Alfred Packer goes on trial for Cannibalism

Alfred Packer (sometimes signed as Alferd Packer) (November 21, 1842 – April 23, 1907) is known as one of the only two Americans ever convicted of cannibalism (the other being Albert Fish), though in reality his conviction was for murder, not cannibalism. Not even the members of the well-known Donner Party were convicted of cannibalism in California, as cannibalism is not a crime in the United States.

In November, 1873, Packer with a party of 21 left Provo, Utah, bound for the Colorado gold country in Breckenridge. Leaving that late in the season was dangerous, as winter can come fierce and fast to the high country. On January 21 of 1874, he met with Chief Ouray (known as the White Man's Friend) near Montrose, Colorado. Chief Ouray recommended he wait until spring. On February 9, a party of six left for Gunnison, Colorado. 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 one of his party roasting human meat. According to Packer, the man rushed him with a hatchet; Packer shot and killed him.

On March 6, 1874, Packer arrived alone at Los Pinos Indian Agency near Gunnison. He spent some time in a Saguache, Colorado Bar, meeting several of his previous party. He initially claimed self-defense, but his story did not wash.

Packer signed a confession on May 8, 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, 1883, a trial began in Lake City, Colorado, Hindsdale County. On the 13th, he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Packer managed to temporarily avoid punishment again: in October, 1885, the sentence was reversed by the Colorado Supreme Court on a grandfather clause. However, on August 6, 1886, Packer was sentenced to 40 years at a trial in Gunnison.

On June 19, 1899, Packer's sentence was upheld by the Colorado Supreme Court. However, he was paroled on February 8, 1901 and moved to Deer Creek, in Jefferson County, Colorado. He is widely rumored to have become a vegetarian before his death of reputed "Senility - trouble & worry" at the age of 64. He was buried in Littleton, Colorado and was formally pardoned of his crimes on March 5, 1981.

Evidence dug up since suggests that Packer was a cannibal, but not a murderer. On July 17, 1989 an exhumation of the bodies of the victims of Alfred Packer was undertaken by Professor James E. Starrs of The George Washington University, following an exhaustive search for the precise location of their remains.

In 1968, the University of Colorado at Boulder named their new cafeteria grill the Alferd E. Packer Memorial Grill (they currently sell an "El Canibal" meal to students) (http://umc.colorado.edu/food/grill_pages.html) In 1982 a statue to Packer was placed on the Boulder campus. In 1977 the United States Department of Agriculture named its Washington cafeteria The Alferd Packer Memorial Dining Facility. It was opened by Agricultural Secretary Robert Bergland, who stated that "Alferd Packer exemplifies the spirit and fare that this agriculture department cafeteria will provide." It was later renamed.

Other Historical Highlights for Today are:

• The first day of the Thai New Year. The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed. If these days fall on a weekend, the missed days off will be taken on the days immediately following. Songkran falls in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season. Until 1888 the Thai New Year was the beginning of the year in Thailand; thereafter April 1 was used until 1940. January 1 is now the beginning of the year. The traditional Thai New Year has been a national holiday since then. The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. People roam the streets with bowls of water, water guns or even a garden hose, and drench each other and passersby. Some even mix colored powder into the water. This tradition originated in the lustration ceremony, in which the Buddha images in the temples are cleaned. In many cities, such as Chiang Mai, the Buddha statues from all of the wats in the city are paraded through the streets, so that people can throw water on them as they pass.
• 814 - Krum, khan of Bulgaria, died. He was famous for his battling with Charlemagne, the Khazars & the Byzantine Empire, after killing one Emperor in battle he had the Emperor's skull lined with silver & used it as a drinking vessel. Plus he had a cool name.
• 1570 - Guy Fawkes, Gunpowder Plot conspirator, is Born (d. 1606)
• 1771 - Richard Trevithick, mechanical engineer and developer of the first locomotive, is Born (d. 1833)
• 1808 - Antonio Meucci, Italian Inventor, inventor of the Telephone, is Born (d. 1896)
• 1852 - F.W. Woolworth, merchant/businessman, founder of Woolworth's, is Born (d. 1919)
• 1866 - Butch Cassidy, Wild West outlaw, is Born (d. 1908)
• 1880 - Charles Christie, pioneer film studio owner in Hollywood, co-founder of the Christie Film Co., the first studio in Hollywood, is Born (d. 1955)
• 1892 - Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, inventor of Radar and a descendant of James Watt, the inventer of the Steam Engine, is Born (d. 1973)
• 1902 - Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Grand Prix race-car driver, scriptwriter, theatrical producer, poet, and wine grower, is Born (d. 1988)
• 1902 - James C. Penney opens his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming
• 1906 - Samuel Beckett, winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize in literature, is Born (d. 1989)
• 1909 - Eudora Welty, writer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 1973, namesake of the Eudora email program, is Born (d. 2001)
• 1923 - Don Adams, actor (Get Smart), comedian, is Born
• 1924 - Jack Chick, Christian evangelist, accidental commedian, is Born
• 1944 - Jack Casady, Rock musician ("Jefferson Airplane"), is Born
• 1945 - Tony Dow, Child actor (Wally Cleaver on Leave it to Beaver), is Born
• 1946 - Rev. Al Green, soul singer, pastor, is Born
• 1951 - Peter Davison, actor and the fifth Doctor Who, is Born
• 1964 - Sidney Poitier becomes the first black person to win the best actor Oscar.
• 1970 - Rick Schroder, actor, is Born on Staten Island, NY (We used to pick on him for being a model & a prissy little pretty boy, probably one reason why he's a member of the NRA today...)
• 1970 - The oxygen tank aboard Apollo 13 explodes, putting the crew into deadly peril.
• 1984 - Pete Rose becomes the first player in National League history to collect 4,000 hits
• 2029 - The asteroid 2004 MN4 will pass within 65,000 km of the Earth

Rev. Dr. Frederick J. Freelance, Ph.D., D.F.S

[ Edited by: freddiefreelance on 2005-04-13 09:00 ]

Here's a great picture I found of Marilyn Monroe dressed as Don Adams - photographed by Richard Avedon.

Here's a picture I found of Samuel Beckett:

Ah yes. Alfred Packer. Trey Parker and Matt Stone (creators of South Park) did an excellent film on this person called "Cannibal the Musical"."In the tradition of Friday the 13th Part II and Oklahoma!, comes the first intelligent film about cannibalism."

This movie happens to be quite hilarious and is well worth seeking out.

As of late there have now been live stage productions of the musical popping up here and there.

More info here: http://www.cannibalthemusical.net

If cannibalism is not illegal, then is there a way you could dine on another human without getting in trouble?

Oh My Gosh! I have no clue on how to type my response to MachTiki's post. That was funny as hell! snicker...

On 2005-04-13 11:27, finkdaddy wrote:
If cannibalism is not illegal, then is there a way you could dine on another human without getting in trouble?

It would be diffucult to get around the various laws governing the disposal of human remains.

Here is a great picture I found of MachTiki dressed as Marilyn Monroe - Photo Credit Don Adams

:lol:

Photo by MachTiki :wink:

:lol:

Good one MachTiki! :drink:

:drink: Cheers :drink:

The winner by a mile! MachTiki!

I came in to work this morning, looked at this post, and I'm still laughing about it!

I think it's all in the look "I'm" giving :lol:

The other day, I laughed so hard, I jizzed all over myself.