Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1870-07-22


take other measures for protecting then
Sc yes against the severity of the weatE
er. But the snow still continued fal
ing. and in few davs had attained
depth of SIX or eight feet. For nearl
half Of the time during the month Of Nc
: vember the weather was stormy, th
snow on the mountains ultimately reach
ing a depth of more than twenty feet.
The company thus snow-bound cor
sisted of eighty-two persons, thirty-tw
of whom were females, a large proper
ton of the whole being children Thei
: director was George Donner. a man c
some wealth and much worth, who har
with him his wife-a woman of education
and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS with numbe
of small children. The men of the par
ty, composed mostly ofhusbands and ia
thers, IN their anxiety to rescue them
selves and those dependent upon then
from their perilous situation, made des
perate efforts, first to cross the mount
aims, and, having failed in this, to after
ward retrace their steps and make thei
way back to the plains at their base
But ali these endeavors were alike fruit
less. ending, after the most perslsten
attempts, only in the exhaustion, and, II
many cases, the Complete ProstTation o
those making them. In these effort:
and their results, we are furnished ar
| exclamation of the anomaly observable
! here, as well as on many other similar
occasions, OF the men having been the
first to give ont and succumb to the
hardships to which all seemed equally
exposed.
In short time, every thing in the
! shape of wholesome food was consumed
andthe party having devoured their dogs
the hides of the few cattle they had saved
and even their own shoes and such 9TH
| er Ieathen articles as they happened to
| have with them, the idea of dispatching
some of their number for food began to
| take possession of all minds. At this
! iuncture a death fortunately occurred,
obviating the necessity for recourse to
violence. Other deaths soon after fol-
| lowed, few preferring to die of starva-
| ton, rather than accept the hard alter
native of sustaining life by feeding on
the flesh of their companions. Others,
on the contrary, readily overcame their
natural repugnanee to this species of
food, some partaking of it from the first
with an avidity amounting to apparent
relish.
After the lapse of six weeks. the storms
having subsidized and the weather having
the appearance of being settled, a COM
pany of eight men and FIVE women,
guided by two Indians, set out to cross
the mountains into California, that they
might apprize the inhabitants of the con-
dition of their friends and procure assist
ance. The passage of the mountains,
now deeply covered with snow, was not
only laborious, but a dangerous under
taking. No one knew the width of the
snow-belt, or the distance to the settle
ments beyond. There might be difficult
streams to cross, and hostile tribes of
Indians to pass through. The journey,
at any event, must be attended with
great hardship and peril; but their situ-
alton was desperate, and, without speedy
succor, all must inevitably perish. 1t
must, therefore, be undertaken by some
one; and as there was now left to the
women a greater amount of courage and
strength than to the men, this torlorn
hope was in good part made up of them.
Starting, then, with the hopes Of all
dependent -4heiT SUCCESS, sfii57 party,
travelling on snow shoes, were able TO
make only about SIX or eight miles per
dav. A week was, therefore, consumed
before they had passed the Divide. BY
this time, the stock of provisions they
had taken with them was all gone, and
being overtaken by a severe. storm, they
were literally covered up with snow for
the space of two days, during which time
three of the party perished. Weak and
detected, the balance dragged themselves
forward through the snow Tor several
days longer, when three more OF their
number. overcome with hunger, fatigue,
and cold, gave out and died. Having
now been without a morsel to cat for
four days, these wretched people cut the
flesh from the bodies of the dead, and
having refreshed themselves upon a por-
ton of it and dried the balance for fu-
ture use, again pushed on. This was
their New-Year's feast, it now being the
first day of January, I047. FIVE days
later their food was again all gone, and
they had only the strings Of their snow
shoes left to eat. 1t may seem strange
that after having brought themselves to
feed upon the remains OF their fellows,
these sufferers should, with the means
at hand for renewing the stock, so soon
have found themselves again without
food. But it must be remembered that
those who perished were already reduced
almost to skeletons before death, having
but little flesh left on their bones and
that the living, in their enervated condl-
ton, were unwilling to burden themselves
any further than seemed necessary, each
one counting on the probabilities that ne
might be the next one to yield up MS
life, when no more food would be need
ed. or that, if such should be the tate OF
some one else, then fresh supplies would
be furnished as soon as required by the
survivors. Thus reasoning, they cut
from the bodies of their diseased com
panions only what seemed the more
choice and tender parts, leaving behind
the more bulky and unsavory.
Being again reduced to extremitles,
the Whites came to the conclusion that
they would sacrifice their Indian guides
to appease their now unbearable Pangs
of hunger. The latter, perceiving their
intention. and becoming alarmed, hastily
took to flight, and, retreating over the
hills, were seen no more.
Death again intervened to save the
living from absolute starvation-another
of the miserables died; and thus, one
after another yielding to the effects OF
famine and exposure, persisted all but
three, and two of these, entirely over
come, had lain down to die, when, on the
"
able to walk, having fallen in with a
friendly Indian, was by him conducted
to a settlement on Bear River, from
whence succor was, the next day, dis
ratched to the two left behind. Of the
thirteen who set out from the immigrants
camp, all but three perished on the way.
Had this one who first reached Bear
River also given out, had he failed to
fall in with the Indian who piloted him
to the habitation of the Whites, every
one of them must have persisted, as they
would, in that event, never have obtained
any assistance from California.
Immediately, the news of their terri
ble situation was sent to New Helvetia,
! (Sutter's Fort) from whence it was, with
all haste, forwarded to San Francisco.
From both of these places expeditions
were at once fitted out, and under the
direction of experienced mountaineers
sent to their aid. AS the rescuing party
was obliged to travel on snow-shoes fol
more than sixty miles across the noun
tains, passing over steep and rocky