The Crazy Life of Alfred Packer!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
- Alfred was a vegetarian but he wasn't always one. His life story is certainly a crazy one!
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Rhetty for History
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Yukon, OK 73085
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The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (ECV) is a fraternal organization dedicated to the preservation of the heritage of the American West, especially the history of the Mother Lode and gold mining regions of the area. There are chapters in California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Outposts in other western states. Members call themselves "Clampers." The organization's name is in Dog Latin, and has no known meaning; even the spelling is disputed, sometimes appearing as "Clampus," "Clampsus," or "Clampsis." The motto of the Order, Credo Quia Absurdum, is generally interpreted as meaning "I believe it because it is absurd;"[1] the proper Latin quotation Credo quia absurdum est, is from the Christian apologist Tertullian (c. 160-220), who rejected rationalism and accepted a Gospel which addressed itself to the "non-rational levels of perception."
-wikipedia
Thanks for helping us out on this fraternal organization. I don't recall ever running into them in any place I have visited before.
@@RhettyforHistory no problem, my pleasure. I haven't heard of them either, until today.
Thanks for the consistent adventures to all things Americana.
😎🇺🇸
You're welcome my friend!
I believe because it's absurd. 🤔 A Latin Credo.
WOW !!
Really love learning our American history.
Thank you.
God bless
We really do have some crazy but interesting history. Thank you for watching Mary!
I know I shouldn’t laugh but when he said he became a vegetarian later in life that was not only ironic but pretty funny 😳 i’ve seen a lot of E Clampus Vitas placard’s in Arizona. They seem to be in an historical group that honors old west pioneers. And wow, a Fox hole and a fox in a cemetery. That’s something I never want to see here in California 😳😊👍
I was thinking you had seen a fox in a cemetery. Was it a coyote? I haven't heard of this group before and I have never seen them mark any other old west graves that I have visited so that is interesting. I'm not sure if the vegetarian thing is true but it certainly adds to the strangeness of the whole store! Thank you for watching!
@@RhettyforHistory Looked like a fox to me.
@@RhettyforHistory …. That was a fox
In 1968, the students at UC Boulder named their cafeteria after Packer, with the tag line "Have a friend for lunch." Ya gotta love it!
That is so strange! I have seen several other people mention that as well. Even stating they have a raw meat day. Not only that but a college in Gunnison Colorado also has their cafeteria named after him. Thank you for watching!
@@RhettyforHistory Bunch of weirdos if you ask me
Thanks for another great video. I'm afraid that people are chipping pieces of his headstone off for souvenirs, I've seen it done in other cemeteries of the graves of the infamous. In fact, the cement slab over his grave was placed there to ward off trophy hunters.
You are right! I have seen it in so many of the old west outlaw and depression era gangster graves that I visit. Thank you for watching!
I am a new subscriber to your channel. Thank you for the great videos.
Welcome to the channel and I'm glad you are here! Thank you for watching and subscribing!
Thank you very much for sharing this video. As always it was very interesting. I really like your Western series. 🤠 I liked the fox,🦊 she looked sweet. Imagine her making her den in a cemetery 😮.
Stay safe and God bless
I wonder what the deal is with Foxes lately. Seems like there are a lot around. Boy, you really dug deep on this one. That area is grown up pretty bad, hidden headstones and all. Still watching on my big screen.
Maybe the population is growing on them. We have seen a couple of them near where we live in Oklahoma City. I have ever seen them in OKC before though. Thank you for watching James!
Great video as always Rhetty. I have never heard of this man before. There's a channel here on TH-cam called Wild West Extravaganza and it's host Josh covers alot of famous people from the old west. He done a 2 part video on a man known as Liver Eating Johnson awhile back. Do you plan on going to Doc Holliday's grave while you are in Colorado?
