DARK HISTORY: BOONE HELM

Ninetoes ventured west and ran into Boone Helm. Luckily, he got away before Helm could feast!

Hey there, history lovers! It is your old pal, Ninetoes, coming to you from Ninetoes HQ. Today, I am looking at the Kentucky Cannibal, Boone Helm. I have coffee in my system and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!

Boone Helm was born in Lincoln County, Kentucky, in 1828. His family moved to Jackson Township in Monroe County, Missouri, when he was just a boy. In 1871, he married a 17-year-old woman named Lucinda Frances Browning, and they had a child named Lucy. It was not a happy marriage. Helm was a heavy drinker who beat his wife. The abuse grew to the extent that Lucinda petitioned the court for a divorce. Helm’s father, Joseph, paid the costs for the divorce. Unfortunately, this bankrupted Joseph and ruined his reputation.

After this, Helm decided to go to California in search of gold and asked his cousin, Littlebury Shoot, to go with him. Shoot agreed, but backed out at the last minute. This angered Helm, and he murdered Littlebury by stabbing him in the chest. Helm headed west on his own, but he was pursued by Shoot’s brother and friends. He was captured and convicted of murder. While in captivity, his antics became so outrageous that he was sent to a mental asylum. While in the asylum, Helm calmed down and was able to convince a guard to take him on walks in the nearby woods. When this became routine, Helm managed to escape and make his way west.

During his trek to California, Helm murdered several men in different run-ins. Needless to say, he was on the run again and teamed up with six men. He told these men that he had eaten part or all of his various 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.”

As the men made their way to Fort Hall in Idaho, they were attacked by Native Americans and forced into the wilderness. The men were forced to kill and eat their horses for survival, and they used horse hides to make snowshoes. One by one, the men died off until only Helm and a man named Burton were left. When Burton was unable to go any further, Helm left, but came back in time to hear Burton take his life with a pistol.

Helm ate one of Burton’s legs and wrapped the other to take on the trip with him.

Helm made his way to San Francisco, where he befriended a rancher whom he later robbed and killed. He then robbed his way up to Oregon, robbing and killing people along the way. Helm was eventually captured, and he asked one of his twelve siblings for assistance. “Old Tex” paid off all of the witnesses, and the courts were unable to convict Helm.

Helm then teamed up with Henry Plummer and his gang. Helm and four other gang members were captured and tried in secret. At the trial, Helm kissed the Bible and then proceeded to perjure himself, accusing other gang members of the crimes he had committed.

Boone Helm and his fellow gang members were hanged in Virginia City, Montana, on January 14, 1864. When the executioner approached Helm, he yelled, “Every man for his principles! Hurrah for Jeff Davis! Let ‘er rip!” then jumped off the box before the executioner could kick it away.

He was buried in Boot Hill Cemetery in Virginia City.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

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