The History of Cannibalism: Information on Its Origins

In the late 1800s, a man named Alfred Packer led an expedition into Utah that got stranded in the cold winter weather. They were without food for days and Packer was forced to kill his five companions with an ax so that they could eat them. Cannibalism is not something we like to think about, but it happened nonetheless. After he was arrested and tried for murder, Packer’s trial became a media sensation and to famous composers because of its sensationalistic nature.

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In the late 1800s, a man named Alfred Packer led an expedition into Utah that got stranded in the cold winter weather. They were without food for days and Packer was forced to kill his five companions with an ax so that they could eat them. Cannibalism is not something we like to think about, but it happened nonetheless. After he was arrested and tried for murder, Packer’s trial became a media sensation and to famous composers because of its sensationalistic nature. So what does this have anything to do with us?” Well as strange as it may sound today, when people hear or read about cannibalism one of their first thoughts might be if there is contamination to the food that they eat.

“Packer was forced to kill his five companions with an ax so that they could eat them.” Contamination is always a concern when it comes to eating anything from raw meat or vegetables, and if you are in doubt as far as knowing what’s safe and not then it would be best for you just stay away from all of these things.

Regardless of how this may sound, Packer felt remorse for killing his friends even though he knew that animals were killed and eaten every day (this being before any laws existed). He said “I did not know at first why I had done such a dreadful thing, but after reflection…I came to realize that I might have died myself–that I might have been killed and eaten–and that if these savages had not done it, some other savage would –either then or later…”

Packer’s group was one of the first to explore this area.

In 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through Wyoming (although they never encountered any cannibalism). Packer’s party is considered to be the last major expedition into Yellowstone before permanent settlement took place in Montana around 1860.

Cannibalism’s Role in America’s Past: Mountain Man James “Jim” Bridger is often cited as being the first American to encounter cannibalism. When he was a child, his family and that of Nathaniel Wyeth were captured by Blackfoot Indians. The tribe demanded that they be killed for food but one old woman intervened on their behalf and so they were spared. According to him, she said, “I ain’t forgot what you did long ago.”

A few years later when Bridger met up with those same people during an expedition into this territory with Wyeth, the chief remembered him from before and refused them passage through because there had been danger of starvation at the time (Bridger).

During Lewis and Clark’s expedition, in 1805 they had encountered human remains that were being used as a medicine “prized by the natives” (Lewis and Clark).

In the 1840s, James Beckwourth was said to have witnessed his father-in-law scalped and eaten. When he left for California years later with Joseph Reddeford Walker, it is believed that Beckwourth began secretly practicing cannibalism along their journey when the game became scarce. There are other stories of people who tried eating other humans during times of starvation but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence proving this beyond these few instances.

Bridger also made mention of finding out about one tribe that ate only meat – not even vegetables or fruits could be had by them.

In 1807, Lewis and Clark’s Native American guide Sacajawea mentioned that the local tribes around the area they were in would often eat one another as a form of revenge or thanks for some great deed.

The cannibalism made it into the news when in 1806 on his expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike found himself surrounded by hostile natives who threatened him with violence unless he shared his food supplies with them. He left without any evidence of what happened next but was quoted saying “I have determined never again to risk myself among such savages.”