Donner Party

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The Donner Party was a group of California-bound American settlers caught up in the "westering fever" of the 1840s. After becoming snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountains in the winter of 1846–1847, many of the emigrants resorted to cannibalism.

Contents 1 The story 2 Cannibalism 3 Timeline 4 External links

The story

The nucleus of the party consisted of the Donner and Reed families—a total of 32 persons, including the Reeds' two hired servants and the seven drivers hired by 62-year-old George Donner—from Springfield, Illinois. George Donner was a farmer, and had already moved five times before settling in Springfield; his older brother, Jacob, was successful enough where he was that he had no financial need to move, but also had the pioneering urge. James Frazier Reed, the originator of the party's migration, was a successful Illinois businessman, but wanted to do even better out west; he also thought that the California climate may alleviate the headaches of his wife, Margaret; even Margaret's consumptive mother, Sarah Keyes, joined the Reeds, including children Virginia, Patty, James, and Thomas (the youngest), so as not to be without her only daughter.

They left Independence, Missouri, on May 12, 1846, traveling with a larger wagon train until they reached the Little Sandy River, in Wyoming, where they camped alongside several other emigrant parties. There, those emigrants who had decided to take a new route, "Hastings Cutoff" (named after its promoter, Lansford Hastings, who had yet to test the route himself), formed a new wagon train and elected George Donner their captain, creating the Donner Party, on July 19, 1846.

The party encountered great hardships crossing the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake Desert in present-day Utah. When they finally rejoined the California Trail near modern Elko, Nevada, they had lost three weeks' time on the "shortcut". They encountered further setbacks and delays while traveling along Nevada's Humboldt River.

When they finally reached the Sierra Nevada, a snow storm blocked the pass. Demoralized and low on supplies, about two thirds of the emigrants camped at a small lake (now called Donner Lake), while the Donner families and a few others camped about six miles (ten kilometers) away, at Alder Creek.

The emigrants slaughtered their oxen, but there was not enough meat to feed so many for long. In mid- December, fifteen of the trapped emigrants set out on snowshoes for Sutter's Fort, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away, to seek help. When one man gave out and had to be left behind, the others continued, but they soon became lost and ran out of food. Caught without shelter in a raging blizzard, four of the party died. The survivors resorted to cannibalism. Three more died and were eaten before finally, nearly naked and close to death, seven of the original fifteen snowshoers reached safety on the western side of the mountains on January 19, 1847.

Californians rallied to save the Donner Party and equipped a total of four rescue parties. By the time the second of these parties arrived in March, the emigrants at the two camps had also begun to eat the dead. On April 29, the last refugee arrived at Sutter's Fort.

Of the original 87 pioneers, 41 died and 46 survived.

Donner Memorial State Park, near the eastern shore of Donner Lake, commemorates the disaster; the area where the Donner families camped at Alder Creek has been designated a National Historic Landmark.

Cannibalism

Cannibalism is the best-known feature of the Donner Party story, but the facts are often misrepresented. The emigrants ate everything else they could—animals, rawhide, bones, leather—before finally turning to the only food source that remained, the bodies of the dead. The documentary record makes it clear that cannibalism occurred among the snowshoers and at the Donner Lake camp; the evidence of cannibalism at the Alder Creek camp, though not as good, is still strong. Several survivors spoke or wrote of their own consumption of human flesh, and dozens of people who visited the remains of the lake camp in 1847–1849 reported seeing the physical evidence.

In August 2003, archaeologists investigated the Donner camp at Alder Creek, recovering many small artifacts and pieces of bone. One of the largest bone fragments, from a "large mammal", bears butcher marks from an axe. A second excavation in July 2004 recovered more artifacts and bone fragments. As of this writing (August 2005), the species of animals represented by the bone fragments have not been identified; if some turn out to be human, it will be the first physical evidence of cannibalism from a Donner Party site.

Timeline

The following rough timeline of the Party's journey from Illinois to California (2,500 miles (4,023 kilometers), over a huge plain, three high mountain ranges, and several deserts) is based largely on the documentary film The Donner Party (see External links below) and the diary that Patrick Breen, one of the party, kept during the period November 20, 1846 – March 1, 1847, at the camp at Donner Lake (see External links). Quotations from the diary have been edited for readability; quotations from other written sources are based on spoken delivery of voice actors in the documentary, and may not match the originals in spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and omissions:

• Thursday, April 16, 1846: Journey begins at Springfield, Illinois, with nine new covered wagons; travelers are George Donner, his family, and the seven teamster drivers he has hired; Jacob Donner and his family; and James Frazier Reed, his family, and their two hired servants. The Reeds' wagon, the likes of which the rest of the party has never seen, is two storeys, with a built-in iron stove and sleeping bunks, and required the pull of eight oxen; 12-year-old daughter Virginia calls it the "pioneer palace car". The destination of the first leg is Independence, Missouri, where the Oregon and California trails begin. The trip must not begin until spring rains have subsided, and must end before snow makes the Sierra Nevada impassible. Also on this day, Lansford Hastings leaves California, heading eastward to follow his famed shortcut for the first time. The Party numbers 32.

