"You man-eating son of a b____. There was seven Democrats in Hinsdale County and you ate five of them." (Saloon Keeper Larry Dolan after Alferd's first trial.)

In February 1874 Alferd Packer and five men he was guiding got lost in a severe snowstorm. In April Alferd showed up at the Lost Pinos Indian Agency looking healthy and fit. Upon interrogation he claimed that as the men died the others ate them.
That summer a search of the area showed five bodies with crushed skulls. Alferd was arrested and charged with murder and cannibalism. He eventually served 17 years at the prison in Canon City and after his release lived out his years in Littleton, CO. where he died in 1907.

Lake City celebrates ALFERD PACKER DAYS each year for his first trial took place in the city courthouse which still stands today.

Hinsdale remains a Republican county to this day.