Pueblo chieftain., 1921-12-18
FORTY two MEMBERS OF PARTY
PERISH DURING OVERLAND TRIP
Thrilling Renaissance Recounts Untold Suffering on
Mountain and Plain and Real
CannibaEsm

Donner party were the worst. Theirs
was the greatest loss of life, and it was
attended by slow starvation during
the six months they were held in the
high sierras that finally drove the
stronger members of the party to that
last expedient of man-feeding upon
his own kind.
OF the SIS men. women and children
that started with or Joined the Donner
party. A. pcrished. SIX died in the
deserts of Utah and Nevada. and 36
succumbed to the horrors of the moun-
tain camps
All the suffering and loss of life may
be ascribed to the primary mistake in
taking a sortherly course around the
Great Salt Lake from Fort Bridger
Wyoming. instead of the usual course
, around the northern end. The rocky
passes in the Wasatch mountains OF
Utah delayed them one MONTH the
sands of the Great American Desert
and the Humboldt Sink stalled their
wagons and starved their. cattle.
The party was in starving condition
when 1t reached Truckee Meadows. site
OF the present city of Reno. Nevada,
October 10. 1S4s. Tho emigrants were
met there by Charles It. Stanton. who
had preceded them to California. and
returned with two Indians. Luis and
Salvador. bringing five mule loads OF
provisions. After some delay the party
pushed on. but October % found them
selves stalled in tho snow at the foot
OF precipices at an elevation of 5000
feet from which the trail rose in one
mile and a half 1900 feet to the sum-
init. where two to Ave feet OF snow
lay. They were in a. pocket Of tho
mountains. A. snowfall began that in
a week placed ten feet OF snow about
them
Some were at Prosser Creek, some at
Alder Creek and some at Donner Lake.
ant nd hr1YC n Hxl-C nj
huts. about which they wrapped rub
Der coats and quilts, They were at
this time 81 persons in the camp, "a
men, Is women and t3 children. In the
subsequent happenings the women
showed the great courage and cndur-
anc.. OF the fifteen only Ave died. and
four of these gave their lives to aid or
comfort their children or companions.
: On December is the 'forlorn hope"
started over the snow on foot It con-
sisted OF nine men. n~- women and n
boy Six days Inter Stanton. the
rescuer. gave out and was abandoned.
\ storm that began Christmas day
halted them a week. Three mon died
and We're eaten. January I, another
man succumbed and was eaten. Will
| liam Foster pursued and shot tho In
dians. Luis and Salvador. who were
eaten. The party came out OF the
snow january II, were aided by In
disnE who gave them acorn bread and
helped them 10 .Ichnson's ranch. They
had been 5.-dsys coming from Don
ncr's Lake. and eight had died. Two
men survived and all tho flve women.
The experiences OF tho four relief
parties. from tho first that left SUIT
tors Fort. February 5, to tho last.
April IL. were similar to those OF the
"forlorn hope party. Going In on
I snowshoes. the rescucrs cached pro-
visions to be used on their return trips.
| In several instances these caches werc
destroyed by wild animals. SO that the
return trips with the emaciatcd. weak
ened Donner people became struggles
with death In which many died and
| were eaten by their starving COM
panions.