The Donner Party

Goals: 1. Describe the mistakes the Donner Party made. 2. Describe the bad luck the Donner Party faced.

The Donner party When? Where?

The Donner party When? Spring 1846 Where?

The Donner party When? Spring 1846 Where? Oregon Trail to the California Trail

Mistakes Mistake #1

Mistakes Mistake #1 Too many elderly people, women and youngsters.

They were too slow

Mistakes Mistake #1 Too many elderly people, women and youngsters. Mistake #2

Mistakes Mistake #1 Too many elderly people, women and youngsters. Mistake #2 They took Lansford W. Hasting's shortcut in "An Emigrant's Guide to Oregon and California."

Lansford W. Hastings

Mistakes Mistake #1 Too many elderly people, women and youngsters. Mistake #2 They took Lansford W. Hasting's shortcut in "An Emigrant's Guide to Oregon and California." Mistake #3

Mistakes Mistake #1 Too many elderly people, women and youngsters. Mistake #2 They took Lansford W. Hasting's shortcut in "An Emigrant's Guide to Oregon and California." Mistake #3 They banished James Reed for killing John Snyder. Reed was one of their most needed members.

James Reed

Mistakes Mistake #2 They took Lansford W. Hasting's shortcut in "An Emigrant's Guide to Oregon and California." Mistake #3 They banished James Reed for killing John Snyder. Reed was one of their most needed members. Mistake #4

Mistakes Mistake #2 They took Lansford W. Hasting's shortcut in "An Emigrant's Guide to Oregon and California." Mistake #3 They banished James Reed for killing John Snyder. Reed was one of their most needed members. Mistake #4 The Donner Party rested four days near Truckee Meadows in Nevada.

Truckee Meadows

Unlucky Facts Unlucky Fact #1

Unlucky Facts Unlucky Fact #1 Snow hit the Sierras almost a month early.

Unlucky Facts Unlucky Fact #1 Snow hit the Sierras almost a month early. Unlucky Fact #2

Unlucky Facts Unlucky Fact #1 Snow hit the Sierras almost a month early. Unlucky Fact #2 The Donner wagon broke down.

Wagons in the Sierras

Unlucky Facts Unlucky Fact #1 Snow hit the Sierras almost a month early. Unlucky Fact #2 The Donner wagon broke down. Unlucky Fact #3

Unlucky Facts Unlucky Fact #1 Snow hit the Sierras almost a month early. Unlucky Fact #2 The Donner wagon broke down. Unlucky Fact #3 They picked one of the windiest passes in the Sierras.

Donner Lake and Donner Pass

Unlucky Facts Unlucky Fact #3 They picked one of the windiest passes in the Sierras. Unlucky Fact #4

Unlucky Facts Unlucky Fact #3 They picked one of the windiest passes in the Sierras. Unlucky Fact #4 The snow that winter reached a depth of twenty-two feet.

Twenty-two feet of snow

Unlucky Facts Unlucky Fact #3 They picked one of the windiest passes in the Sierras. Unlucky Fact #4 The snow that winter reached a depth of twenty-two feet. Unlucky Fact #5

Unlucky Facts Unlucky Fact #3 They picked one of the windiest passes in the Sierras. Unlucky Fact #4 The snow that winter reached a depth of twenty-two feet. Unlucky Fact #5 Only forty-five of the seventy-nine persons in the original Donner Party survived.

List of the Donner Party