Murder On The Plains : Swift Runner
$20
Out of stock
Description
Murder On The Plains By R.G. Evans. Frontier Books No 2. Frank W Anderson. 1968. Canadian true crime compendium including story of Swift Runner.
A delightfully macabre staple pamphlet recounting the tales of Western Canada’s most shocking crimes including William Jumbo Fisk AKA “Calgary’s Jack The Ripper” and extensive coverage and photographs of the Cree cannibal and supposed wendigo Swift Runner executed for the murder of his family in 1879.
Although only 25 miles from a nearby food supply controlled by the Hudson Bay Company, Swift Runner , whose Cree name was Ka-Ki-Si-Kutchin, was driven to murder , eating his wife and five children following his eldest son’s death from starvation in the winter of 1878-79. During his confession to Canadian authorities, Swift Runner admitted to being a Wendigo — a ravenous and deadly spirit of First Nations folklore –prior to his execution. The case is still cited in medical and psychological text books to this day as one of the best known examples of so-called “Wendigo Psychosis”.
Part of a series published in the 1960s for sale to Canadian tourists, Murder on the Plains makes up volume two of the Frontier Books series.
8vo, staple bound pamphlet. Printed orange card stock wraps, crease to front wrap corner. Minor wear to back wrap with some wear around staples on spine. Pages toned but clean. Good condition.
If you liked this book, you might also enjoy “The Medical Murderer” a True Crime collection about really deadly doctors.