I am familiar with Liver eating Johnson and he is probably more famous than this one. At some point I hope to cover him as well. I will certainly have a story on Doc as well as some other figures in the old west. One will get even more strange than this one. Thanks for watching watching telling me about that other channel. I wasn't familiar with it.
@@RhettyforHistory your welcome. He has covered alot of Old West Figures such as Tom Horn and Sam Bass, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid to name a few.
Sounds like some interesting subjects! Certainly right up my alley!
In digging his den he might have dug up a forgotten grave.
He really did have quite a den in there. I've never seen a fox do that in a cemetery. Thank you for watching!
Sounds like he had his own little Donner pass
That he did. At least the Donner party seemed more like a survival thing whereas his sounds like it wasn't so much. The sign summarized it but there is a lot that is strange on this case! Thank you for watching!
I could barley see the word but at first I thought it said “vegetarian”. Definitely not a cannibal.
Yea they might wanna get the fox out.
Other than digging a hole he may be beneficial to the cemetery. His hole was not damaging any of the graves and the pipe looked like it had been unused for decades. Even so it was intact. If he did hit a grave those were new enough that there would be a cement crypt. But he really wasnt under a cement marker. My guess is that he would help keep away the rats and that would be beneficial. There is a sexton that lives in a house in the cemetery and I think he or she was maintaining the cemetery very well.
We had a fox here at the national ranching and heritage was killing off the jack rabbits we had
Been to the spot where he ate. Didn't know he was a yankee.
I haven't been to the spot but I knew about it. I wanted to go there this trip but just didn't have time. Thank you for watching!
Does his being a yankee explain his cannibalism? Or make it more interesting?
Pronunciation Uray Ouray, Sīwatach ...............
Good morning Rhett 🙋🏽. OMG ‼️ I could never eat a human body 👅. He probably would have eaten me too, because I would have DIED from a heart attack ‼️🤣😅😂. Have a awesome day Rhett‼️
Good morning Carole! Thank you for watching!
Thank you for showing. Another interesting story, you shared with us. I´m speaking English quite well, but with you, I often learn words, that were new to me (den and magpie). Great work like always!
You are doing well and this is great you can learn new words too! Thank you for watching!
Thank you, Rhett for this very interesting and yet puzzling story about, Alfred Packer. I'm curious did he have any surviving family members, such as a wife, children, siblings, etc. I was very surprised to see a fox and den in a cemetery, great investigating of this Old West story, as you always bring us information we sometimes have never heard before. Take care 🐎
The fox den was different but I really loved seeing it in there. I'm sure it is beneficial to the cemetery as they probably kill the rats. As far as siblings he had a couple but I am not sure where they went. He had no wife or children. I think he basically died a lonely old man suffering from dementia and claiming his innocence the whole time. The whole story is crazy but someone in the comments said that Colorado University named their cafeteria after Packer. The story just seems to get more and more weird. Thank you for watching Brenda!
No. Lol
So many people back in those days wouldn't listen to the indigenous people regarding travel and weather. I guess their thousands of years of experience wasn't important enough! What a unusual story about a quirky guy. Another good one.
He was certainly an odd guy and I don't really think anyone felt comfortable around him. Thank you for watching!
E Clampus Vitus it’s pretty prevalent in our part of California and they do a lot of historical preservation in addition to a lot of drinking. LOL This story certainly reminds me of the Donner party and what they had to do to survive. And it sounds like as in the Donner Party there is some question as to whether or not outright murder took place for bodies to consumed. My son used to live in Littleton and I used to visit him but I didn’t get to visit the cemetery. He has since moved to California. Thanks for another great video.
