The Tragic Story of The Donner Party
The Donner Party set out in 1846 to reach California. The 87 people of the Donner Party, many of whom were well off, left everything they owned in hopes of a prosperous life in California. Due to misunderstandings and lack of judgment, the group never made it past the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges before winter arrived. They spent the winter of 1846 through 1847 trapped with little food and water. Many of the emigrants were forced to become cannibalistic, eating the people who had died from sickness and starvation. Generally, westward travelers use the South Pass, but to make up for lost time, the group decided to use Hastings Cutoff. Lansford W. Hastings wrote about a path that ran directly across the Great Basin. Although the pass seemed ideal to any traveler, Hastings had never traveled any part of his suggested shortcut. Hastings pass proved to be a poor decision and in addition to numerous mistakes ultimately led to the Donner Party’s demise.
James Reed was a wealthy Irish immigrant who had lived in Illinois before traveling west. James Reed brought his wife, Margret, and kids, Patty, Virginia, James, and Thomas. By moving west, the Reeds hoped that the warm climate in California would help Margret, who was sick. Reed’s family traveled in a custom-designed wagon that was known as the “Pioneer palace car. The wagon had spring seats and a stove. Eight oxen were needed to pull it. James’s great wealth allowed him to hire some men to drive the oxen. After the Donner Party had crossed the desert and wasted a month due to their “shortcut”, the Donner Party decided to split into two groups to travel more quickly. Reed’s wagon tangled with John Snyder’s. Infuriated, Snyder beat Reed’s oxen. When Reed interfered, Snyder began to whip Reed. Out of self-defense, Reed fatally stabbed Snyder’s collarbone. The witnesses discussed what had happened and what was to be done. Wagon parties frequently had disputes and because the U.S. Law did not extend to the west, the wagon parties often formed their own justice. Although witnesses had seen Snyder hit James, Snyder was much more popular than Reed was. During the 1850’s, there was much hatred towards immigrants and Reed was no exception. The punishment for Reed was for him to leave camp without food, weapons, or his family. Reed is one of many immigrants who faced prejudice from the majority white pioneers.
James Reed was a wealthy Irish immigrant who had lived in Illinois before traveling west. James Reed brought his wife, Margret, and kids, Patty, Virginia, James, and Thomas. By moving west, the Reeds hoped that the warm climate in California would help Margret, who was sick. Reed’s family traveled in a custom-designed wagon that was known as the “Pioneer palace car. The wagon had spring seats and a stove. Eight oxen were needed to pull it. James’s great wealth allowed him to hire some men to drive the oxen. After the Donner Party had crossed the desert and wasted a month due to their “shortcut”, the Donner Party decided to split into two groups to travel more quickly. Reed’s wagon tangled with John Snyder’s. Infuriated, Snyder beat Reed’s oxen. When Reed interfered, Snyder began to whip Reed. Out of self-defense, Reed fatally stabbed Snyder’s collarbone. The witnesses discussed what had happened and what was to be done. Wagon parties frequently had disputes and because the U.S. Law did not extend to the west, the wagon parties often formed their own justice. Although witnesses had seen Snyder hit James, Snyder was much more popular than Reed was. During the 1850’s, there was much hatred towards immigrants and Reed was no exception. The punishment for Reed was for him to leave camp without food, weapons, or his family. Reed is one of many immigrants who faced prejudice from the majority white pioneers.
On October 20, the party reached Truckee Meadows. Truckee Meadows was a grass-covered flat near the foot of the Sierras that was perfect for the party’s animals to rest at. Stanton had traveled to Sutter’s Fort and relayed messages to the Donner Party. Stanton informed the party that James Reed had reached the fort and was organizing a rescue party. Stanton also gave the Donner party some incorrect news. He informed the group that the big snows in the Sierras would come during mid-November. Since it was only mid-October, the party decided to wait a week. By the end of the week, snow began to pour down on the Party. The Donner Party hastily moved ahead but the blizzard slowed the group to the speed of 2-3 miles a day. Unable to move ahead, the party camped at Truckee Lake. At this point, the Donner Party had 87 members. The group was out of food and began to kill oxen for food. This is the point where the group is pushed to the limits and everyone fends for themselves. The group members started to only care for their own survival, rather than the entire group’s success. People began to make promises in order to satisfy their family’s needs. Virginia Reed said, “My mother had no cattle to kill but she made arrangements for some, promising to give two for one in California.” The once family-like group had turned into a party of strangers. Out of all this selfishness, the Breen cabin was open to those who wanted to come. They would read the Bible, sing and pray. Starvation also brought on hallucinations. Many claimed to see angels and demons watching over the camp. Once all the food was eaten, many members of the party resorted to desperate measures. They began cannibalism. At first the majority refused, but slowly, forced by starvation, the members began to eat the fallen members. All sympathy for other members was lost.
