by Kathleen "Katie" O'Donnell
of Punkin' Doodle Boo Folk Art

In many a quiet town's history, there lurks a tale of strangeness or legend that is passed down from one generation to another. Frightening tales of happenings that leave lasting impressions on us as children, these stories prompt us to sleep with the hall light on, or the closet door shut tight. Spooky tales that make us walk briskly past a dilapidated landmark or old cemetery. Later, when we recall those stories as adults, we find we still get goose bumps on our flesh. Recalling those tales as perfectly rational grownups, we still find ourselves questioning our belief in supernatural occurrences, witchcraft, and mythological beings.

July 2008

Last month, we ventured across the ‘Great Pond’ to visit the legendary monster of Loch Ness. This month, we will scale The San Juan Mountains of Colorado to explore the true tale of Alferd (not Alfred) Packard, the infamous “Colorado Cannibal”.

In 1991, I moved from the warm and tropical beaches of South Florida to the majestic mountains of Colorado. I moved here for new scenery and to attend college. I enrolled in the University of Colorado at Boulder, and one day I stumbled upon a statue of someone named Alferd Packer. I didn’t think much about it, or the oddly named cafeteria I dined in daily, until my boyfriend (now husband), and native Coloradan, told me the tale of the “Colorado Cannibal”.

In February of 1874, a violent Colorado winter storm descended upon the San Juan Mountain Range. Alferd Packer, and five other men, had set out on a treacherous journey into the Colorado wilderness during a very dangerous time of year. Packer acted as a local guide for the five Provo men, who had set off in search of new gold prospect sites recently discovered in the area around Breckenridge. The ill-fated trip was interrupted almost as soon as it had begun. The strong blizzard made continuing the journey impossible, so the group tried to set up camp. The five Utah prospectors; Shannon Bell, George Noon, James Humphrey, Israel Swan, and Frank Miller would never be heard from again.

Two months after the party set out, Alferd Packer, all alone, came down from the San Juan Range, weakened, but still alive. All he had in his possession was a rifle and a skinning knife. Packer told the folk in town that once the storm hit, he had hunkered down to make camp. The other men had spread out in search of food. Packer said once they left camp, they were lost to the blizzard, and he never saw them again.

Packer spent the remainder of the spring in Los Pinos recovering from his ordeal. Once he was rested and strong enough, Packer set out for the town of Saguache. In the sleepy little town of Saguache, it was observed by many that Alferd had come into some money. As a result, some were suspicious of Packard’s story about his survival in the wilderness, and the untimely demise of his travel partners. Determined to find out the truth, a law man named Charles Adams took Packard into custody, and together, they returned to Los Pinos to investigate the matter further. When questioned, Packard gave two conflicting accounts of what happened to him and the party that he was hired to guide. His first story indicated that Swan had died almost right away and he and the others ate him because their food supplies had run out. In a later story, Packer had told authorities that he killed Mr. Bell, but that Bell had attacked him and he, Packer, acted solely in self-defense.

Obviously disgusted, and highly suspicious, the authorities moved Packer back to Saguache. There he was jailed and scheduled to go to trial for murder. Later that summer, on a hot August day, Packer escaped the Saguache jail. On that same day in 1874, the summer mountain thaw revealed the grizzly remains of the Provo prospectors. It was said that the site showed obvious signs of foul play. Packard had escaped and was at large for almost nine years. In a bizarre twist of fate, a former associate of the ill-fated prospectors, discovered Packer in Wyoming and immediately turned him in.

In March of 1883, Packer was again taken into custody and transported to Denver to await trial. The law questioned him again about his time in the San Juan’s. Packer once again claimed that he had acted in self-defense. However, he did add that he had stolen money from the dead men and took a rifle. As a result, Packer was charged with the murder of Israel Swan and again he was scheduled to go to trial.

During the trial in Lake City, Packer continued to maintain his innocence, but the jury didn’t see it that way. He was found guilty. The presiding Judge, Melville Gerry, sentenced Packer to be hung. He told the courtroom and Packer that he would be hung by the neck until he was “dead, dead, dead”. Packer appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court and his sentence was overturned. In his second trial, he was found guilty of manslaughter and he was sentenced to 40 years.

After serving 17 years, Packer was paroled. The argument was that Packer was convicted on circumstantial evidence and so he was released. Once released, Mr. Packer moved to a Denver suburb, Littleton, Colorado. There he lived out his years, quietly and without incident. In 1907 he passed away. He received a military burial and today he rests in a Littleton Cemetery.

The story of Alferd Packer is quite infamous to Colorado natives. So much so that in 1968, the University of Colorado in Boulder christened its cafeteria “The Alferd E. Packer Memorial Grill” and commissioned a very odd statue in his honor.

HalloweenArtists.com is a group of talented, artistic individuals who love "Spooky Stories and Frightful Folklore" and all things associated with All Hallows Eve. Each month I will feature a spooky tale that is based on truth and/or regional folklore. I welcome you to send in your own "Spooky Stories and Frightful Folklore" or make suggestions for an upcoming column. Most of all, we encourage you to bookmark our site, so that you may retell these stories to you and yours.

Till next time,
Katie

About the Author:
Kathleen "Katie" O'Donnell is a Colorado artist, educator and mother of two children whose nicknames inspired the title of her business. Her work has been featured in online artisan magazines, and shops and galleries across the country. Visit Katie here on HalloweenArtists.com or on her website at PunkinDoodleBooFolkArt.com.