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Show 3 0 4 TALES OF THE COLORADO PIONEERS. together, and Mr. Lauter awoke just in time to catch Packer's hand, which held a knife above him. They then returned with him to the agency, where he was placed in irons, and subsequently turned over to the sheriff of Saguache county. " The following June a photographer named Reynolds, from Peoria, Illinois, while wandering in the mountains in search of scenes, came across these five dead bodies. Four of them were lying in a row, shot through the head, with their blankets still over them, proving conclusively they had been shot while asleep. The man Bell was lying some distance away. The most of the flesh had been cut from his body. A shanty was found near the place, and a well-worn track leading from it to Bell's party, showed where the cannibal had lived and feasted. "An inquest was held on the bodies, and the verdict was rendered that the deceased had come to their death at the hands of Packer. A warrant was sworn out for his arrest. Meanwhile he had broken jail, and all trace of his whereabouts was lost. "Nine years from the time he wandered into Los Pinos agency Mr. Adams received a letter from a member of the party, who was familiarly called 'Frenchy.' " Bell had been his dear friend, and during all these years he had traveled as a peddler, with the one desire burning in his heart to find the murderer of his friend. "He wrote that the man Packer was living at a ranch near Fort Fetterman, Wyoming Territory, under the name of John Shwartz. The General immediately communicated this to the Governor, who sent a request to the Governor of Wyoming to give him up, which was acceded to. |