Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1870-10-15
Horrible Affair.
THE MOST FRIGHTFUL NARRATIVE OF
MODERN TINES.

THE MOST FRIGHTFUL NARRATIVE Oh
MODERN TINES.
The current number Of the Orcrluxt
Monthly describes afresh and no doub
with minute accuracy, chain of events
which for ghastly horror arc probably
without equal in authentic records. Tht
tale realizes in truth, the frightful denun
citation Of Othelo; for in it on horrors
head horrors accumulate" and surely i'm
agiuation can picture nothing in the way
Of pitcous and awful more extreme thar
what was suffered by the unfortuuatcs
concerned. In various forms, by books
newspapers, and more frequently, by pri
vate reports, the story has been told; fol
it happened long ago--in lS46-before
Captain Sutter had made his discovery
and before ever old whaler from Cascc
Bay to Hattcras had been fitted up tc
brave once more the perils of Cape Horn
But many persisted in disbelieving it.
1t was too horrible to relate, they said
to believe. And it is true that there
seemed to be raw-head and bloody bones
air about the narrative, that more fire..
quently attends fiction than fact, and
which. at all events, lent warrant to the
suspicion that it had been expanded and
embellished. There is, however, no doubt
about the melancholy truth of it; and the
minute account now published is to be &C.
cepted as the product Of all the sifted and
collated testimony that it has been posi-.
BILE to obtain.
Donner Lake, named after the leader of
the party who met their death hard by,
is one of the most picturesque and lovely
spots among the elevated spots of the
Sierra Nevada. "Starvation Camp" the
immediate scene of the calamity. is close at
hand, and by it runs the railroad, strange
contrast in the plenty and succor, it sug-
gests to the helpless misery the spot once
witnessed.
The Donncr party left home for the
Pacific slope in search of healthful and
eligible soil, and having penetrated this
great distance, toward their promised land,
were showed up near the lake. The In
dian guide. one Trucker. warned them one
afternoon that dreadful weather was at
hand, and urged them to push on. But,
for the ground was yet undiscovered, they
determined to halt for the night. In the
morning foot of snow had fallen, and
their cattle had wandered away so that fe "
of them could be found
Alarmed. the wayfarers began to build
cabins, and to take such measures as they
could to protect themselves from the ele-
ment. The snow continued to fall, and
presently became impossible. In a few
days it was eight feet deep. During near
ly the whole of November, the long storm
continued, and the snow on the mountains
ultimately reached the depth of more than
twenty feet.
There were eighty two souls in the party,
thirty-two being women and large por-
ton children. The Captain, Geo. Don
ner, was man of some sagacity and con-
siderable wealth, and his wife and chill
dren being with him, had every incentive
to prudence AND activity. But all efforts
to escape from their frightful situation
proved vain. In short time everything
in the shape Of food was gone. They de-
voured their dogs, the hides Of the cattle
they had saved, and their own boots and
shoes. Finally the miserable creatures
began to think of eating each other. At
this period death occurred, thus defer
ring the need of violence, and, horrible to
relate. the corpse was eagerly consumed.
Other deaths followed, and the survivors
continued to subsist on the flesh of their
dead companions. After six weeks, the
storm having subsided, eight men and five
women, guided by two Indians, set out to
try to make their way to California.
The hopes Of all that remained hung on
their efforts, and they struggled desperate
ly to succeed. But in week, and before
they had passed the Divide, this forlorn
hope was again overwhelmed by snow.
Three died almost at once, and the rest
ate their bodies. Having" says the
Overland Monthly, "now been without q
morsel to eat for four days, those wretched
people cut the flesh from the bodies of the
dead and having refreshed themselves
upon portion Of it and dried the balance
for future use, again pushed on. This
was their New Years feast, it now being
the first day of January, ls47. Five days
later their food was again all gone, and
they had only the strings Of their snow
shoes to eat"
The unhappy wrctches then decided to
devour their Indian guides; but the lat
ter, seeing their intentions, fled over the
hills and were seen no more. On the
18th of January all but three Of the thir'
teen were dead, aud of the survivors two
laid down to die The third had fallen in
with friendly Indian, who conducted him
to settlement on Bear river. There the
story was told, and Immediately expedi:
tions set forth from San Francisco and
Suffers Fort to rescue those Of the origin
al party who might still be alive.
What the benevolent adyenturcrs found
Ialmost bcsgars description. Those that