On today’s date 124 years ago, Sunday, January 21, 1900, noted frontier mountain man John Jeremiah Garrison Johnston (1824-1900), better-known as Liver-Eatin’ Johnson, met his earthly demise at the age of 76 when he died from the effects of unspecified natural causes in a veterans home at the town of Santa Monica in Los Angeles County, California.
During Johnson’s lifetime he was a sailor, scout, soldier, gold prospector, wood-hawk (cord-wood supplier), hunter, trapper, whiskey peddler, guide, deputy sheriff, constable, & log cabin builder.
In 1847, Johnson’s wife, a member of the Flathead American Indian tribe, was killed by a young Crow Indian brave & his fellow hunters, which prompted Johnson to embark on a vendetta against the Crow tribe. According to legend, he would cut out & eat the liver of each man killed. This was an insult to the Crow because they believed the liver to be vital if one were to go on to the afterlife. In any case, he eventually became known as Liver-Eatin’ Johnson.
Eventually, Liver Eatin’ Johnson made peace with the Crow, who became his “brothers,” & his personal vendetta against them finally ended after twenty-five years & after scores of Crow warriors had fallen.
In December 1899 when he was around the age of 75, Liver Eatin’ Johnson was admitted as an “inmate” of the Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers & Sailors at the town of Santa Monica in Los Angeles County, California. Following his demise on January 21, 1900 his earthly remains were interred on the following day in the nearby Sawtell National Cemetery where he rested in peace until June, 1974, when, after a six-month campaign led by 25 seventh-grade students & their teacher, his body was relocated to Old Trail Town Cemetery at the town of Cody in Park County, Wyoming.
The undated photograph depicts the bearded visage of Liver-Eatin’ Johnson.

“Jeremiah’s story wasn’t kind!”

I saw his grave there at Trail Town back in the mid-90s while out there on vacation. Trail Town is a cool place with lots to see.
Buffalo Bill Museum is there in Cody also.

Yeah.... Some folks say, He's out there still.

Thanks for sharing that. Sounds like he had an interesting and full life. I wonder what the Crow think of him these days.

And finally, with no onions I certainly would have been incapable of those acts.

Definitely looks like a mountain man.

There's a story to how Johnson came to be planted there at Trail Town.
Old John Johnson (Jeremiah), got sick and his friends made the arrangements for him go to live in that old soldiers home there in Los Angles, where he died and was buried there. H e laid there in obscurity till the movie Jeremiah Johnson came out.

There is a group of folks called the American Mountain Men (AMM) that make a study and hobby of the old time mountain man culture. These people are serious about their hobby or experimental archeology and have money. A lot of them are professional people. They have the best custom made period correct muzzle loading rifles, full mountain man leathers and accouterments, horses etc... Really hardcore folks.

Anyway, after the movie Jeremiah Johnson came out, they (AMM) got together and put up the money to have Jeremiah's remains dug up there in LA and moved to Trail Town. I guess they figured he'd like it there in Wyoming closer to where he'd spent so much of his time. They even invited Robert Redford to come to the dedication when they moved him and he did. He probably felt he couldn't refuse after that movie had been such a big hit.
So, at the dedication you had all these all these pseudo mountain men dressed up in their leathers and with their mountain rifles and Hawkens and Hollywood Robert Redford there at the new grave side. I've seen a picture of it and Robert Redford looked like he'd as soon be somewhere else.
Redford was not dressed period correct. Looked like he was wearing 70s double knit.

Johnston claimed that he had never eaten one of the livers, but he would cut out the Indian's liver and act like he was taking a bite out of it. It started as a joke and then became quite a phenomenon. He was friends with the crow Indians later in his life and even lived with them, they had a lot of respect for his toughness and grit. There are several books about his life, but this one is probably the best and the most well-researched one I have read..

thanks for posting,

It’s funny, I told (asked) my wife that I felt like watching Jerimiah Johnson last night and then I see this post this morning. I’ll have to Re-read the book, Mountain Man, to see if it mentions the Liver deal. All I can remember is him putting heads on posts around that crazy ladies place.

That book and the movie are both fiction you know.

Stop bursting bubbles Bernie.

Osky

Trail Town is a pretty cool site. One of the cabins has Johnston's reburial ceremony photos in it. Robert Redford was one of the pallbearers.

Thanks for pointing that out, Bernie. I guess we should all stop enjoying watching the movie.

One of the best movies iv ever seen.

For the real story of liver-eatin' Johnson, read "Life and Death at the Mouth of the Musselshell" a diary of C. M. Lee of life in Montana, 1869-71. Written by Hampton. A lot of good info. as well, on the early wolfing.


Jack

I watched the movie and it was good, but I was a little put off by them creating a hollywood movie that had nothing to do with his real life. But to each his own.

Hollywood twisted up the Revenant pretty bad also, but it was a lot closer to the real thing than Jeremiah Johnson.

I am always amused by people who watch a movie more than once as if it is going to turn out different or something.

I live the movie

Jeremiah Johnson movie was based on “mountain man” by Vardis Fisher whose character was named Sam Menard. They both killed crows and both had wives killed and both went on vendettas.

Just ordered that book, it's coming Friday.