I don't recall seeing them in anything I have ever visited but that is interesting. I thought it was connected to Alfred. This is a lot like the Donners. Alfred might have had more issues to begin with. What the sign didn't say is that he was in the army twice and he was discharged due to epilepsy both times. He was a shoemaker while he was in. He must have given off some bad vibes though. The party of stayed with Chief Ouray but just a few days later a small number of them took off for Los Pinos Indian Agency. Packer tried to follow but the men pulled guns on him and told him to turn around and that they wanted him to stay away. 9 days later is when he took off again with the five men. It's been described that he was odd acting when he appeared in Los Pinos in April. Spending money freely but surprisingly fit. Something was still odd about him. They wanted to hang him on the spot but a General Adams at the agency saved him. Thanks for watching my friend!
Rhetty I’m glad Mr Packard never came to Oklahoma Territory!
I'm not aware of anyone like this being in Oklahoma and I agree with you on that. Thank you for watching!
Wow What a way to stay alive. Thanks Rhetty for teaching me something I never knew. Crazy
You're welcome. It's a crazy story! Thank you for watching!
As always another super vlog. Glad you are following Faces of the Forgotten too.
Thank you for watching! Yes he really does a great job on his channel!
Love the fox. On one of Steve’s’ visiting cemeteries there were deer feeding on the flowers left on the graves. It was very cool to watch. Don’t you just love Colorado, it’s beautiful. Why do people always become good citizens in prison? Why would anyone memorialize a cannibal? Fascinating story, thank you very much.
I do remember that video where he had the deer. I have ran into various wildlife around in cemeteries. Sometimes it is deer or turkeys but occasionally there is something different. Thank you for watching Nadia!
Love your videos, so respective :). and that fox was beautiful.
Thank you very mush for watching and that fox was a special treat!
Bet the little red fox living in Al's graveyard and eyeing a magpie is not a vegetarian.
Haha! Very true my friend! How in the world can you be a vegetarian during those times in Colorado? Seems like that could be challenging. So much of his story never seems to adds up. Thank you for watching!
Thank you Rhetty! I am so intrigued by your videos! 👍
You're welcome Melanie and I am happy to hear you are enjoying the videos. Thank you so much for watching!
Nice video. I ride my bike past the cemetery several times a week and stop to visit the grave every few years. I hadn't seen the bench before. I think that's the most notable grave in the Denver area, but the people who shaped the early history of the state are buried north of the city in Riverside Cemetery. Thanks for posting!
The Denver area has a lot of notable people. I loved my visit there and I will certainly be covering more in the area in upcoming videos. Someone in the comments said that the cafeteria at CU is named after Packer and the same thing with a college in Gunnison. Thank you for watching Jim!
@@RhettyforHistory Yes, the CU Boulder dining area is the Alfred Packer Grill. Or at least it used to. It was the location of the anual raw meat eating competition in years gone by. I'm not sure if that fine tradition is still being observed.
Wow! Annual raw meat eating contest?
Interesting bit of trivia....sometimes Packer's first name is referred to as "Alferd"....evidently Packer had a tattoo of his name inadvertently misspelled!
I did not know he had a tattoo but I have seen his name as Alfred and Alferd as well as Al on many different things. I tried to stick with the headstone that I was covering. Thank you for watching Galen!
We used to camp above Lake City Colorado up a mining road near an old ghost town named Capital City. We did this for many summers with my parents, but one year we decided to wait until September, till the foliage turned, and stay in a cabin in Lake City. This was past the peak tourist season and after school had started in surrounding states. I was still working as a professional photographer and took time to explore the area, and take shots, with an unexpected blanket of snow covering everything. We also had plenty of time to explore the shops before they closed for the season, as well as the Alford Packord marker. There was a very interesting museum in Lake City, that contained a very large, very detailed doll house with miniature furniture, that was built by hand by Alfred Packer, in prison late in his term.. The doll house, had also been completely wired, with very tiny lights throughout. I do not know if Packer wired the house, or someone else did. The Alfred Packer story is, indeed stranger than fiction. It has been many years since I studied, or did any serious reading about the tragic incident but the stories that Packer told about the order of the five men's death, and how, and why, Packer killed the last man was always suspect. The only person that really knew the truth was Alfred Packer, the only one to survive, after promising to guide the party through the mountains.
