Herman Lauter, the agency clerk, was in attendance and transcribed Packer's first official statement. Packer claimed that the men had left Ouray's camp with what they thought was sufficient food for the anticipated 14-day journey ahead of them. Before they knew it, provisions were exhausted owing to the rough terrain and expenditure of energy needed for the traverse. They survived for days on roots dug from the ground, pine gum, rose buds, and the occasional rabbit. After a few days of no wildlife activity due to the extreme cold and eating virtually nothing but roots, he claimed that the men started to eye each other in an unsettling way, their stomachs twisting in hunger. A few days after this, he left camp to gather dry firewood and returned to find four men around the slain body of Israel Swan, who had been struck in the head with a hatchet and killed instantly. The four started to butcher Swan, with Packer accepting the situation and joining them. He claimed several thousand dollars was found on Swan's person and divided between the men. They consumed the most agreeable parts of Swan's body, packed some up, and moved on, with Packer appropriating Swan's rifle. Within two days, however, the five men were again out of meat, and game continued to elude them. Packer, Bell, Humphrey, and Noon decided in secret that Miller would be the next to go. Packer confessed that Miller was a stocky man, and was chosen for his amount of soft flesh. He was killed with a hatchet blow to the head, while he was stooping to pick up wood for the fire, then butchered and consumed. Packer took Miller's knife, having admired it, and Miller's share of Swan's money was redistributed among the four men, who then moved on to Los Pinós.