The Donner Party Expedition Whitney Bartlett

The Donner Party “The Donner Party was a group of 87 American pioneers who in 1846 set off from Illinois in a wagon train headed west for California, only to find themselves trapped by snow in the Sierra Nevada. The subsequent casualties resulting from starvation, exposure, disease, and trauma were extremely high, and many of the survivors resorted to cannibalism.” wikipedia.org

On The Trail In May 1846, they started their journey from Illinois to California. They decided to take a short cut through Utah and Nevada, but quickly ran out of food and resources. 15 people decided to snow shoe to California in December and became disoriented in the mountains. They survived by eating the flesh of their dead companions. Only seven people survived. Eventually the Donner party got stuck in the Sierra Nevada’s and turned to cannibalism. As it was their only source of food because the Mexican-American war and harsh weather caused the help to be delayed.

In California “The first rescue group reached the remaining members, who were starving and feeble, in February 1847. Weather conditions were so bad that three rescue groups were required to lead the rest to California, the last arriving in March. Most of these survivors also had resorted to cannibalism. Forty-eight members of the Donner Party survived to live in California. Although a minor incident in the record of westward migration in North America, the Donner Party became notorious for the reported claims of cannibalism. Efforts to memorialize the Donner Party were underway within a few years; historians have described the episode as one of the most spectacular tragedies in California history and in the record of western migration.” Wikipedia.org

Quick Facts When they crossed rivers on Native territory, the Natives would float their wagons on rafts and safely leed their bison across the river. They would also trade with the Natives. Many people in the Donner party were inspired by Manifest Destiny.

People in The Donner Party James Reed was an Irish man who took his wife, four kids and mother-in-law with him in a giant wagon called the Pioneer Palace Car which took 8 bison to pull it. Douglas Allen Deeds was an orphan who after hardships moved to California and kept a journal of the expedition. He was friends with the Reeds and stayed with them in their wagon. The Donners started the expedition with the Reeds and in a Fox news cast it states that they never actually ate anyone.

Resources Wikipedia.org The Journal of Douglas Allen Deeds: The Donner Party Expedition by Rodman Philbrick Mrs. Ness Google Images Google