It is a beautiful area of the country. I believe there was so much vandalism in this area that they have that memorial marker closed off to the public now. It is on private land. That may be where their graves are too but I don't know for sure. I didn't know about the museum. The thing that makes him more suspect is his verbal account of what happened was different than the statement of what General Adams took from him in a signed confession. The general formed a search party to look for the men and Packer went with them to show them where they were at. Packer acted like he was lost and then pulled a knife on the search party leader. Packer wad thrown in jail while they continued looking. They found all five of the men together and not scattered on the way as the signed confession stated. So Packer was officially arrested and thrown in jail which was a log cabin. Someone helped him escape although it is not known who. When he was found 9 years later General Adams took another signed confession that did not match the precious one or the oral account of what happened. There is a lot of strange things throughout his whole life and story. Thank you for watching and sharing about that doll house.
I enjoy your videos. You do a good job
Thank you Marsha! I'm glad you are enjoying the videos and I appreciate you watching as well as commenting!
Sorry, my English isn't too good, what exactly Is a chapter? Love your show
Thank you so much for watching Mary! A chapter is just like another branch or club or the original that was somewhere else.
There was a story from the 1970’s that there is a college cafeteria in Colorado named the Alfred Packet Grill
There are two named that just going by the comments below. One at Colorado University in Boulder and another at a college in Gunnison. Thank you for watching Robert!
Wow all kinds of new discoveries! Glad you are having a good time! Best wishes and safe travels😊
Thank you so much for watching Brenda!
Interesting History Enjoyed Thankyou Rhetty
It's a strange one but I am glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for watching Lindsay!
thanks for a very unusual story. Though gruesome , you wonder what you would do faced with starvation and snow bound.
I hope I never have to face that predicament! Thank you so much for watching!
Deffently makes ya wonder forsure. Thanks for sharing.
You're welcome and thank you for watching Rebecca!
There was also a story and I believe I saw it on 60 minutes Australia where there was a troop of army guys that were going across I believe the Himalayan mountains or some trail and they did the same thing as the weak ones died off they ended up eating their bodies in order to stay alive… If I remember correctly it was the son of one of the vets that told his dad’s story
Very interesting and I did not know about that one. The famous story kind of like that was the Donner Party here in America. But it does seem to be more of a survival thing whereas Packer was more of an outright murder type thing. Thank you for watching!
Rhetty, So what happened when you got home and told Mrs. Rhetty that you saw a gorgeous fox today? LOL
Ha! Well she was at the hotel but I called her and told her that after I left the cemetery! Thank you for watching!
Awesome tour! My grandparents are buried in this cemetery as well.
This was an interesting cemetery and I enjoyed driving around some and then walking thru other parts. Thank you for watching Julie!
Holy moly... I'm typing this from Allegheny county, PA right now!
(Not really that amazing, but hey... lol.)
😎🇺🇸
Thanks for another great story.
❤ foxes.
😁
He's from your area! Do you want to claim him? Just kidding. Knowing what he did, survival or not, he must have been a lonely man. Thank you for watching!
@@RhettyforHistory 😂
Very odd to say the least. I used to live in Denver years ago and worked in the Denver tech center and used to see those foxes all the time!
They are actually beautiful animals. We have some in Oklahoma but it's mainly coyotes. Thank you for watching!
Fasinateing and I do enjoy your music 🎵🎶 too 😃
Glad to hear you enjoy it and I appreciate you watching and commenting!
Huh ? lol ok… wow I’m amazed. But might I also add fox is too cool.
Yeah I really enjoyed seeing the fox. I see them every so often in Oklahoma but I have never seen one in a cemetery. It's usually stray dogs or coyotes. Thank you for watching!
I heard a lady telling about this guy the other day. She said there is a parade every year in this guy's honor.
That is interesting and I did not know that. Very strange. Thank you for watching!
