Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1884-07-26

|
OF every possession in New York CITY
and his supposed corpse flung into the
harbor. Enough life was left to enable
him to get back among the Green River
mountains once more, wher. his dead
body Vas found about the middle of
May. Stranger hands gave him burial,
bat his Mexican kinsmen came and
stole him away by night. He now rests
near the city of Mexico, where were
spent the most peaceful hours of his
| life. ''
He kept "log" of nearly his whole
life, which is in the possession of his
Mexican children. 1t is most wonderful
reading. He was the father of seventeen
children, and by them a multitude of
grandchildren and great-grandchildren
He has visited every accessible country
and nation, sailed under almost every
flag, been a woodchopper, horsA thief,
sailor. farmer, miner, pirate, biganist
and libertine. After an active, wild and
adventurous life, during which he had
made and spent dozen fortunes, John
Wilson, plundered, disabled, and dis
heartened-his strong, stubborn spirit
broken at last-expiated in a solitary
death by starvation and neglect the will
ful crimes of Q disgraceful life. 1t was
absolutely fitting that his children, by
foreign mother, ashamed of their vile
and unnatural parent, should take him
away under the cover of night, and de-
ny him a resting-place in his native
land.
| Opposed to him is that ritiable victim
of fate and uncomfortable circumstances,
"Cannibal Packard" now imprisoned at
| GunnisOn, Col, for the murder of his
seven companions. The government
| should certainly interfere in his behalf
there being no evidence in the case ex-
| cept his own statements, which, if they
| are entitled to any weight in court at all,
should exonerate him from all blame.
Several years ago he and seven other
men went down into San Juan country,
in Southern Colorado. 1t was then wild
and desolate. with only a government
station within its precincts, and no other
civilization. After wandering about for
several days they got into a tremendous |
snow stOr.a and lost their way altogether. |
Every day they set out in pursuit of the |
fort, only to return to camp every night |
still more discouraged and hopeless. At |
last their food gave out. They ate their
boots, leggins, and the leather straps on
their rifles, kept great fire roaring in |
camp night and day, and still made vain
efforts to find the fort. Starvation was
only matter of so many hours; the
strong minds of the hardy pioneers be-
gan to get confused. Horrible goblinr Of |
despair were being constantly .conjured
up, and they were almost afraid to look
upon each others faces. One day, when
the terrible end seemed very near, Pack
ard was returning to camp from a fruit
less search for game. As he tottered
along despairingly man suddenly dart
ed at him, axe in hand, and attempted
to kill him. A shot from Packard's rifle
saved his life, but it was a narrow es-
cape I; he turned his assailant face up
ward-great heaven it was one of his
companions. Crazy with hunger, and
entirely beside himself, he had sought
Packard's life and lost his own. Shock
I'd and Mortified, Packard forgot his suf-
ferings for a moment and hurried into
camp to tell the others what he had been
forced to do. And here was new horror
for him there was not living man in
camp. They were all there, but every
man was cloven through the skull with
AN axe and stone dead. They had all
fallen victims to the man he had Just
shot ia defence of his owu life, and there
before the fire on stick was a great
piece of flesh, cut from the thigh of one
of the dead men; the murderer was
roasting it for his dinner! Fairly stupe-
ned with the awfulness of his situation,
Packard sank to the ground, sickened
and completely discouraged There was
no more hope he wac alone and sur
rounded by the dead, starving to death
himself and no assistance within hun
dreds of miles. Two days more he lived
in that dazed way, eating nothing but
snow then, overcome with frenzy and !
wholly insane, he cooked and ate a por-
ton of one of the dead men. Here MEM
ory rebelled also, and about a month of
that terrible experience in blank; all
of which time he was living Upon human
flesh. At last reason returned ard he
hastened away from the awful spot. He {
had no difficulty in finding the fort, then,
and it was real ly not far distant. During I
all of that long despairing search they
had gone in the wrong direction every
time. His story was accepted for the q
truth, and he came East to visit Lis rela- 8
tives as soon as he was able. A few
months later, when he returned to Col 9
orado, he was arrested for the murder Of I
his companions, one and all, and confin- !
ed in the Gunnison Jail. Public senti-
ment is divided concerning the justice of
this step, some deciding fer him and !
some against him. The murder, if such !
it can be justly and truthfully called un- 4
der such circumstances, took place upon
what was then an Indian reservation,
where killing was not then considered I
murder in the eyes of the law. Colora- 9
do, once so lax in her morals, is now Q
after the life of every ac-
cused criminal, and will take pleasure in G
executing Packard if the letter OF the '
law can be tortured into permitting such
an outrage.
The two personalities, each unique e
and extraordinary, are worthy of the
of every student of human !
nature They furnish quite as much
variety as the lives of any two men of
the present age, and it is doubtful if any !
other age will ever afford more strik-
ing contrast.
About Mrs. Blains. i