Donner Party
The Donner Party were a group of at least 87 American settlers who tried to cross the Sierra Nevada into California in the winter of 1846–47.[1][2] Most historians count 87 members of the party. Stephen McCurdy in the Western Journal of Medicine includes three others, bringing the number to 90.[3] 39 of them died from starvation, disease and the cold weather. The rest reached California the following year.[4] They became famous in the history of the American West.
Journey
The party left Springfield, Illinois in April 1846. They were led by two brothers, Jacob and George Donner. The settlers followed the California Trail to Fort Bridger in Wyoming. From there, they left the trail to take a different route that was not used much. It was reportedly a shorter way to California. This route was called the Hastings' Cutoff. There was much hardship and suffering on this route. They wasted 18 precious days. Instead of being shorter, it took them much longer to get across Nevada.
On October 28, heavy snows trapped the settlers in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The group made shelters, but ran out of food. Some of them resorted to cannibalism in order to survive.[1][2][5]
On December 16, seventeen people tried to go west again. Of these, two went back to the camp. Of the fifteen who kept going, seven stayed alive and reached a settlement on the western side of the mountains after 32 days.[1] After this, a rescue party went back, and in about two weeks made it to one of the camps set up in the mountains. After this, three more groups tried to rescue those trapped in the mountains. The last person was rescued on April 7,1847.[1] In all, 45 people from the original Donner Party died, and there were 36 who survived.[1] All the survivors made it to California, but they disagreed about what happened during the winter and whose fault it was.[2]
Memorials
Today, there are several memorials to the group, including a monument and the Donner Memorial State Park.[1][2] A lake was also named after them.[2]
In popular culture
Puppet History talked about the Donner Party in the episode "The Grisly Journey of the Donner Party."
Donner Party Media
The 28th page of Patrick Breen's diary, recording his observations in late February 1847, including "Mrs Murphy said here yesterday that thought she would Commence on Milt & eat him. I dont that she has done so yet, it is distressing." [sic]
An encampment of tents and covered wagons on the Humboldt River in Nevada, 1859
This is a photo of James F. and Margaret (Keyes) Reed, who were members of the Donner Party. Margaret died about 1862, and James died in 1874. The original photo is at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. The photographer is unknown.
Map of the route taken by the Donner Party, showing the Hastings Cutoff—which added 150 miles (240 km) to their travels—in orange
Reprinted in Charles McGlashan's History of the Donner Party, published 1880. Per McGlashan, this is a reproduction of an oil painting of Charles Stanton, a member of the Donner Party, and was painted in 1844.
The Truckee River in winter
The 7,088-foot (2,160 m) high pass above Truckee Lake became blocked by early snow in November 1846 (here photographed in the 1870s). Both the pass and the lake are now called Donner.
Map showing the Truckee Lake and Alder Creek sites
Artist's rendering of the Truckee Lake camp based on descriptions by William Graves
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "The Donner Party". Nevada County Gold. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Donner Party". Yahoo! Education. Archived from the original on 10 February 2007. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
- ↑ McCurdy, Stephen (1994). Epidemiology of Disaster: The Donner Party (1846–1847), Western Journal of Medicine, 160, pp. 338–342.
- ↑ Donner Party History.com. A&E Television Networks, LLC. Accessed 13 August 2013.
- ↑ "The Tragic Story of the Donner Party". legendsofamerica.com. Retrieved 18 December 2010.[dead link]