Hey Ready, just saw a video you might be interested in on Billy the Kid… On YT “profiling evil” on a book that was written by Daniel Evans... Belle Star was also mentioned with some little known knowledge
Thanks for telling me about that video.
@@RhettyforHistory ❤️
Odd! But very interesting! Great vlog !
Thank you so much for watching my friends!
I wonder if he killed all of them or if He and Shannon Bell did it together then towards the end Alfred killed him.
We may never know. Al gave two different official confessions and what he told the group that made it there before him was different than that even. He certainly played a part in most of it if not all of it. Thank you for watching Greg!
I wonder if the fox dug down into an old grave hence the vertebrae. 🤔
It's difficult to say if it is from that or something else. Thank you for watching Laura!
Thank you for covering this!
You're welcome and thank you for watching Bonnie!
I have read about Packer before. Had no idea he had a memorual.
Me neither. And someone from the comments below stated that the cafeteria at Colorado University is named in his honor. Someone else also said that the cafeteria at another college in Gunnison, CO has the same distinction. Thank you for watching!
Just ran into your TH-cam page and like it. I worked for the Hinsdale County Sheriff's Office years ago, late 80's in Lake City Colorado when a College from back east came out and dug up Al's victims. They where roughly buried a foot in the ground due to the frozen conditions at that time. They took the remains and examined them and found what Al told them was true. One skull had a bullet hole in it. They also saw where a knife had scrapped the bones guessing it was caused by him taking the meat off. The remains were returned and placed back in the original position found and buried. The college in Boulder I believe it is, is where the fraternity is that left the tokens. Their mess hall there is called the Packer Cafe. Years ago someone had stolen the Tombstone at the site from Lake City but they recovered it at the college, it was returned to Lake City. Keep up the work!!! Lee.
Sad that people feel they have to destroy someones grave marker. What does it prove other than they have a destructive nature.
Praying for us all to stay well, warm, safe and living free under the grace of the Holy Lord God of Israel and our US Constitution. In Jesus name. Amen.
WOW what a great story....Thanks...
You're welcome and thank you for watching!
I would love to hear more about his victims. Great story though creepy. Thank you.
I was hoping to make it out to that monument during this trip but it was a little further out of the way and I simply did not have the time. I have known about this story for decades so I will definitely make it there at some point. I don't know when though. Thank you for watching Linda!
@@RhettyforHistory Thank you from a fan forever here.
You're welcome and I'm happy to have you along on the adventures!
He kinda resembles Chuck Manson. Minus the forehead tattoo, of course.
Saguache is pronounced "sawatch", at least in Colorado.
This guy has quite a story! I seen a program in which They came to believe his story of self defense was true. Someone actually was at the spot where all this happened and they found his pistol and his account of what happened matched up somehow!
It's difficult to say. They did a mock trial in the 90s and found him innocent. Of course that was not official. They also dug up the bodies to examine them. You can see it in papers. Nothing more than bones. They could see where there was knife damage to the bones consistent with stabbings, cuttings and a shooting. But of course they couldn't tell who did it. They were initially all together and the victims were all together and only one survivor. It really leans towards him. He had a verbal account on what happened which didn't match his signed confession. Then when he led the search party to find the bodies he acted like he was lost. He came after the leader of the search party with a knife. The search party found the victims all together which did not match his verbal account or signed confession. He was arrested and thrown in jail. The jail was a log cabin. Someone helped him escape but nobody knows who. He was given a makeshift key for the shackles and supplies. He was not caught until 9 years later. A French man who was part of the original party of 21 recognized him in Cheyenne. Told a sheriff who arrested him. Again he made a signed confession. This one did not match his previous signed confession or his verbal account. He was charged on premeditated murder and found guilty. He appealed and the CO Supreme Court threw out the case on a technicality. They retried him and found him guilty of manslaughter. 8 years for each man so 40 years total. It was the longest sentence of its kind in US History at the time. Of course he did not serve long and he was paroled. It's a very strange story. Gets even more weird since he became a vegetarian supposedly. There are two schools in Colorado that have cafeterias named after him. One is Colorado University and the others is Western State College in Gunnison, CO.
