The Donner Party was an ill-fated wagon train that headed to California from Springfield, IL in 1846. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/ The journey consisted of 2500 miles using an untried trail proposed by Lansford Hastings that lead across the Great Basin. The group estimated their trip would take 4 months to complete; instead it took almost 1 year, cost the lives of 41 individuals, and would involve cannibalism and madness. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/

The wagon trail was organized by James Reed and began with 32 men, women, and children, and 9 wagons.http://www.books-about-california.com/Pages/History_of_Donner_Party/Donner_Party_chapter_01.html The party included the Donners, composed of 2 families and 17 people, and the Reeds, which were 7. One hundred miles out of Independence, MO the “Donner Party”, as it would later become known, met up with a larger train so that there were 87-90 individuals in all.http://www.books-about-california.com/Pages/History_of_Donner_Party/Donner_Party_chapter_01.html http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/ In May 1846, Sarah Keyes, the 70 year old mother-in-law of James Reed, became the first person of the wagon train to die. http://www.books-about-california.com/Pages/History_of_Donner_Party/Donner_Party_chapter_01.html At Fort Laramie, a large stopping and re-supplying place for wagon trains, the group was advised against following the Hastings trail by James Clyman, who had traveled it, but the group chose to ignore the warning.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/ On July 20, 1846 the wagon train split into two groups with the larger group heading over the more traveled trail and arriving safely in California, and the Donner Party, with 20 wagons, taking the Hastings route. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/

After a terrible struggle with mountains, canyons, and rivers, the Donner party was split into two camps in the Sierra Nevada Mountains around a lake that is now known as Donner Lake. The Donner family, with their hired hands, was at one edge of the lake, while the Reeds and other families were on the other. A snow storm that buried the camps in five feet of snow halted all progress and hopes of getting over the mountains before winter. This snow storm ran off any mules and cattle that the train had remaining and they were left with severely depleted stores in their wagons. After several weeks of near starvation, a group of 15 started out on snowshoes over the summit of the mountains in hopes to reach Sutter’s Fort, 100 miles away. Seven made it by January 19, 1847, by living off the bodies of those that had died along the way.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/

On Feb. 5, 1847, the first relief party left to go rescue the Donner Party. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/ Two days later a second relief party was led by James Reed (who had been run out of the train after killing a man). On February 19, 1847, the first relief party reached the camps where they found 12 dead and 48 alive. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/ Those alive were barely clinging to life and many had gone mad.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/ Due to the small size of the rescue party, only 24 refugees could be taken out, and 2 children died along the way.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/

On March 1, the second relief party reached the camps finding evidence of the cannibalism that had kept both parties alive.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/ On March 3, they left with 17 refugees, only to be caught in a blizzard.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/ The rescuers took three survivors, leaving the others at what became known as “the starving camp”.

On March 12, a third relief party reached refugees, finding only7 alive. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/

The fourth relief party arrived on April 17, to find only Louis Keseberg alive. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-18823729.html

In all, 2/3 of the men in the party died, 2/3 of the women and children lived.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/ Forty-one individuals died and 46 lived. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/ Five women, 14 children, and 33 men died.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/transcript/donner-transcript/