History of the Donner Party

Reality can sometimes produce a story with more adventure and horrid than fiction. The setting for this tale is Donner Lake in the Sierras. It is a true story of a group of people starving while trying to reach the Pacific coast. C F McGlashan has complied the letters and interviews of those who survived this tragic event. The group consisted of the families of George Donner, his brother Jacob, and James F. Reed of Springfield, Illinois, plus their hired hands, about 33 people in all. A large wagon train reached a point where a group decided to try a new route called Hastings Cutoff. When the group got caught in a snowstorm fifteen of the party set off to get help. They were without supplies and resorted to cannibalism when members died.