Levi Boone Helm (January 28, 1828 – January 14, 1864) was an American

mountain man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

gunfighter Gunfighters, also called gunslingers () or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslin ...

, and

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

known as the Kentucky Cannibal. Helm gained his nickname for his opportunistic and unrepentant proclivity for consuming human flesh, usually in survival situations, though instances of killing people for their meat unprovoked were also documented.

Early life

Boone Helm was born in Lincoln County,

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, to Joseph B. Helm (1787–1876) and Nancy Wilcox, who moved to Jackson Township, Monroe County,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, when he was still a boy. Helm delighted in demonstrating feats of strength and agility, such as throwing his

Bowie knife A Bowie knife ( ) is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knives created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother James Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight. Since its fir ...

into the ground and retrieving it from a horse at full gallop. In one demonstration of his contempt for authority, Helm, on horseback, rebuffed a sheriff's attempt to arrest him by walking his horse up the stairs of a courthouse and into the courtroom, while the

circuit court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

was in session, and by verbally haranguing the judge. In 1851, Helm married 17-year-old Lucinda Frances Browning in Monroe County Missouri and fathered a daughter, Lucy. He became known for his heavy drinking, riding his horse into the house, and beating his wife. The

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

grew to such an extent that Lucinda petitioned for divorce. Helm's father paid for the costs. Having bankrupted his father and ruined his family's reputation, Helm decided to move to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in search of gold.

Serial murder and cannibalism

For the journey to California, Helm asked his cousin, Littlebury Shoot, to accompany him. Shoot initially agreed, but when he attempted to back out of the trip, an angered Helm murdered him by stabbing him in the chest and headed west alone. The Vigilantes of Montana Thomas Dimsdale
/ref> He was pursued and captured by Littlebury's brother and friends and convicted of murder, but his antics in captivity quickly landed him in a

mental asylum The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...

. 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 escape. Once again traveling west to California, Helm murdered several men in various altercations. Forced to flee to avoid arrest and vigilante justice, he teamed up with six men to whom he confided that he had eaten all, or part, 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." An attack by Native Americans on the way to

Fort Hall Fort Hall was a fort in the Western United States that was built in 1834 as a fur trading post by Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth. It was located on the Snake River in the eastern Oregon Country, now part of present-day Bannock County in southeastern ...

forced Helm and his party into the wilderness. Short on provisions, the men killed their horses, ate the meat, and made

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footw ...

s out of the hides. The journey was arduous, reducing the party down to Helm and a man named Burton. When Burton could go no further, Helm left him only to return in time to hear Burton taking his own life with a

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

. Helm ate one of Burton's legs and wrapped the other to take with him on his journey. Helm was finally discovered by a man named John W. Powell at an Indian camp. Powell agreed to let Helm accompany him to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, but despite having over fourteen hundred dollars in coins on his person, Helm reportedly neither paid nor thanked Powell for his generosity. Upon reaching

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, Helm killed a rancher who had befriended him and taken him in. He then traveled to

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and resumed robbing people for a living, frequently murdering them. In 1862, after heavily drinking, Helm gunned down an unarmed man named Dutch Fred 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, the authorities released him and he accompanied his brother to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Helm soon reappeared at many of the settlements mentioned before, killing more men in the process. He was finally apprehended in

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

Capture and execution

After teaming up with the notorious Henry Plummer and his gang, Helm and four other gang members were captured, arrested, and tried in secret. At trial, Helm kissed the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

and then proceeded to perjure himself, accusing "Three-Fingered" Jack Gallagher, Helm's close friend and fellow gang member, of crimes Helm himself had committed. The Montana Vigilantes

hanged Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...

Helm, Gallagher, and other members of the gang in

Virginia City, Montana Virginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States. Virginia City was the territorial capital of Montana from 1865 to 1875. In 1961 the town and the surrounding area were designated a National Historic Landm ...

on January 14, 1864 in front of a crowd of six thousand. Upon seeing his friend Gallagher 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 the hangman's box before it could be kicked away. Boone Helm is buried in

Boot Hill Boot Hill, or Boothill, is the generic name of many Cemetery, cemeteries, chiefly in the Western United States. During the 19th and early 20th century it was a common name for the burial grounds for Potter's field, paupers. Origin of term Al ...

cemetery, Virginia City.

References

External links

* * http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-boonehelm.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Helm, Boone 1828 births 1864 deaths 19th-century executions of American people American cannibals Executed American serial killers Executed people from Kentucky Mountain men People executed by Montana by hanging People from Lincoln County, Kentucky Serial killers from California Serial killers from Idaho Serial killers from Missouri Serial killers from Oregon Serial killers from Utah

Early life

Serial murder and cannibalism

Capture and execution

See also

References

External links