Dennis McLelland - Liver-Eating-Johnson: (a.k.a. Jeremiah Johnson) The Truth Finally Revealed

LIVER-EATINGJOHNSON:

THE TRUTH FINALLYREVEALED

by

Dr. Dennis McLelland

SMASHWORDS EDITION

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PUBLISHED BY:

Dr. Dennis McLelland onSmashwords

Liver-Eating Johnson:

The Truth Finally Revealed

Copyright 2011 by Dr. DennisMcLelland

Smashwords Edition LicenseNotes

This ebook is licensed for yourpersonal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or givenaway to other people. If you would like to share this book withanother person, please purchase an additional copy for each personyou share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchaseit, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you shouldreturn to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you forrespecting the author's work.

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Acknowledgments

First, and foremost, I want to expresshow important the late Mr. Harry Owens of Red Lodge, Montana, wasto me in encouraging me to write my book. Harry was a life-longresident of Red Lodge and was familiar with the truth aboutJohnston. Harry disclosed a secret, in that Johnstons real namewas John Garrison. Thanks to my wife, Rosie, for her patience.Finally, I wish to thank God Almighty for his constant remindersthat Im still a work in progress.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1 Exploding theMyths

Chapter 2 The Silence of the Lion: TheEarly Years

Chapter 3 Dreams in the Rivers: GoldFever

Chapter 4 The Call of Cannons: TheCivil War Years

Chapter 5 Scraping a Living UnderSitting Bulls Nose 1865-1876

Chapter 6 Liver-Eating Johnston EarnsHis Name

Chapter 7 The Fort Benton WhiskeyPeddler: 1868-1873

Chapter 8 A Country of BrokenCharacter

Chapter 9 The MontanaLawman

Chapter 10 Crossing the GreatDivide

Chapter 11 Returning ToWyoming

Chapter 12 A Monument ofHonor

Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

John Liver-Eating Johnston (correctspelling) never ate anyones liver. Then why the name Liver Eating?Here is the true story. Johnston earned his macabre name during abattle with the Sioux in 1868. Some researchers think the year ofthe battle was in 1869, or even 1870. None of that matters becauseJohnston himself stated that the attack took place in1868.

The Sioux attacked Johnston and aboutfifteen other woodcutters as the men were cautiously cutting cordsof wood on Sioux land to fuel passing steamboats. Toward the end ofthe battle, Johnston thrust his knife into a Sioux warriors side.When he withdrew his knife, a bit of liver remained attached to theknife. As a joke, Johnston then held up the piece of liver to hisfriends and asked them if they wanted a taste. Johnston pretendedto eat the piece of liver. Hence, the birth of the nickname,Liver-Eating Johnston.

The reader is most likely aware thatJohn Liver-Eating Johnston was the subject of the 1972 hit movie,Jeremiah Johnson, starring Robert Redford. Many viewers of themovie were captivated by the exploits of the movies protagonist,Jeremiah Johnson, and believed him to be a true historicalcharacter. He wasnt. Authors Robert Thorpe and Robert Bunker, in acaptivating book of historical fiction entitled Crow Killer, TheSaga of Liver Eating Johnson, created him through the writing oftheir book.

Liver-Eating-Johnson: TheTruth Finally Revealed , seeks to assistreaders in discovering who the real John Johnston was. Below arethe specific research areas from which relevant facts about thelife of John Liver-Eating Johnston were extracted.

Sources of ResearchMaterials

All sources used to uncoverinformation about Johnston were culled from principally foursources: 1 .Government, military, and pension records. 2. Anecdotalrecollections of Johnston as recorded by military officers underwhom Johnston served as scout during the Indian Wars of 1876-1877.3. Remembrances of Johnston by acquaintances and friends. 4.Personal interviews with newspaper reporters.

It is indeed difficult to flesh out afull, comprehensive, biography about Liver-Eating Johnston. Thereare too many holes in his personal history. Thus, this book willoffer the reader a chronological rendering of many of the known,significant, life events, that will give readers a solid pictureof who John Johnston truly was in the early west.

Wild Bill Hickok Author SharedSimilar Challenge

Joseph G. Rosa, author of Wild BillHickok: The Man & His Myth (University Press of Kansas, 1996)related a similar dilemma when he wrote, that in many instances Idid unearth new materials, confound legends, and clarifyevents...that had been a mystery. But there are still gaps, many ofthem unlikely ever to be filled, for no one can hope to learneverything about another person, least of all a highlycontroversial historical character.

Johnston Played a Role in Helping toOpen the West.

Johnston did play a role (albeit, aminor one) in the opening of the American west. He served as ascout with the 2nd Colorado Cavalry Volunteers for the Union Army.During the great Indian Wars of 1876-1877, Johnston similarlyserved as a contract scout for General Nelson A. Miles, GeneralSamuel Sturgis, and many other top-level officers.

Liver-Eating-Johnson: The TruthFinally Revealed, presents many of the known facts aboutJohnstons life. The wilderness experiences and exploits of JohnJohnston (a.k.a. John Garrison) were perhaps as impressive as werethose of Jim Bridger and Kit Carson. Yet Johnston never achievedtheir level of fame and notoriety. This was apparently by designbecause he never purposefully sought the spotlight except but forone time - when he decided to join the Hardwicks Great RockyMountain Wild West Show in 1884 where he was billed (mostappropriately) as Liver-Eating-Johnson: The Truth FinallyRevealed.

Johnston - A Man of Intrigue

To this day, Johnston remains a mostfascinating frontier character. He possessed an amazing array offrontier skills and a remarkable gift for survival. His death atage seventy-six is proof of his wilderness abilities. Hisconfidence in his marksmanship, his incredible strength, and hisseemingly untiring energy levels, propelled him among the top ranksof the mountain men who plied their pelts in the earlywest.

This respected U.S. Army scout of the1876-1877 Indian Wars spent most of his adult life in thewilderness. His life as a free trapper allowed him to live in thelap of the mountains, near beaver streams for quick access to histraps, near rifle and pistol and butcher knife in preparation forinevitable Sioux, Cheyenne or Blackfoot raiding parties.

Some ImportantConsiderations

This book will detail a myriad offacts about the exploits of Johnston. It should delight most, andmay, perhaps, sadden others. Some fans will view this book asbreaking up the romance they enjoyed with the Johnston myth. Thisis quite understandable. Conversely, to the reader with little ornor familiarity with the name of Liver-Eating Johnston, this bookwill serve as an excellent starting place in learning about theexploits that cast Johnston into the arms of myth andlegend.

The Myth That Built JohnstonsReputation Never Happened!

The bottom line to remember is thatJohn Liver-Eating Johnston was a sailor on board ship prior to,and during, the Mexican War of 1846-1847, when the Crow supposedlykilled his pregnant Flathead wife. The Crow were allies to bothJohnston and the white race, despite the errant fables spun byThorpe and Bunker in their novel, The Crow Killer.

Johnston repeatedly stated that he wasinvolved in over forty fights with the Indians from California tothe Gulf of Mexico. Never was the Crow nation involved. Why Thorpeand Bunker chose the Crow Nation to pick on for the supposedvendetta with Johnston has no basis in history. His battles werewith the Blackfoot, Sioux, and Cheyenne never theCrow.

It is hoped thatLiver-Eating-Johnson: The Truth Finally Revealed, will answermany of the readers questions about the life of Johnston. It isalso hoped that this book will encourage the reader to conducttheir own research and uncover more Johnston gems of historicaltruths that can add to the extant literature about John Johnston -certainly one of the most captivating characters of the oldwest