The Donner Party faced numerous hardships, many of which were due to Native Americans. Many of the northern Native Americans helped pioneers traveling west. But the Donner party had chosen to follow Hasting’s Cutoff which led them to the heart of the Paiute tribe. On many encounters, the Paiutes attacked the party and shot animals and wagons. The Indians stole horses and belongings. But there were a few occasions where Native Americans helped the Donner Party. When the party was trapped in the Sierra Nevada, Indians gave roots and other plants to the emigrants to eat. Although it was not a lot of food, the emigrants were desperate for food and felt grateful to the Indians. The Donner Party is also a great example of myth versus reality. Those who lived in the east only heard the benefits of moving west. They never heard the full story. The Donner Party’s tragic story shows how tough heading west actually was and what risks were involved.
I find it interesting that because the Donner party rested for almost one week, they were trapped in the mountains during the snow season. If they had just kept going, they would have made it safely to California with little problem. I was also interested by how frequent the Indian attacks were. I thought that attacks by Indians were very rare. For the Donner Party, it seemed that they were attacked at least once a week by Indians. Strangely, the Indians never hurt any of the pioneers. They only attacked the wagons and the animals. They were probably trying to slow the wagon party down. I think that the Indians attacked the westward pioneers so much because the pioneers were invading Indian Territory. They probably thought that they could slow down emigrant movement by attacking them. The Donner Party started out with 87 members and ended with 48 survivors. Only the children of the Donner Party survived from the Donner family and were orphaned. The Reed and Breen families remained intact. Most of the widows remarried. Reed settled in California and once again became prosperous in the California Gold Rush. The Donner Party is the worst case scenario that pioneers can go through. Because of poor decisions and many unknown ideas about the west, the Donor Party faced the harsh brutality of the westward expansion.
The Donner Party faced numerous hardships, many of which were due to Native Americans. Many of the northern Native Americans helped pioneers traveling west. But the Donner party had chosen to follow Hasting’s Cutoff which led them to the heart of the Paiute tribe. On many encounters, the Paiutes attacked the party and shot animals and wagons. The Indians stole horses and belongings. But there were a few occasions where Native Americans helped the Donner Party. When the party was trapped in the Sierra Nevada, Indians gave roots and other plants to the emigrants to eat. Although it was not a lot of food, the emigrants were desperate for food and felt grateful to the Indians. The Donner Party is also a great example of myth versus reality. Those who lived in the east only heard the benefits of moving west. They never heard the full story. The Donner Party’s tragic story shows how tough heading west actually was and what risks were involved.
I find it interesting that because the Donner party rested for almost one week, they were trapped in the mountains during the snow season. If they had just kept going, they would have made it safely to California with little problem. I was also interested by how frequent the Indian attacks were. I thought that attacks by Indians were very rare. For the Donner Party, it seemed that they were attacked at least once a week by Indians. Strangely, the Indians never hurt any of the pioneers. They only attacked the wagons and the animals. They were probably trying to slow the wagon party down. I think that the Indians attacked the westward pioneers so much because the pioneers were invading Indian Territory. They probably thought that they could slow down emigrant movement by attacking them. The Donner Party started out with 87 members and ended with 48 survivors. Only the children of the Donner Party survived from the Donner family and were orphaned. The Reed and Breen families remained intact. Most of the widows remarried. Reed settled in California and once again became prosperous in the California Gold Rush. The Donner Party is the worst case scenario that pioneers can go through. Because of poor decisions and many unknown ideas about the west, the Donor Party faced the harsh brutality of the westward expansion.