John Liver-Eating Johnson | |
|---|---|
 John Jeremiah Johnson | |
| Born | John Jeremiah Garrison Johnston (1824-07-01)July 1, 1824 Hickory Tavern area, nearPattenburg, New Jersey, US |
| Died | January 21, 1900(1900-01-21) (aged 75) Santa Monica, California, US |
| Other names | Garrison |
| Occupation | Mountain Man |
John "Liver-Eating"Johnson, bornJohn Jeremiah Garrison Johnston (July 1, 1824 – January 21, 1900), was amountain man of theAmerican Old West.
Johnson is said to have been born with the last name Garrison, in the area of the Hickory Tavern nearPattenburg, New Jersey.[1][2] During theMexican–American War he served aboard a fighting ship. After striking an officer, he deserted, changed his name to Johnson,[3] and travelled West to try his hand at gold digging inAlder Gulch,Montana Territory. He also became a "woodhawk", supplyingcord wood to steamboats.
Rumours and legends about Johnson are common. Chief among them is that in 1847, his wife, a member of theFlathead American Indian tribe, was killed by a youngCrow man and his fellow hunters, which prompted Johnson to embark on a vendetta against the tribe. According to historian Andrew Mehane Southerland, "He supposedly killed andscalped more than 300 Crow Indians and thendevoured their livers" to avenge the death of his wife, and "as his reputation and collection of scalps grew, Johnson became an object of fear".[4]
Accounts say that he would cut out and eat theliver of each Crow killed.[5] This led to his being known as "Liver-Eating Johnson". One tale ascribed to Johnson[6] (while other sources ascribe it toBoone Helm[7]) is that while on a foray of over five hundred miles (800 km) in the winter to sell whiskey to his Flathead kin, he was ambushed by a group ofBlackfoot warriors.
The Blackfoot planned to sell Johnson to the Crow, his mortal enemies. He was stripped to the waist, tied with leather thongs and put in ateepee with one guard. Johnson managed to break through the straps. He then knocked out the guard with a kick, took his knife and scalped him. He escaped into the woods and fled to the cabin of Del Gue, his trapping partner, a journey of about two hundred miles (320 km).
Eventually, Johnson made peace with the Crow,[8] who became "his brothers", and his personal vendetta against them finally ended after 25 years and scores of slain Crow warriors. However, the West was still very violent and territorial, particularly during thePlains Indian Wars of the mid-19th century. Many more Indians of different tribes, especially but not limited to theSioux and the Blackfoot, would know the wrath of "Dapiek Absaroka" Crow killer and his fellow mountain men.[9]
In 1864, Johnson joined Company H,2nd Colorado Cavalry, of theUnion Army inSt. Louis as a private and was honorably discharged the following year.[10] During the 1880s, he was appointed deputy sheriff inCoulson, Montana, and a townmarshal inRed Lodge, Montana.[11] In his time he was a sailor, scout, soldier, gold seeker, hunter, trapper, woodhawk, whiskey peddler, guide, deputy, constable, and log cabin builder, taking advantage of any source of income-producing labor he could find.[12]
His final residence was in a veterans’ home inSanta Monica, California, where he died on January 21, 1900. His body was buried in aLos Angeles veterans' cemetery. In 1974, after a six-month campaign by 25 seventh-grade students and their teacher, who did not believe he should be laid to rest among urban sprawl, Johnson's remains were relocated toCody, Wyoming.[13] His epitaph reads "No More Trails".
Jeremiah Johnson is a 1972 film bySydney Pollack starringRobert Redford depicting his life.[14]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)boone helm.
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