@@RhettyforHistory That is one crazy story! What ever happened after all his crazy storys no one will ever know the truth even though it looks like he really did do it. They sure were lenient on him for hardly serving ant time. Looks like in the long run he actually pulled it off so to speak!
I think you are right on all of that. He got off too easy in my opinion.
I'm enjoying your Old West Tales!
I'm happy to hear you are enjoying them and I appreciate you watching!
Always enjoy your videos!!
Strange story but interesting
It is strange for sure. Thank you for watching Debra!
Great story as always Rhetty 😀 thanks for the post. ❤️🇦🇺
You're welcome and thank you for watching!
@@RhettyforHistory Hi Rhetty, just watched the nightly news here in Australia 🇦🇺 and was shocked to see devastating floods in Tennessee, just horrible. So sorry to hear this, hope you and all of your family are okay, as I don’t know where you are right now. My love goes out to everyone over there. ❤️
Have lots of Ground Hogs (Whistle Pigs)😁
Good morning Rhetty
Good morning Victoria!
That is a strange story no doubt. The fox reminded me of a story my dad told about walking home after a date one night. He stopped at a cemetery and set down to rest a minute. He said his flashlight went out, and he felt something move under the ground where he was sitting, which caused him to make it home a little quicker than usual.
I bet! There are all kinds of critters that come out in a cemetery at night. I have seen a lot of nocturnal animals in them. Thank you for watching George!
The fox is looking for Henny Penny when she thought the sky was falling..
Very interesting, I didn't know he was a Vet nor that he became a Vegetarian. I aways learn some interesting new facts that aren't in the collums in my Old West Mags and New Letters.
He was certainly a strange figure in Colorado and U.S. History. Thank you for watching Kirk!
@@RhettyforHistory You're welcome. I always enjoy your videos
I'm happy to hear you do!
E Clampus Vitus, "The Clampers" believe in honoring the absurd. One of the requirements for induction is a great sense of humor. One of the founders of this organization (1857), was known as the Jokester. This subject is endless. Thanks for the video Rhetty, I think I am at a rabbit hole. Ha, Ha.
Beat me to it...lol.
🤷🏼♂️
Much of his story seems really out there and maybe it is part of this fraternal organization. I knew nothing about them until some made mention of it in the comments. Thanks for filling us in a little more about them being jokesters.
I love cookies!
Thanks for watching!
Thank's for sharing Alfred Packer's . Life story . I couldn't do what he did . But glad he become a vegan . Have a wonderful day .
It sure would be a horrible experience to go thru. It's a little difficult trying to sort thru fiction and facts on this guy. Thank you so much for watching Patricia!
Wild!
Thanks for watching!
Apart of Colorado School curriculum 💯
Always great that was some story. Might be a lot more to it Rett.My Grandad had big problem's on his farm with the fox , killing. Sheep & chicken. He had a fox head on the wall. I didn't like it . They also did the Fox & hounds hunting from the farm. All looking very splendid. But not my cup of tea. Thanks Rhett. Love to family. 😊🐘💝
I would imagine the fox is beneficial in the cemetery as it would help keep away rats. Those are a nuisance in cemeteries. Thank you for watching Yvonne!
Soylent Green does a body good!
I've been past that cemetery many a time but have never stopped. I hit all the mountain cemeteries I see but not so much the front range. I enjoy your videos very much. Btw, the cafeteria at CU is named for Alferd.
I did not know that they have named a cafeteria in his honor. That is interesting and I never really would have guessed that would happen either. Thank you for watching!