• Monday, May 11, 1846: In Independence, Missouri, whose streets are mud in the rain, Tamsen Donner, wife of George, writes to her sister, estimating the upcoming journey at four months.

• Tuesday, May 12, 1846: The Party departs Independence, Missouri.

• May 1846: After a few days, two riders bring mail, and news that hostilities between the United States and Mexico have broken out along the Rio Grande. Although morning skies are clear, the trail is mud because of the nightly thunderstorms, requiring double-teaming for the "palace car" when the terrain is even moderately inclined, which irritates the other travelers.

• Wednesday, May 27, 1846: The Party stops at the east bank of the Big Blue River, which rain has made too deep to ford. Camp is made so that a ferry can be built.

• Friday, May 29, 1846: Sarah Keyes dies; a coffin is built; she is buried under a tree. The Party numbers 31.

• Sunday, May 31, 1846: The last of the wagons is ferried across the river.

• Tuesday, June 16, 1846: Tamsen Donner writes that the Party is now at the Platte River, 200 miles from Fort Laramie, in the future Wyoming, and that the journey so far has been easier than expected.

• Saturday, June 27, 1846: The Party reaches Fort Laramie, one week behind schedule. James Reed meets 54-year-old James Clyman, an old mountaineer, who has just come by horse from California along Hastings's Cutoff; Clyman tells Reed to take the usual route, calling it barely possible and Hastings's impossible.

• Sunday, June 28, 1846 (?): James Clyman continues eastward along the Platte River.

• Wednesday, July 15, 1846: James Clyman crosses the Big Blue River; he sees Sarah Keyes's grave and wonders about the motivation for such a journey—and its price.

• Friday, July 17, 1846: Approaching the Continental Divide, the Party encounters a lone rider from the south pass, who bears an open letter from Hastings, who urges "all emigrants now on the road" to get to Fort Bridger, where he will be waiting to take them along his Cutoff.

• Saturday, July 18, 1846: The Party crosses the Continental Divide, and is now in what the mountain men call "Oregon country", 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from Independence, but with still more than 1,000 miles to go.

• Monday, July 20, 1846: The Party reaches the Little Sandy River, the point at which most pioneers have turned right and taken the beaten path, but where twenty wagons, including all nine of the Donner–Reed Party, turn left, heading to Fort Bridger to meet Hastings.

• Tuesday, July 21, 1846: The Party, now more than doubled in number, chooses a new captain, passing over James Reed's wealth and aristocratic manner, and opting for George Donner.

• Tuesday, July 28, 1846 (?): The enlarged Party arrives at Fort Bridger, the corral and two cabins of mountaineer Jim Bridger. Hastings has already left, one week before, leading the wagons that had already arrived at Fort Bridger, and leaving instructions for such later followers as the Party, who stay four days to rest the oxen and make repairs.

• Friday, July 31, 1846: James Reed writes "Hastings's cutoff is said to be a saving of 350 or 400 miles and a better route. The rest of the Californians went the long route, feeling afraid of Hastings's cutoff. But Mr. Bridger informs me that it is a fine, level road with plenty of water and grass. It is estimated that 700 miles will take us to Captain Sutter's fort, which we hope to make in seven weeks from this day." The Party's nine families and sixteen single men depart Fort Bridger and start on Hastings's Cutoff. The Party numbers 87: 31 men, 15 women, and 41 children (including 6 nursing infants).

• August 1846: For a week, the Party makes good time (ten to twelve miles per day) following the tracks of the group led by Hastings.

• Thursday, August 6, 1846: The Party stops at the bottom of Echo Canyon; Hastings has left a note in the sage there, warning them that the road ahead is impassible and instructing them to wait for him to return and show them a better way.

• Tuesday, August 10, 1846 (?): After five days' search, James Reed finds Hastings, who refuses to go back with Reed and lead the Party, but who suggests a route that, he thinks, may be easier.

• Wednesday, August 11, 1846 (?): The Party leaves the track that Hastings has identified as impassible and heads off into the wilderness along the suggested route. They hardly make two miles a day, the very dense foliage impeding progress: six days are needed to make the eight miles up Big Mountain.

• August 1846: At some point during or after the journey, Virginia Reed writes, of this time, "Finally we reached the end of the canyon, where it looked as though our wagons would have to be abandoned. It seemed impossible for the oxen to pull them up the steep hill and the bluffs beyond, but we double-teamed and the work was at last accomplished. Worn with travel and greatly discouraged, we reached the shore of the Great Salt Lake. It had taken an entire month instead of a week."

• Saturday, August 22, 1846: The Party is out of the mountains, some blaming Reed for the troubles. With summer drawing to a close, there are still 600 miles (966 kilometers) to go.

• Tuesday, August 25, 1846: In the evening, Luke Halloran dies of consumption; he is buried in a coffin at a fork in the road. The Party numbers 86: 30 men, 15 women, and 41 children (including 6 nursing infants).

