The Donner Party

Conditions were awful. On November 12 a party of fifteen of the strongest members of the party set out from Truckee Lake on foot in an attempt to get assistance from Sutter's Fort. They were unable to break through the deep snow and returned to camp that night. Snowshoes were made and several new efforts were attempted. None were successful. Early in December all of the remaining livestock plus the Stanton mules wandered away in a storm and were lost in the deep snow. The weakest individuals were close to death from starvation and exposure. On December 16 another effort was made by fifteen members of the party. The weather was fair and this group made it out of camp and up into the mountains.

The fifteen traveled through drifts that ranged in depth from twelve to sixty feet. They were poorly clothed, had inadequate rations, and were physically rundown. Several of them went snow blind. At night they set fire to a dead tree for warmth. The first to die was Charles Stanton, the man who had brought provisions from Sutter's Fort. On the fourth day heavy snow began to fall and the party actually discussed who among the fourteen should die so that the others might live. The storm raged around them for four days. Additional members of the party began dying and eventually the survivors turned to cannibalism of the dead in a desperate effort to sustain life. Late in January 1847 the seven survivors reached an Indian village. The Indians fed the the emaciated men and women acorn mush and assisted them to reach the Johnson Ranch. A few days later they were able to go on to Sutter's Fort.

After being ejected from the Donner Party James Reed was joined by Walter Herron who had been traveling with the Donners' wagons ahead of the main party. The two men managed to cross the mountains and reach Sutter's Fort sometime late in December. Sutter assisted them with provisions, livestock, and an Indian guide so that they could return to assist the trapped party. Their effort was thwarted by deep snow and they returned to seek more help from United States naval personnel in Yerba Buena. The naval officers and men were sympathetic but had official duties that limited their ability to become involved. The civilian community, however, supplemented what the Commander of the Northern District of California (Captain J.B. Hull) could provide and a sizeable relief effort was organized.

The War with Mexico was in progress and events in California had siphoned off many able bodied men. Even so, within a week of the arrival at Sutter's Fort of the seven from Truckee Lake, provisions were assembled and a group of volunteers were recruited by John Sutter and Alcalde Sinclair to mount a relief effort. Reasin F. Tucker was chosen to lead the party. Several days into the mountains they reached Mule Springs and set up a base camp. The snow was so deep that the horses and mules could go no further. Ten of the party continued on by foot carrying heavy packs. It was February 11, 1847. Two weeks later on February 24 the relief party led by James Reed camped at Mule Springs.

In the campsites at Truckee Lake conditions had worsened. Storms had created drifts that smothered everything in snow. When a tree was felled for firewood it would disappear into the snow. Maintaining a fire was difficult at best and sometimes impossible. People's extremities froze and further limited their ability to care for themselves. Brush huts, tents, and makeshift cabins were all buried in the drifts. Every bit of food was consumed. Wolves prowled the edges of the camps and made it difficult to protect the dead. Many of them were kept with the living in their huts. Eventually the majority of people engaged in cannibalism. (The Reed family appear to have been the only group of survivors that managed to reach Sutter's Fort without having to consume human flesh.) The situation was horrendous.

On February 19 the Tucker relief party reached Truckee Lake and distributed their limited supplies. On February 22 twenty three of the Donner Party left the lake with the seven in Tucker's Party helping them. The leader wore snowshoes and the rest walked in his trail. It soon became evident that two of the Reed children were not strong enough to make the trip and had to be sent back to the lake. After Acquila Grover (one of Tucker's relief group) promised to go back for the children on the next relief party, Mrs. Reed continued. In all instances during this long travail deciding who would leave the Truckee Lake campsites and who would stay was an extremely difficult decision. Supplies of food, strength of individuals, parental responsibilities, and a host of emotions all played a part in the decision-making. It is impossible for people who were not involved to completely understand more than the enormity of the horror.

During the first day march Keseberg's baby died and was buried in the snow. Two days later a man in the group sat down beside the trail physically unable to continue. The relief party built a fire, left him a small amount of food, and continued on. On February 27 they ran out of food and found that the cache of supplies they had left at Summit Valley had been eaten my wild animals. They were still a long distance from safety and would have starved to death if the Reed relief party had not come upon them. (It will be remembered that this was the man that had earlier been forced to leave the party.) Reed's wife and two of his children were in the Tucker group. He provided all with food and then continued on toward Truckee Lake.

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