I have heard parts of this story from a friend of mine who had roots in Colorado. Thanks for filling the blanks. The placard explains a lot more, and I think my friend kind of embellished some parts of the story, almost to the point you'd thought he was telling a joke.
The placard does a good job of summerizing the facts but there is more to it and when you put it all together it does sound embellished but the odds are that what your friend told you is probably true. He was in the army twice and discharged both times for epilepsy. While in the army he made shoes for the infantry. Didn't fight. When the men were staying with Chief Ouray there was a small handful that decided to head on to Los Pinos Indian Agency just 4 days after the chief said stay. Packer caught up with them and the men pulled guns on him. They ordered him to return to Chief Ouray and to stay away from them. He did as they instructed but 9 days later he took off with the five men that met their end. When he emerged on his own in April the men that had went before him questioned him. He stated that his feet were frozen and he was stuck and that the other men abandoned him. If that was the case he would have never made it out alive. Then they saw him spending excessive money and using a knife from another man. The group decided to hang him. When they were doing that the head of the Indian agency came in and saved him. General Adams. He investigated and interrogated Packer. He got a signed confession that did not match his first story. Basically sounded like it wasn't his fault and that the last man was self defense. So the general formed a search party to find the missing men. Packer led the party but acted like he was lost and then charged at the leader of the search party with a knife. They thru him in jail and the search party did find the missing men. They were in a concentrated area and not scattered along the way like he said. Nothing they saw coincided or matched what packer said. Then they charged him with murder and while he was in jail he escaped. The jail was nothing more than a log cabin. Someone helped Packer escape but no one knows who. They gave him supplies and a makeshift key to get out of the shackles. 9 years later a member of the original 21, a French guy, recognized him in Cheyenne, CO. The local sheriff arrested him and they turned him over to General Adams. He interrogated him again and got another signed confession which did not match the other one or the verbal account he had given previously. Packer went to trial and was found guilty of pre meditated murder. It was appealed and went to the CO Supreme Court where it was thrown out on some technicalities. They then had to start a new trial and this time they found him guilty of manslaughter. He got 8 years for each man which was 40 years total. Of course he served nowhere near that when he was paroled. I don't think anyone every really and truly trusted him and he was probably lonely. The vegetarian thing is even more wacky and that would have been difficult to do back then. The whole time he maintained his innocence until he died. What makes that worse is that he suffered from dementia which is what he died of. His name is referred to as Al, Alferd or Alfred. As you can see on the marker, placard and the bench his name is listed as Alfred. Someone mentioned in the comments that Colorado University has named their cafeteria Alferd Packer. So the story is getting more and more weird! Thank you for watching!
Nice little tid bit, I remember hearing about this many years ago, but had forgotten the story. Self defense, he was the only one able to move around, sounds off the wall to me.
It really is a crazy and different story. When he first appeared he gave a verbal account of what happened. Then he gave a signed written confession that was totally different. That led him with a search party to find the remains in which he said he was lost then tried to stab the leader. They threw him in jail and he escaped. When they found him 9 years later he gave a completely different signed confession. None of them matched each other. Thank you for watching patricia.
I saw the comment on the victims but Rhetty said he’d do some research on the story when he goes back so I won’t step on toes for an additional vlog. But the victims were Shannon Wilson Bell, James Humphrey, Frank Butcher Miller, George “California” Noon, and Israel Swann. Rest of the story is quite long on the how, why
I would definitely like to do the victims. The memorial for them is in quite a ways away. Thank you helping out on the names.
@@RhettyforHistory oh no problem. Someone asked I forget who off hand sorry…but it’s really a long story you probably know all of it anyway. I didn’t look to see where they were buried or anything but I sort of assumed they aren’t all from the same place since they were miners or looking for gold I figured they came from different “homes”/cities or states even
@@RhettyforHistory I do recall that after Alfred escapes and goes to Wyoming he had the nerve to use one of the other man’s names for alias, not a victim one from the original group I think it’s Swartz or something close to that
I worked at the old prison ina Canon City, Co where Alfred Packer did his time. We called it "the walls". He did parole out but was later killed in a bar fight. When the judge sentenced him he sais there was only a few democrats in Colorado and you killed most of them.
