Boone Helm
Encyclopedia
Boone Helm was a mountain man and gunfighter of the American West
known as the Kentucky Cannibal. Helm was also a serial killer
who gained his nickname for his opportunistic and unrepentant proclivity for the consumption of human flesh taken from the bodies of enemies and traveling companions. While this was usually done in survival situations, Helm sometimes took flesh in preparation of being in a survival situation.
into what was considered an honest, hard-working and respected family. Helm's family moved to Missouri
when he was still a boy. Helm delighted in demonstrating feats of strength and agility, and would goad men into fights and regale others by throwing his Bowie knife into the ground and retrieving it from a horse at full gallop. In one incident that demonstrates his contempt for authority, Helm, on horseback, rebuffed the sheriff's attempt to arrest him and walked his horse up the stairs of a courthouse and into the courtroom, while circuit court was in session, and verbally harangued the judge.
Helm married 17-year-old Lucinda Browning in 1848 and soon fathered a daughter. Helm became known for his heavy drinking, riding his horse into the house, and beating his wife. The domestic violence
grew to such an extent that Lucinda petitioned for divorce
. Helm's father paid for the costs of the divorce. In return, Boone Helm bankrupted
his father and ruined his family's reputation. Helm then decided to move to California
.
. Helm asked his cousin, a man named Littlebury Shoot, if he would accompany him to California. Shoot initially agreed to accompany him, but when Littlebury attempted to back out of the trip Helm became angered and stabbed him in the chest, killing him instantly. Helm then headed west alone. Littlebury's brother and friends pursued and captured Helm, but his antics in captivity quickly landed him in an asylum for the mentally deranged. Upon entering the asylum, Helm became taciturn and convinced his guard to take him on walks through the woods. After these walks became routine, Helm was able to take advantage of the guard's trust, deceive him, and escape.
Helm then headed west to California. On the way, he murdered several men in various altercations, eventually committing premeditated murder. Forced to flee to avoid arrest and vigilante justice, Helm teamed up with six men with whom he confided that in his past Helm had eaten all or part of some of his murder victims. "Many's the poor devil I've killed, at one time or another... and the time has been that I've been obliged to feed on some of 'em." This boastful allusion is the first report of cannibalism
on the part of Boone Helm.
An attack by Natives
on the way to Fort Hall, Idaho
, forced Helm and his party into the wilderness. Short on provisions, Helm and his remaining party killed their horses, ate the meat, and made snowshoe
s out of the hides. The journey was arduous, winnowing the party down to two men: Helm and a man named Burton. When Burton could go no further, Helm left him only to return in time to hear the pistol shot of Burton taking his own life. Helm ate one of Burton's legs and wrapped the other to take with him on his journey. John W. Powell
finally discovered Helm at an Indian camp and allowed Helm to accompany him. Despite having over fourteen hundred dollars in coins on his person, Helm reportedly neither paid nor thanked Powell for feeding, clothing, and transporting him to Salt Lake City.
While on the run from the authorities, Helm robbed and killed a rancher who had taken in and befriended him. Helm was later ambushed by a group of Blackfoot
warriors in the dead of winter on a foray to visit relatives among the Flathead
, a trip that would have been over 500 miles. The Blackfoot planned to sell him to the Crow
, his mortal enemies, for a high price. He was stripped to the waist, tied with leather thongs and put in a teepee with an inexperienced guard outside. Helm managed to chew through the straps, then knocked out his young guard with a punch, took his knife and scalped him, then quickly cut off one of his legs. He escaped into the woods, and survived on the Blackfoot's leg until he reached the cabin of Del Que, his trapping partner, exhausted but alive after a journey of about 200 miles.
Soon afterward, he was forced to flee again. After heavy drinking, and at the behest of an enemy of the victim, Helm gunned down an unarmed man in a saloon and fled. While on the run, Helm ate another fugitive who had been accompanying him. Captured by the authorities, Helm implored his brother "Old Tex", one of Helm's twelve siblings, for assistance. With a considerable amount of money, Old Tex paid off all of the witnesses. Unable to convict Helm without witnesses, the authorities released him and he accompanied his brother to Texas
.
