Alfred (also known as Alferd) Packer promoted himself as a guide to a group of pioneers hoping to find silver in the mountains of Colorado. After wandering through the wilderness with his clients, insisting that he knew where he was going, it soon became evident that the group was hopelessly lost, and would have to face the harsh winter on their own. As food supplies ran out and the men began to starve, Packer made the fateful decision to save himself by any means possible, and use his unlucky clients as food.