Mountain Phil, does not sound like such a perverse or evil name for a mountain man, but he was deemed a "bad man" by Kit Carson and every person in the American West. No one much ever said the reasoning for giving Mountain Phil such a reputation, but from time to time the Indians or some white would relate a story about him.
No white man would live with him, as he was such an utterly bad man. He did though have a squaw, named Klooch, as that was Arapaho for married squaw, which is another name for a woman's female part.
The Arapaho detested him, because he would steal their horses and go and sell them to the Comanches.
The story as told by the Scalpin' Kid, who go the name as he scalped 2 Utes while in the employ of Kit Carson, tells this story about Mountain Phil.
Kit had come across Phil at the mouth of Cherry Creek, which is what is now Denver, Colorado, and upon conversation Phil having nothing to do, would trap of Carson that coming winter.
That winter Charlie Jones, Johnnie West and the Scalpin' Kid were wintered up, trapping beaver. The snow started falling heavy and the game got scarce, and the Kid being in charge of supplies, had Charlie Jones go down to Mountain Phil's to see if he needed any supplies.
After a time, Charlie came back and said that Mountain Phil had no problems with getting game as game apparently had come into the camp. He left it at that, but the boys were puzzled by the story, so started questioning Charlie, who related the following story.
Charlie had entered camp and found nothing, except bones inside the cabin. After investigating, the conclusion was proof positive that Mountain Phil had killed his wife, and then eaten her.
As the meat ran out, Phil quit the camp for parts unknown.
There was no record in how good the trapping was.
Mountain Phil though ceased to be known as Mountain Phil, and became known as the American Cannibal for the rest of his life.
He would die 13 years later in 1863 at Virginia City, Montana.
Mountain Phil was a large man, who dressed out 250 pounds. He never shorn his hair nor beard. He also was quite puzzled when Kit Carson on meeting him, informed Phil that he would shoot down a cannibal like him before supplies were short, to keep Phil from eating Kit.
Phil was only ten miles from the supply, so it is doubtful that he probably was hungry, as he could have sent the Klooch to pick up flour and coffee. Then again maybe he was meat hungry or he just had a dispute with the wife.
The "further investigation" points to, some evidence that either the skull or torso bones were in evidence of a murder in being broken.
Whatever the reason, Mountain Phil, secured his bad man reputation as he probably was some sort of socio or psychopath, who had fits of frenzy when the bad man came out.
Then again there was open savage warfare in the American West. Indians robbed, raped, enslaved, murdered and ate each other and white people. Women were traded as property, and bucks or whites could pretty well do as they pleased with them.
So Mountain Phil was not so much out of the norm really. He was a bad man to the Arapaho for stealing their horses, but a good many by the Comanche for obtaining the horses. No white man could live with him, which made him bad, but no dark woman could live with him as he would kill and eat her.
Murder might be a civilized term not applied here, as she was property and people pretty much did what they wanted with others they owned then.
So Mountain Phil was not called Squaw Killer, and that was not what was detested by white people, it was that he ate human flesh repeatedly. The Donner Party would do the same, but just winced at as they were starving. That got him the name American Cannibal.
I suspect that in the Al Gore era, Mountain Phil would be called the Green Man, as he helped the world out in removing a baby producer of more evil people, and he ate the evil woman to boot, or to mocassin.
Then again, maybe Mountain Phil was the intended feast, and he was just killing the woman who was going to eat him, and decided to return the favor as times were lean and there was no sense in anything going to waste.
It seems odd that no one apparently recorded in asking Phil what took place. Phil though seemed to think the name suited him, as American Cannibal does have a better sound to it than Mountain Phil.
agtG
