull was
crushed in with a Ratchet.
The other three men were lying
near the fire. They were cut in the
forehead with a Ratchet. Some
had two and some three cuts. ]
came within rod of the fire. When
the man saw me, he got
up with his Ratchet, ran
toward me, and shot him sideway
through the belly. He fell on his
face. the Ratchet fell forward and l
grabbed it and hit him on the top of
the head. l then lighted a fire and
sat up all night. The next morning
l tried to follow my tracks on the
mountain, but could not make it.
The snow was too deep. l came
back and set up two sticks, and
then with pine boughs made shell
ter about three feet high; this was
my camp till l came out. went
back to the FIRE and covered the men
up, and fetched TO the camp the
pieces of meat that was near the
fire. l then made a new fac near
my fire and cooked a piece of the
meat and ate it. l tried to get away
every day, but could not, so l lived
off the flesh of these men the big
|gest part of the thirty days l was
there. Then it began TO thaw, and
l started mp the creek where a big
slide of yellow clay seemed to come
down the mountain. There started
up, but getting my feet wet, and
having only piece of blanket
around them, froZe both feet under
the toes. l camped before reaching
the top, and making a fire stayed
all night. The next day made the
top Of the hill, and a little over.
After piling up number Of logs
and building fire, 7 then camped
and cooked some Of the flesh l
had carried along with me for food
1 carried only a blanket. There
were $40 amongst the men; and l
fetched it out with me and one gun.
The red-headed man Bell, had a
$50 bill in his pocket. All the
others together had only $40; l had
$50 myself. If there was any more
money in the outfit | did not know
it, and it remained there at the last
camp. Just before / reached the
agency, l ate my last piece of meat.
This meat l cooked at the camp be-
fore l started out and put it into a
bag and carried the bag with me. /
could eat but little at a time.
When I went out with the party
from the agency TO search for the
bodies, we came to the mountains |