Helm did not remain long. When he was finally forced out of Salt Lake City, he moved back to California where he killed a man who had taken him in and given him shelter. While there, he also shot a fighter known as Dutch Fred in cold blood, and was once again forced into the wilderness with a companion Helm is alleged to have killed and eaten.
and his gang, Helm and four other gang members were captured, arrested, and tried in secret. At trial, Helm kissed the Bible
and then proceeded to perjure
himself, accusing Jack "Three-Fingered Jack" Garner, Helm's close friend and fellow gang member of crimes Helm himself had committed. The Montana Vigilantes hanged Helm, Gallager, and other members of the gang in Virginia City, Montana
on January 14, 1864 in front of a crowd of six thousand. Upon seeing his friend Gallager hanged, Helm reportedly remarked "Kick away old fellow. My turn next. I'll be in Hell with you in a minute."
When the executioner approached Helm, he allegedly exclaimed "Every man for his principles! Hurrah for Jeff Davis! Let 'er rip!" and then jumped off of the hangman's box before it could be kicked away. Boone Helm is buried in Virginia City's Boot Hill
cemetery.
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
known as the Kentucky Cannibal. Helm was also a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
who gained his nickname for his opportunistic and unrepentant proclivity for the consumption of human flesh taken from the bodies of enemies and traveling companions. While this was usually done in survival situations, Helm sometimes took flesh in preparation of being in a survival situation.
Early life
Boone Helm was born in KentuckyKentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
into what was considered an honest, hard-working and respected family. Helm's family moved to Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
when he was still a boy. Helm delighted in demonstrating feats of strength and agility, and would goad men into fights and regale others by throwing his Bowie knife into the ground and retrieving it from a horse at full gallop. In one incident that demonstrates his contempt for authority, Helm, on horseback, rebuffed the sheriff's attempt to arrest him and walked his horse up the stairs of a courthouse and into the courtroom, while circuit court was in session, and verbally harangued the judge.
Helm married 17-year-old Lucinda Browning in 1848 and soon fathered a daughter. Helm became known for his heavy drinking, riding his horse into the house, and beating his wife. The domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
grew to such an extent that Lucinda petitioned for divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
. Helm's father paid for the costs of the divorce. In return, Boone Helm bankrupted
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
his father and ruined his family's reputation. Helm then decided to move to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Serial murder and cannibalism
By 1850, Helm had decided to head for California in search of goldCalifornia Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
. Helm asked his cousin, a man named Littlebury Shoot, if he would accompany him to California. Shoot initially agreed to accompany him, but when Littlebury attempted to back out of the trip Helm became angered and stabbed him in the chest, killing him instantly. Helm then headed west alone. Littlebury's brother and friends pursued and captured Helm, but his antics in captivity quickly landed him in an asylum for the mentally deranged. Upon entering the asylum, Helm became taciturn and convinced his guard to take him on walks through the woods. After these walks became routine, Helm was able to take advantage of the guard's trust, deceive him, and escape.
Helm then headed west to California. On the way, he murdered several men in various altercations, eventually committing premeditated murder. Forced to flee to avoid arrest and vigilante justice, Helm teamed up with six men with whom he confided that in his past Helm had eaten all or part of some of his murder victims. "Many's the poor devil I've killed, at one time or another... and the time has been that I've been obliged to feed on some of 'em." This boastful allusion is the first report of cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
on the part of Boone Helm.
An attack by Natives
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
on the way to Fort Hall, Idaho
Fort Hall, Idaho
Fort Hall is a census-designated place in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho, split between northern Bannock County and southern Bingham County. It is located on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation along the Snake River north of Pocatello, near the site of the original Fort Hall in the...