• August 1846: The Party resumes following the track of Hastings's party. At a cluster of clear, fresh springs, the Party finds a torn note from Hastings; at some point during or after the journey, Eliza Donner writes, of this time, "Mother knelt down and began thoughtfully fitting the ragged edges of paper together. The process was watched with spellbound interest by the anxious group around her. The writing was that of Hastings and her patchwork brought out the following words. 'Two days ...two nights ... hard driving ... across desert ... reach water.' " The Party collects as much water and grass as possible, and then heads up through the hills, the salt plain visible to the west.

• Sunday, August 30, 1846: The Party starts crossing the salt desert plain, whose surface, under the sun's heat, turns to goo, in which wagon wheels can sink up to their hubs.

• Tuesday, September 1, 1846 (?): On the third day in the desert, the water runs out. That night, the Reeds' thirsty oxen run off, never to be found; the Reeds gather what they can carry in their arms, leaving their wagon behind. At some point during or after the journey, Virginia Reed writes, of this time, "Papa carried Thomas and all the rest of us walked. We got to the Donners' wagon and they were all asleep, so we laid down on the ground. We spread one shawl down and spread another over us and then put the dogs on top. The wind blew very hard; and, if it had not been for the dogs, we would have frozen."

• Thursday, September 3, 1846 (?): The Party finishes the five-day journey across the eighty-mile desert, which Hastings had said was half was wide. Some of the wagons, including the "pioneer palace car", have been abandoned; and 36 oxen are lost. At some point during or after the journey, Eliza Donner writes, of this time, "Anguish and dismay now filled all hearts. Husbands bowed their heads, appalled at the situation of their families. Some cursed Hastings for the false statements in his open letter and for his broken pledge at Fort Bridger. They cursed him also for his misrepresentation of the distance across this cruel desert. Mothers in tearless agony clasped their children to their bosoms with the old, old cry 'Father, Thy will, not mine, be done.' It was plain that, try as we might, we could not get back to Fort Bridger. We must proceed, regardless of the fearful outlook." and Virginia Reed writes "An inventory of provisions was taken and it was found that the supply was not sufficient to last us through to California. As if to render the situation more terrible, a storm came on during the night and the hilltops became white with snow."

• Early September 1846: Hastings rides in to Sutter's Fort at the head of eighty wagons: except the Donner Party, all the 1846 migrants from the East to California have arrived safely.

• September 1846: William McCutcheon (a Missouri farmer) and Charles Stanton (a New York bachelor) volunteer to ride ahead to California. The Party numbers 86: 30 men (2 of whom have left for California), 15 women, and 41 children (including 6 nursing infants).

• Saturday, September 26, 1846: The Party arrives at the Humboldt River, where Hastings's Cutoff meets the old trail, which is actually 125 miles (200 kilometers) shorter than Hastings's.

• Saturday, October 5, 1846: When the Party is struggling up a sandy hill, the Reed and Graves wagons become entangled. The Graveses' driver, John Snyder, begins to beat the oxen with the butt of his whip. When James Reed tries to stop him, Snyder grows angrier and hits Reed on the head with the whip. With Snyder about to strike again, Reed stabs him in the chest with a hunting knife, just below the collarbone. Snyder stumbles some feet up the hill and dies. The Party numbers 85: 29 men (2 of whom have left for California), 15 women, and 41 children (including 6 nursing infants). At some point during or after the journey, Tamsen Donner writes, of this incident, "Mr. Reed and family were taken to their tent and guarded by their friends. An assembly was convened to decide what should be done. The majority declared the deed murder and demanded retribution." German Lewis Keseberg wants Reed dead and stands his own wagon tongue on end as a gallows. Margaret Reed begs, and the Party chooses banishment instead. Reed first refuses to leave, but then realizes he has no choice.

• Sunday, October 6, 1846: James Reed helps to bury John Snyder, and then rides west, alone. The Party numbers 85: 29 men (2 of whom have left for California, another of whom has been banished), 15 women, and 41 children (including 6 nursing infants).

• October 1846: The Party moves as quickly as possible down the Humboldt; to spare the oxen, everyone walks who can.

• Monday, October 7, 1846: Mr. Hardkoop, an old Belgian, is turned out of Lewis Keseberg's wagon. Nobody else will take him in. He falls farther and farther behind, and is last seen sitting by the road. The Party numbers 84: 28 men (2 of whom have left for California, another of whom has been banished), 15 women, and 41 children (including 6 nursing infants).

• October 1846: At some point during or after the journey, Virginia Reed writes, of this time, "We traveled on, but the hours dragged slowly along. Every day we would search for some sign of Papa, who would leave a letter by the wayside. But a time came when we found no letter and no trace of him."

External links

• The Donner Party is is a documentary film about the Donner party, part of the American Experience documentary series aired on PBS. The film's website includes a complete transcript of the documentary as well as much other related material.
• The diary kept during the period November 20, 1846 – March 1, 1847, by Patrick Breen, one of the travelers, is available in hypertext as well as color scans of the pages, at the website of the Online Archive of California.