A Reputation Built in Blood
John Jeremiah Garrison Johnston, born in 1824 in New Jersey, became known across the American West for one thing: eating the livers of men he killed. After deserting the military, he changed his name and moved west, becoming a trapper, hunter, and scout.
The Crow Conflict
In 1847, according to multiple period sources, Johnston’s wife, a Flathead woman, was killed by Crow warriors. Reports from the era claim that Johnston responded by killing Crow men whenever possible—and cutting out and eating their livers. The practice gave him the name “Liver-Eating Johnson.”
The Liver-Eating Campaign
Contemporary stories estimated he killed over 300 Crow. Accounts from trappers and westerners described his method: after each kill, he would remove the liver and consume part of it raw. The act, shocking even on the frontier, became part of his feared identity.
End of the Trail
By the 1870s, Johnston made peace with the Crow. He later served as a lawman in Montana. He died in 1900 in California. In 1974, students successfully campaigned to have his remains moved to Cody, Wyoming, where a statue stands over the grave of the man once called Liver-Eating Johnson.
John Jeremiah Garrison Johnston, born in 1824 in New Jersey, became known across the American West for one thing: eating the livers of men he killed.
After deserting the military, he changed his name and moved west, becoming a trapper, hunter, and scout…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/rHW6rSxDOZ
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) April 13, 2025