I thought I had read that Packer suffered from Dementia and died from that in Deer Creek, Colorado. What he was doing up there I do not know. But his body was shipped back to Littleton where he lived. Thank you for watching Marsha. I had no idea he did time at Canon City.
The getting killed in a bar fight is just what I was told from the old times. Your version is probably correct
It's actually documented. Nothing exciting like the bar fight but that does sound really cool!
Hey Rhett, now that's a story!
I think it's interesting that he killed the last man in "self defense". Self defense of what?
Dying from starvation?
Then becoming a vegetarian.
Very good story.
How did you come up with this story?
Stay safe and well my friend.
I remember reading about him in a magazine gosh I don't know 20 years ago or more. So I have known about him for years. The sign was very brief but if I had told the story much of it would have been repeated. He was in the army twice. He was a shoemaker in the army and discharged twice for epilepsy episodes he kept having. When the party was staying with Chief Ouray a small group of men set off to the Los Pinos Indian Agency. When they did Packer caught up to them and wanted to go. He must have gave them bad vibes because they pulled guns on him and told to return to camp and stay away from them. He did as he was told. 9 days later he left with the men who met their fateful end. They were also headed to the Indian agency. When he emerged by himself at the camp in April he was healthy looking and not like someone who was out in this horrible winter. He was seen spending money freely that they knew he didn't have and then they saw him with a knife that another man had. They were suspicious the whole time but he told them his feet got frozen and they abandoned him. Those men were going to hang him and then a General Adams of the post stepped in and saved him. Be investigated and interrogated him. Took a statement from him. Basically sort of survival type thing. But almost like he didn't really do much of it. So they figured if he was telling the truth he could lead a search party to where they were at scattered along the journey as he said. They went out and Packer charged at the search party leader with knife. They through him in jail and they found the bodies near Lake City all together. None of his story added up to what they found. So they arrested him for murder. The problem was the jail was really log cabin and Nota jail. Someone helped him escape by giving him supplies and a makeshift key to get the shackles off. A French guy who was one of the men recognized him in Cheyenne 9 years later. He was arrested by the sheriff. They notified General Adams who got another statement that was totally different. Seemed more like what the sign said. He was tried and found guilty of premeditated murder. The Colorado Supreme Court thru the case out for something they found wasn't right. He was then retried and found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 40 years but of course didn't serve that as he was paroled. I'm sure he didn't have many friends. Knowing what he did I can't see anyone really trusting him. He died of dementia in another city. I think it was Deer Creek and then brought back to where he was living which was Littleton. It is a very strange story and has always stood out. I wanted to go see the memorial at Lake City but we just did not have enough time. Thank you for watching my friend!
@@RhettyforHistory Thank you for a more detailed story.
I wonder if the epilepsy had any thing to do with his behavior.
I've never heard of him, so this is very different like you said.
Thank you sir.
I've wondered that same thing. It's possible his ailment was labeled as that but perhaps there was something else that mimicked it as they understood it at the time. Or maybe he had something additional.
@@RhettyforHistory We'll never know.
This story is very well know in Colorado especially if you are a native.
Brutal reality
That it could be. Thank you for watching!
Oh my! That was a bit unsettling! They went to the expense of erecting a plack about someone who ate his friends or acquaintances? There must be more to the story? Well he fought in the Civil War and for the right side, so there's that.
Not a whole lot more. The plaque had a summarized version of it. But he was in the army twice discharged for the same thing twice. He was a shoemaker in the Army. His two sign confessions were completely different and those were different than his initial verbal story. Nothing really adds up. But as someone pointed out in the comments Colorado University's cafeteria is named after him. It's all very strange! Thank you for watching!