Tragic History of Ill Fated 1846 Donner Party
Westward Bound Wagon Train Tainted by Cannibalism
Apr 24, 2009 Rosemary E. Bachelor
Twenty wagons, led by George and Jacob Donner, left Illinois in 1846, headed for California. The Donners were prosperous farmers in their early 60s. The group also included their friend, James F. Reed, a wealthy cabinetmaker, and several other families from the Midwest,.
Did Donner Party Take Wrong Route?
This party of men, women and children arrived at the Continental Divide in July of 1846. After some discussion, they decided to head west by a lesser-used southerly route which included the 350-mile Hastings Cut-off by Fort Bridger, south of the Great Salt Lake. It probably was not a wise choice.
Food became scarce for members of the Donner party and the Paiute Indians. The Indians figured out that by wounding cows in the wagon train, they could acquire them for food. The travelers couldn’t be slowed down by wounded animals so left them behind.
By late October of 1846, the wagon train had reached Truckee Meadows near the present Reno, Nevada, after a difficult journey across the salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. Their morale had plunged, most of them were exhausted and they were being targeted by Indians. By the time they got to the Sierra Nevada region, there was dissension and ill feelings within the group. They had lost valuable time, as well as wagons and oxen.
Donner Party Rest Stop a Fatal Decision
Not far from Donner Lake, these settlers on the move had heard about the difficult mountain crossings ahead. Although they were behind schedule they decided it would be wise to rest for a week—they did not know how fatal this delay would be.
Resuming their trek, they soon became trapped by heavy snow in the mountain passes. Their food supply gave out. The suffering of the group trapped that winter on Alder Creek and Donner Lake intensified to tragic proportions. A party that tried in December to make its way through the snow laden passes did not succeed.
Cannibalism a Tragic Reality
During the weeks that followed, they faced starvation, death and the knowledge that to survive they were reduced to eating the flesh of their dead friends and family members. Expeditions set out from California to rescue those still alive. Finally, one rescue group reached the survivors; others followed.
Survivor Patrick Breen kept a diary, a prime source which became edited by George R. Stewart and used by him in an account of the Donner Party titled Ordeal by Hunger (1936).
Later, those who survived disagreed about details of the ill-fated Donner party. They quarreled over who was to blame. The taint of cannibalism still hangs over this terribly tragic chapter of American history.
Today, Donner Lake is a popular resort. Nearby, Donner Memorial State Park marks the location of the main Donner Party camp during the winter of 1846-47. Ironically, there is a U. S. Weather Observatory at Donner Pass.
(Companion articles list members of the Donner wagon train who died and those who survived.)
SOURCE: The Orange County, California, Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 26, No.2 (June, 1989). Its sources included “Donner Memorial State Park: Teacher’s Handbook” (Government Publication).
Snow-Bound Donner Party
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