“The Avenging Fury of the Plains, John ‘Liver-Eating’ Johnston, Exploding the Myths –Discovering the Man,” presents a factual, heavily referenced, honest representation of the many known facts about Johnston's life. Where there are gaps in the Johnston "timeline," authoritative speculation is offered to flesh-out Johnston's biographical "skeleton."

The reader needs to be aware that that the legends and myths about Liver-Eating Johnston evolved from two sources: a book called, Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver Eating Johnson, by authors' Raymond W. Thorpe and Robert Bunker, (upon which Johnston's bloated reputation was created); and a movie entitled Jeremiah Johnson. Both are considered to be historical fiction.

When exposed against the true mirror of historical fact as detailed in my "new" Johnston biography, Thorpe and Bunkers' Crow Killer turns out to be a compilation of purposeful untruths, historical manipulations, and grossly inaccurate research.

It is obvious that Thorpe and Bunkers' conscious efforts to create their own historical facts about the life of Johnston, were meant simply to entertain the reader. It is also obvious that Thorpe and Bunker probably reasoned that since they were in sole possession of the purported facts about Johnston's life, that they would not be challenged and could freely employ creative license in the development of their myth.

Regardless of Thorpe and Bunkers' motivations, the true facts about the life and frontier experiences of Liver-Eating Johnston are now presented in The Avenging Fury of the Plains: John "Liver-Eating" Johnston. The reader will be able to form an accurate impression of who Johnston was, for he is presented in his entire frontier prowess.

The wilderness experiences and exploits of John Johnston (a.k.a. John Garrison) were perhaps as impressive as were those of Jim Bridger and Kit Carson. Yet Johnston never achieved their level of fame and notoriety. This was apparently by design because he never purposefully sought the spotlight except but for one time - when he decided to join the Hardwick's "Great Rocky Mountain Wild West Show” in 1884, where he was billed (most appropriately) as The Avenging Fury of The Plains.

Johnston sought no glory except in the delight he took at running a knife over the throat of his Indian foe. Granted, he was clearly the master of a thousand woodland skills. No one could control his limitless avenging fury but himself. Fresh scars judged his wilderness deeds and multitudes of bloodied scalps; proud trophies of countless combat victories.


No Buckskin Hero

Johnston was no buckskin hero, yet he remains a most fascinating frontier character. He slid easily from friend to Jack the Ripper. He was a man capable of extending an occasional kindness in the morning and exacting extreme violence at dinner time. Because the mountains knew no laws, Johnston's early years were lived without restraint; unencumbered by the rituals, expectations and mores of "flatlander" mentality.

Johnston’s pathology grew in this vacuum. Yet it seems that there were traces of a conscience, albeit housed deep within the scarred-over realities of his wilderness life; perhaps a good thing in the face of extraordinary minute-by-minute dangers that was Johnston's life.

John Johnston possessed an amazing array of frontier skills and a remarkable gift for survival. His death at age 76 is proof of his wilderness abilities. His confidence in his marksmanship, his incredible strength, and his seemingly untiring energy levels, propelled him among the top ranks of the estimated three thousand or so mountain men who plied their pelts in the early west.

This famed U.S. Army scout of the 1876-1877 Indian Wars spent most of his adult life in the wilderness. His life as a free trapper allowed him to live in the lap of the mountains, near beaver streams for quick access to his traps, near rifle and pistol and butcher knife in preparation for inevitable Sioux or Blackfoot raiding parties.

Johnston preferred his own company. Yet, he spent much time living with the Crow, undoubtedly bedding down with a squaw or two, throughout his life. He was said to have accompanied the Crow on their raids against the Sioux and Cheyenne.

Johnston seemed to be truly fearless throughout his life. Fearlessness seems to be a quality inherent within all great old west figures. Some of the notables like Wild Bill Hickok, Wyatt Earp, General George Armstrong Custer, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, etc., all seemingly possessed an absence of fear, a vital characteristic that helped to grow their reputations.

Some Important Considerations

This book will detail a myriad of facts about the exploits of Johnston. It will delight most, and perhaps sadden others. Some fans will view this book as breaking up the romance they enjoyed with the Johnston myth. This is quite understandable. But it is important that the truth be made available to those who want to know the truth.

Conversely, to the reader with little or nor familiarity with the name of Liver-Eating Johnston, this book will serve to produce an accurate reality about his true life. Additionally, it would serve the reader well if he/she takes time to read the Crow Killer and perhaps even rent the DVD that started it all - Jeremiah Johnson (starring Robert Redford).

To those die-hard fans familiar with the exploits of Liver-Eating Johnston, there are many so-called facts that seem to be simply a “given.” Many believe that Johnston had a vendetta against the Crow – he didn’t. Many believe that his beard was stained crimson as a result of eating the bloody livers he’d torn from his Indian foe after each battle. It wasn’t.

The Avenging Fury of the Plains presents a mountain man who was perhaps the most enigmatic soul ever to traverse the mountains and valleys of Montana and Wyoming. He was saturated in violence, awash in alcohol, and was greatly feared by all Native Americans during the 1860’s – 1870’s.