The Donner Party

The Donner Party

• The story has been sensationalized, distorting the settlers as inhuman ghouls.
• The book chronicles the Donner Party's journey, highlighting the challenges and the fatal decision to take a shortcut

The Leaders

• The three principal leaders of the Donner-Reed Party were:
  • George and Jacob Donner (brothers)
  • James Reed, an Irish immigrant

James Reed

• A self-made man
• An entrepreneur who built a mill and was involved in early railroad development
• Faced business difficulties due to the Great Depression of 1837, leading to bankruptcy.

Abraham Lincoln

• A young attorney in Springfield
• Served with James Reed in the Black Hawk War.
• Counseled Reed during his business troubles and helped him stash away money before the party's departure.

Manifest Destiny

• The settlers were influenced by the idea of Manifest Destiny
• Belief that Anglo population was divinely appointed to conquer and consume the continent.

The Journey West

• The party prepared by gathering oxen to pull wagons loaded with belongings.
• Essentials, trade goods, books, and wine were brought along.
• Much of the material was eventually discarded due to the journey's difficulties.

California Propaganda

• Settlers were drawn to California by propaganda promoting its opportunities.
• People like John Sutter sought to sell real estate to newcomers.
• Lansford Hastings, a young attorney, wrote "Emigrants Guide" to California and Oregon, influencing the Donner brothers and James Reed to follow his advice.

Hastings Cutoff

• James Clyburn advised to avoid the shortcut stating Hastings had never taken it himself

The Journey

• They faced challenges and hardship
• The company made slow progress, hacking through thickets and dense brush.
• They eventually faced the Great Salt Lake Desert

The Great Salt Lake Desert

• They trimmed down the physical size of their caravan.
• They left behind non-essentials and some animals.
• Conditions included heat, freezing temperatures, and lack of water.

Toll on the Party

• Deaths occurred, including a young infant and a sick man.
• Animals were lost, and wagons were consolidated.
• A cohesive group was undermined, leading to a survival-of-the-fittest mentality.

John Sutter

• He set up operations in Alta California
• He employed native Californian Indians as a workforce, but treated them poorly
• When sending aid to the Donner party Sutter made sure he was paid back

Donner Party's Downfall

• Winter set in earlier than expected, leading to the tragedy.
• They set up camps at Truckee Lake and Alder Creek in the winter of 1846-1847.

Cannibalism

• People are squeamish about cannibalism
• They ate everything before turning to human flesh
• They killed oxen, horses, and dogs for meat, boiled hides, and chewed on pine cones and bark.
• They turned to the bodies of those who had already died from starvation and hypothermia.

Luis and Salvador

• Two Miwok Indians that refused to eat human flesh
• The Indians were shot, field dressed, and eaten.

Rescue Efforts

• They found the camps, the lake camp and the Alder Creek camp empty, save for snow
• A woman emerged and asked rescuers if they were men "from California, or are you from heaven?"

Aftermath

• 41 people died, and 46 survived
• Survivors were physically and psychologically scarred.
• The Reed family managed to avoid cannibalism due to the diligence of the mother, Margret Reed.

Legacy

• Exaggerated accounts.
• The Donner-Reed Party was ridiculed by other Manifest Destiny proponents for failing to conquer nature.
• The story reflects American exceptionalism and the importance of learning from history to avoid repeating past mistakes

Patty Reed's Note

• "Never take no cut-offs and hurry along as fast as you can."