, forced Helm and his party into the wilderness. Short on provisions, Helm and his remaining party killed their horses, ate the meat, and made snowshoe
Snowshoe
A snowshoe is footwear for walking over the snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot does not sink completely into the snow, a quality called "flotation"....
s out of the hides. The journey was arduous, winnowing the party down to two men: Helm and a man named Burton. When Burton could go no further, Helm left him only to return in time to hear the pistol shot of Burton taking his own life. Helm ate one of Burton's legs and wrapped the other to take with him on his journey. John W. Powell
John W. Powell
John William Powell was a journalist and small business proprietor who was most well known for being tried for sedition after publishing an article in 1952 that reported on allegations made by Mainland Chinese officials that the United States and Japan were carrying out germ warfare in the Korean...
finally discovered Helm at an Indian camp and allowed Helm to accompany him. Despite having over fourteen hundred dollars in coins on his person, Helm reportedly neither paid nor thanked Powell for feeding, clothing, and transporting him to Salt Lake City.
While on the run from the authorities, Helm robbed and killed a rancher who had taken in and befriended him. Helm was later ambushed by a group of Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
warriors in the dead of winter on a foray to visit relatives among the Flathead
Flathead
Flathead may refer to:* Flat-head screwdriver, a screwdriver designed to turn slotted screws* Flat-head screw, a screw with a flat top, designed to be installed in a countersunk hole* Flathead engine, a valve configuration...
, a trip that would have been over 500 miles. The Blackfoot planned to sell him to the Crow
Crow Nation
The Crow, also called the Absaroka or Apsáalooke, are a Siouan people of Native Americans who historically lived in the Yellowstone River valley, which extends from present-day Wyoming, through Montana and into North Dakota. They now live on a reservation south of Billings, Montana and in several...
, his mortal enemies, for a high price. He was stripped to the waist, tied with leather thongs and put in a teepee with an inexperienced guard outside. Helm managed to chew through the straps, then knocked out his young guard with a punch, took his knife and scalped him, then quickly cut off one of his legs. He escaped into the woods, and survived on the Blackfoot's leg until he reached the cabin of Del Que, his trapping partner, exhausted but alive after a journey of about 200 miles.
Soon afterward, he was forced to flee again. After heavy drinking, and at the behest of an enemy of the victim, Helm gunned down an unarmed man in a saloon and fled. While on the run, Helm ate another fugitive who had been accompanying him. Captured by the authorities, Helm implored his brother "Old Tex", one of Helm's twelve siblings, for assistance. With a considerable amount of money, Old Tex paid off all of the witnesses. Unable to convict Helm without witnesses, the authorities released him and he accompanied his brother to Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
Helm did not remain long. When he was finally forced out of Salt Lake City, he moved back to California where he killed a man who had taken him in and given him shelter. While there, he also shot a fighter known as Dutch Fred in cold blood, and was once again forced into the wilderness with a companion Helm is alleged to have killed and eaten.
Capture and execution
After teaming up with the notorious Henry PlummerHenry Plummer
Henry Plummer served as sheriff of what became Bannack, Montana, from May 24, 1863 until January 10, 1864, when he was hanged without legal system trial by the controversial Montana Vigilantes. [Notes of historical clarification: the original Idaho Territory, declared July 4, 1863 at Lewiston,...
and his gang, Helm and four other gang members were captured, arrested, and tried in secret. At trial, Helm kissed the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and then proceeded to perjure
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
himself, accusing Jack "Three-Fingered Jack" Garner, Helm's close friend and fellow gang member of crimes Helm himself had committed. The Montana Vigilantes hanged Helm, Gallager, and other members of the gang in Virginia City, Montana
Virginia City, Montana
Virginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States. In 1961, the town and the surrounding area was designated a National Historic Landmark District, the Virginia City Historic District...
on January 14, 1864 in front of a crowd of six thousand. Upon seeing his friend Gallager hanged, Helm reportedly remarked "Kick away old fellow. My turn next. I'll be in Hell with you in a minute."
When the executioner approached Helm, he allegedly exclaimed "Every man for his principles! Hurrah for Jeff Davis! Let 'er rip!" and then jumped off of the hangman's box before it could be kicked away. Boone Helm is buried in Virginia City's Boot Hill
Boot Hill
Boot Hill is the name for any number of cemeteries, chiefly in the American West. During the 19th century it was a common name for the burial grounds of gunfighters, or those who "died with their boots on" ....
cemetery.