Originally posted by Hortlund
What is the donner party? Never heard about it/they/he/she/whatever
PBS had a fantastic mini-series about it. I caught it and was entranced. It was done in the same style as Ken Burns' "Civil War", with photographs, voice-overs, diary readings, the works. Very gruesome stuff.
On April 15, 1846, 31 people crammed into 9 covered wagons left Springfield, Illinois, to make their way westward into the new territories being opened up in California. Their goal was to reach California before the winter snow storms closed the passages through the Sierra mountains. It was almost as if it was ordained that they should suffer.
By June, they had reached the Platte River in Nebraska, which offered 3 paths through the mountains, but their wagon train captain resigned his post and the families had to elect a new leader. There was some argument as to which trail to take and this delayed their trip, which was already beginning to fall behind schedule because of the deaths of some of the wagon train members during the march had necessitated pauses for funerals.
By late June they had arrived at Fort Laramie in southern Wyoming. Ft. Laramie has been called the "Crossroads of a Nation Moving West" because it served as the turning point for so many wagon trains as the west was opened up. At Ft. Laramie, they met up with an acquaintance of one of the men and discussed a new route through Hastings Cutoff. The acquaintance, who was coming through the cutoff and heading back east, advised them against taking that trail. The advice falls on deaf ears.
During their journey, the original company of wagons was joined by other wagons taking the same path, and a few wagoneers ended up trading their wagons for pack mules, thinking it would make for easier traveling. One of the families funding the trip was supposed to meet the wagon train but was running a week behind, causing further delay for the rest of the group. A few families left the main group and pushed westward on their own.
By early July, the main party had reach Independence Rock in Wyoming. Here they receive information that a for-hire wagon train leader will lead all comers from Fort Bridger through his pass in the mountains. A few trains led by George Donner (creating the Donner Party) elect to take the Hastings Cutoff and go to Fort Bridger. By the time they get there, the wagon-train leader had already left with 60-70 wagons in his charge. The Donner Party elects to spend a few days resting their horses and repairing their wagons. Its the end of July and the party numbers 70-plus people in 20 wagons.
They proceed through Echo Canyon, Utah, one of the most difficult portions of the trip. It takes them nearly 2 weeks to cover a few hundred miles. Their horses exhausted, the group stops and sends a few men up ahead to try and catch the for-hire leader (James Hastings). They find him on the south shore of the Great Salt Lake and he advises them to not follow him through the pass, based on their slow progress and distance behind his wagon train. He helps them plot a new course on a map and the men return, but Hastings' direction is based on the assumption that they can leave with a minimum of delay. They don't. Remember, this is a group being led by a well-intentioned amateur rather than an experienced wagon-train master.
The Donner Party makes its way through the Wasatch mountains and enters Salt Lake Valley, where one of their members dies from illness. Another funeral, more lost time. By September, they are only on the edge of the Great Salt Lake Desert, where they cut grass and prepare for the journey across the salt flats. The Salt Lake Desert is both beautiful and deadly, with quicksand-like ponds that are invisible until you step in one. The wagon train is delayed as wheels get caught in salt ponds.
After completing the desert crossing, they realize that they are running low on food, but good luck is on their side and they manage to follow Hastings' tracks into Nevada. By October, 1846, they begin their ascent into the Sierra Mountains.
Broken axels, marauding bandits, deaths, and incompentence harrow the progress of the Donner Party and the train splits into two groups. By the end of October snow has begun to clog the passes. The larger group is unable to get through the mountains and elects to camp on the far side of a lake where a cabin had been built by previous travelers. The party builds two more and waits for the "early snow" to thaw so that they can make the pass and descend into California - 60 people in two cabins. The smaller party, 21 people with George Donner, is a few miles behind and living in hastily-built structures made of quilts and cloth.
By November, the group has come to the realization that the snow isn't going to thaw and that they will be stuck there. Storms and predators kill or drive off most of their cattle. Hunting is unproductive. A group of 17 people comprised of men, women, and children build snowshoes to try and make an escape on foot. A couple turn back early, but the rest press on. A snow blizzard catches them and four perish from exposure. With no food and no hope for escape, the snowshoers resort to cannibalism, and when that runs out, they resort to murder.
In mid-January, 8 of the 15 snowshoers reach safety. News of their plight reaches San Francisco and rescue parties are arranged. By mid-February, the first rescue team reaches the trapped Donner party. 11 members have died and the others are near death, having had no food and minimum shelter. The first rescue party leaves with a few Donner Party refugees, and a few die on the way down the mountain. A second rescue party passes them going the other way and a father, leading the 2nd rescue effort, is reunited with his family. By the time the 2nd rescue team reaches the Donner Party camp, the Donner Party victims have resorted to cannibalism. This 2nd team leaves with a few more starved victims, and a few of these don't survive the trip. A 3rd rescue team reaches the area now known as "Starved Camp" and leaves with 4 more victims. The others are too weak to move.
Additional attempts to reach the poor sufferers are thwarted by snow drifts and blizzards, and by the time the last rescue attempt is made in April, only 1 person is still alive. A month later, a party led by General Stephen Kearney reach the camp and is horrified at what they see. A few Mormons in the entourage are dispatched to burn the bodies in one of the cabins.
A very good map of the voyage is available at
http://members.aol.com/DanMRosen/donner/maps.htmIf anyone goes to the Donner Memorial Park, take a look at the 12-foot high tree stumps and read passages from the diary. It'll shake you to the core.
