Uploaded September 2021 | Updated September 2026, 6 minutes ago
The North American mineral rushes of the 19th Century saw hundreds of thousands flock to mountains and mines across the continent in search of fame and fortune, from panning for gold to working long, dangerous shifts down poorly run mines, entire industries exploded overnight, sucking in workers from around the world. During the San Juan Silver Rush of the 1870s, one of these workers was a young man named Alfred Packer, an epileptic, military cast-off, who drifted across America looking for his passport to a new life. He had lived a reasonably anonymous existence, until one fateful expedition saw him wind up almost starving to death, only surviving by eating his fellow party members, a surprisingly common occurrence in the Old West.
SOURCES
Keller, David (2015) The Story of Camp Douglas: Chicago's Forgotten Civil War Prison. The History Press, UK
Schechter, Harold (2015) Man-Eater: The Saga of Alfred G. Packer, American Cannibal. Head of Zeus, London, UK.
Brown, Robert Leaman (1965) An Empire of Silver: A History of the San Juan Silver Rush. Caldwell, Idaho, USA.
Randolph, John A. (1874) A Colorado Tragedy. Harper’s Weekly, Sunday 17th October, 1874. New York City, USA
The Cincinnati Enquirer (1874) Revelation of a Horrible Crime - Sequel to a Recent Cannibalistic Sensation! The Cincinnati Enquirer, 9th September, 1874. p.1. USA
The Abingdon Virginian (1874) A Horrible Diet. The Abingdon Virgianian, 25th September, 1874. p.1. USA
El Paso Herald (1901) Packer Released. El Paso Herald, 8th January, 1901. p.1. USA
The Herald (1989) Scientists Uncover Skull Bone. 19 July, 1989. p.22, USA.
The Orlando Sentinel (1989) Cannibal. 23 July, 1989, p.12, USA.
Christensen, Mike (1989) Final Word: Packer Guilty as Sin. The Daily Sentinal, 13 October, 1989, p.1. USA.
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For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: author.to/darkhistories
Connect with us on Facebook: facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: instagram.com/dark_histories
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072
or join our Discord community: discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
The North American mineral rushes of the 19th Century saw hundreds of thousands flock to mountains and mines across the continent in search of fame and fortune, from panning for gold to working long, dangerous shifts down poorly run mines, entire industries exploded overnight, sucking in workers from around the world. During the San Juan Silver Rush of the 1870s, one of these workers was a young man named Alfred Packer, an epileptic, military cast-off, who drifted across America looking for his passport to a new life. He had lived a reasonably anonymous existence, until one fateful expedition saw him wind up almost starving to death, only surviving by eating his fellow party members, a surprisingly common occurrence in the Old West.
SOURCES
Keller, David (2015) The Story of Camp Douglas: Chicago's Forgotten Civil War Prison. The History Press, UK
Schechter, Harold (2015) Man-Eater: The Saga of Alfred G. Packer, American Cannibal. Head of Zeus, London, UK.
Brown, Robert Leaman (1965) An Empire of Silver: A History of the San Juan Silver Rush. Caldwell, Idaho, USA.
Randolph, John A. (1874) A Colorado Tragedy. Harper’s Weekly, Sunday 17th October, 1874. New York City, USA
The Cincinnati Enquirer (1874) Revelation of a Horrible Crime - Sequel to a Recent Cannibalistic Sensation! The Cincinnati Enquirer, 9th September, 1874. p.1. USA
The Abingdon Virginian (1874) A Horrible Diet. The Abingdon Virgianian, 25th September, 1874. p.1. USA
El Paso Herald (1901) Packer Released. El Paso Herald, 8th January, 1901. p.1. USA
The Herald (1989) Scientists Uncover Skull Bone. 19 July, 1989. p.22, USA.
The Orlando Sentinel (1989) Cannibal. 23 July, 1989, p.12, USA.
Christensen, Mike (1989) Final Word: Packer Guilty as Sin. The Daily Sentinal, 13 October, 1989, p.1. USA.
----------
For extended show notes, including maps, links and scripts, head over to darkhistories.com
Support the show by using our link when you sign up to Audible: audibletrial.com/darkhistories or visit our Patreon for bonus episodes and Early Access: patreon.com/darkhistories
The Dark Histories books are available to buy here: author.to/darkhistories
Connect with us on Facebook: facebook.com/darkhistoriespodcast
Or find us on Twitter: twitter.com/darkhistories
& Instagram: instagram.com/dark_histories
Or you can contact us directly via email at contact@darkhistories.com
or via voicemail on: (415) 286-5072
or join our Discord community: discord.gg/cmGcBFf
The Dark Histories Butterfly was drawn by Courtney, who you can find on Instagram @bewildereye
Music was recorded by me © Ben Cutmore 2017
