The Donner Party Tragedy

On December 26, 1846, some of the Donner Party resorted to cannibalism to survive. The group of emigrants lead by George Donner and James Reed had set out for California in May of that year. They experienced several delays and didn't reach the Sierra Nevada range until November, when they were trapped in an early snowfall.

Their food supply ran dangerously low, and in the middle of December, a small group set out on foot to find help. In the meantime, a rescue party from California tried to reach them, but they were unable to get there until the middle of February 1847. Of the 87 pioneers, only 48 survived to reach California. Many of the survivors had survived by eating those that died of starvation or the weather. As the story spread, many of the survivors were harassed or ostracized, and some felt guilt for years.

But the Donner Party became a warning for those traveling west not to take chances with the terrain or weather, and to make sure they made it through the mountains in plenty of time. I included mention of this twice in my next book being published traditionally. It's current title is Through the Wilderness, and it's set on the Oregon Trail. Here are the two excepts: 

            Time slipped away, and some worried they were behind schedule. Everyone remembered hearing of the Donner Party and what had happened to them when they became trapped in the heavy snows of the western mountains. Some of them had turned to cannibalism to stay alive. Jacob hoped this group of wagons could make up some of the time they’d lost in the days ahead.

and much later -

(Cover will be changed)

            As they neared Barlow Pass, another problem presented itself. The temperature dropped even more, the wind picked up, and heavy, dark clouds began to move in.

            Jacob remembered what Obadiah had said about snowstorms in this area, and he remembered the earlier Donner Party. Although this road hadn’t been opened at that time, the wagons in the Donner Party had become stranded from heavy snows which made travel impossible, they had also been caught in a mountain snowstorm. Most of them died and the survivors had resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. It was an even more frightening story, considering this group’s present circumstance. Jacob watched the skies.

            “Hit’s agoin' a snow,” Obadiah forecasted. “Hain’t no doubt about hit.”

            The questions were “when” and “how much.” A whiteout hit right before they got to the pass. The wind swirled the falling snow so that no one could see where to go. They camped on the road leaving enough room between the wagons to build fires. At least this part wasn’t so narrow, and that made the situation less threatening. If such a storm had hit on Devil’s Backbone, Jacob didn’t know how they would have survived. He felt sure they wouldn’t have. 

(As with all my books, all my profits will go to a scholarship fund for missionary children.)

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