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Jeremiah/Liver Eating Johnson

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jtmattison

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I watched some of the show "Mountain Men" on the History Channel tonight. It talked about Jeremiah Johnson. According to them, unlike the movie, he hunted the Indian warriors down and killed them. Not the other way around. It was also said he ate the livers of the men he killed and they gave him the name "Liver Eating Johnson".

First off, I had no idea Jeremiah Johnson really existed. Second, I didn't know he was also Liver Eating Johnson.

I love learning new things.

For the record, Jeremiah Johnson is my favorite movie ever.

HD
 
Huntin Dawg said:
First off, I had no idea Jeremiah Johnson really existed. Second, I didn't know he was also Liver Eating Johnson. HD

I found this about him...

Wikipedia® said:
Johnson is said to have been born in New Jersey with the name John Garrison. Some accounts say that he joined the United States Navy in 1846 during the Mexican-American War but, after striking an officer, he deserted, changed his name to John Johnston, and traveled west to trap and hunt in Wyoming. He also became a "woodhawk," supplying cord wood to steamboats. He was described as a large man, standing around six feet tall and weighing over two hundred pounds.

Rumors, legends and campfire tales abound about Johnson. Perhaps chief among them is this legend: In 1847, his American Indian wife was killed by members of the Crow tribe, which prompted Johnson to embark on a 20-year vendetta against the tribe. The legend says that he would cut out and eat the liver of each man killed, but it's quite possible that this only happened once and that he just pretended to eat the liver. In any case, he eventually became known as "Liver-Eating Johnson" (usually spelled without the t in Johnston). Since eating the liver of a victim is a symbolic way of completing a revenge slaying, some credence might be given to this activity.

Another story is when Johnson was ambushed by a group of Blackfoot warriors in the dead of winter on a foray to visit his Flathead kin, a trip that would have been over five hundred miles. The Blackfoot planned to sell him to the Crow, his mortal enemies, for a handsome price. He was stripped to the waist, tied with leather thongs and put in a teepee with an inexperienced guard outside. Johnson managed to chew through the straps, then knocked out his young guard with a two-finger jab between the eyes, took his knife and scalped him, then quickly cut off one of his legs. He made his escape into the woods, and survived on the Blackfoot's leg until he reached the cabin of Del Gue, his trapping partner, more dead than alive, a journey of about two hundred miles.
 
Musketman said:
Another story is when Johnson was ambushed by a group of Blackfoot warriors in the dead of winter on a foray to visit his Flathead kin, a trip that would have been over five hundred miles. The Blackfoot planned to sell him to the Crow, his mortal enemies, for a handsome price. He was stripped to the waist, tied with leather thongs and put in a teepee with an inexperienced guard outside. Johnson managed to chew through the straps, then knocked out his young guard with a two-finger jab between the eyes, took his knife and scalped him, then quickly cut off one of his legs. He made his escape into the woods, and survived on the Blackfoot's leg until he reached the cabin of Del Gue, his trapping partner, more dead than alive, a journey of about two hundred miles.
[/quote]

AHA!!! The ol' "two finger in the eye" trick....could have been avoided if the gaurd had only paid closer attention to theose re-runs of the Three Stooges...... :haha:
 
The other fellows covered John Johnston pretty well in his vendetta years. Later he was a scout for General Miles and later the sherrif of Sheridan County Wyoming.

The name Jerimiah Johnson was used because it sounded better than John Johnson. The "t" had been dropped because I guess it fell off the tongue a little easier than Johnston.
 
John Johnson was a real person. But like many of the people we know of in the west; he was different than we think he was. There is a new book that came out on him within the last 6-8 months that will rock the world with information on the real Jeremiah Johnson - The Avenging Fury of the Plains, John "Liver eating" Johnston by Dennis John McLelland.
I gave it a bad review in a history magazine, (not On The Trail where I am a staff writer, but another) not for the content and what he had taken time to dig up about him, but how he spent the first third of the book going point by point and debunking the stories told by Thrope and Bunker in their book and the later movie in a poor style. Great on insight and new knowledge, but reads like a woman scorned when he found out the facts he believed about a historical character was wrong. Editing was poor and while he has a doctorate in counseling psychology - he still uses the word squaw in his own writing (not just when it is used in a historical journal entry or diary use), a no-no.
If you do ever see it, it is worth the money. But be forwarned - it is like some books that give you serveral diamonds or rubies in amoungest the lesser.
mike.
 
If you are interested, there is a large and,in my humble opinion, well-written article on Johnson's Bowie Knife and Hawken rifle to be found in the publication "Arms and Armour, Volume 3, No.2, 2006. The article describes each piece in vivid detail and how these artifacts were traced to Johnsnon's ownership.
 
Johnson died in a Veterans Home in California. He had been sent there by his friends in the Rockies. He had fallen on hard times broke and mostly drunk.
It was around I think 1974 when his body had to be moved for a freeway project. School children helped take up money for his burial in Wyoming.
His body was moved to Old Town at Cody Wyoming. He is buried there above the river with some other men from that era.
I might also note that a group from the Muzzleloaders club in Cody was the color guard for the Wyoming burial. One of the members on this forum was in that Color Guard. :thumbsup:
Robert Redford led the cause to have Johnsons body moved from California to Wyoming for reburial.
 
This is one of my favorite films also, having only recently seen it. I was actually going to start a thread on it myself, so glad to see it was already done.

I have a question about a part in the film. When Del Gue and Johnson raid the indian camp to regain Del Gue's property, Del Gue tells Johnson to load his bear rifle (assuming the .50 Hawken) with nails. I am pretty sure that would work, but I'd like to be sure.
 
The question would be just how many do you load before it becomes an obstruction and not a projectile? Yikes!
 
Definitely something I had considered. I'd say no more than a bundle about the barrel diameter size. Seat then on the charge and hope for the best.
 
eastonhick said:
Definitely something I had considered. I'd say no more than a bundle about the barrel diameter size. Seat then on the charge and hope for the best.

Now we know why all those old barrels were shot out... :haha:
 
I seriously doubt that any sane mountain man would load his rifle with nails--even if he actually happened to have some in his possibles bag for some reason. It's a good film, but it has a lot of "Hollywoodizations" in it. :v
 
You got part of it right...It was the AMM who were
the honor guard and fired their rifles over the
casket that "Tri Robinson" a history teacher and
his students moved from California to Wyoming. I
doubt that a freeway would be going through the
Veterans Cemetery at Sawtell[spel]. yes Redford
was there...The casket was covered with concrete
after it was lowered....
 
Thats what I think too. I think it was a fifty,don't think I would want to shot a Grizzly with a 30 cal. I think it was the way they printed the letters back then, script like,the five letter was mistaken for a three. Dilly
 
The .30 caliber reference is a repetition of a probable typo in an early story about Johnston. Most movie people wouldn't know an historical fact if it ran up and bit them on the @$$!
 
It was probably 30 balls to the pound (guage), which is something like 53 caliber, IIRC.
 
One of the guys that post on the forum was and is pictured at the burial. They were also members of the Cody ML Club. My son was a kid in grade school at that time in Central Wyoming. They and other schools took up collections for the move. Well the papers at that time may have been wrong. But the Casper Star reported the reason for the move was a free way. :hmm:
 
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