Mohave County miner and our mineral wealth., 1921-12-30

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 14.-Ihe recent death at Byron, California, of Mrs. Frances E. Wilder, a daughter of Captain George Donner, has recall ed the tragic story of the Donner party, forty-two of whom perished in deserts and mountains in the winter of 1S46-'47, while en route to Cali fornia. Only half-dozen survivors remain today to tell the tale of that most disasterous of all migratlons ot the Argonauts, in which they partlcl- pated as children.
 Among these half-dozen are three sisters of Mrs. Wilder, children ot the captain from whom the party took it's name. They are Mrs. Eliza P. Tough ton of Los Angeles, IS; Mrs. Leana App of Jamestown, California, S6; and Mrs. Elitha c. Wilder of Bruceville, California, S9 A daughter of James F. Reed, a member of the party, who forced his way over the snow-capped Sierra mountains and then returned with relief for his dying companions, is living at Capitola, California. Her name is Mrs. Mattie Lewis and she is bright-eyed lady, " years young.
 Of all the companies that made their way by OK wagons on the Over land Trail across desert and mountain to California before the railroad link ed East with West, the experiences of the Donner party were the worst. Theirs was the greatest loss of life, and it was attended by slow star vation 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 eighty-eight men, women and children that started with or join ed the Donner party, forty-two per ished. Six died in the deserts of Utah and Nevada, and thirty-six succumbed to the horrors of the mountain camps.
 All the suffering and loss of life may be ascribed to the primary mis- take in taking southerly course around the Great Salt Lake from Fort Bridger, Wyoming, instead of the us- ual course around the northern end. The rocky passes in the Wasatch mountains of Utah delayed them one month; the sands of the Great Amer ican Desert and the Humbolt Sink stalled their wagons and starved their cattle.
 The party was in starving condi- tion when it reached Truckee Mead ows, site of the present city of Reno, Nevada, October 19, 1S46. The emi- grants were met there by Charles T. Stanton, who had preceded them to California, and returned with two In dians, Luis and Salvador, bringing five mule loads of provisions. After some delay the party pushed on, but October 23 found themselves stalled in snow at the foot of precipices at an elevation of 6,000 feet from which the trail rose in one mile and half 12,000 feet to the summit, where two to five feet of snow lay. They were in pocket of the 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. They erected tents and brush wood huts, about which they wrapped rubber coats and quilts. There were at this time S1 persons in the camps, "A men, 16 women and 43 children. In the subsequent happenings the wo- men showed the greater courage and endurance. Of the fifteen only five died, and four of these gave their lives to aid or comfort their children or companions.
 On December 16 the "forlorn hope" started over the snow on foot. It con- sisted of nine men, five women and a boy. Six days later Stanton, the rescuer, gave out and was abandoned. A storm that began Christmas Day halted them a week. Three men died and were eaten. January 4, another man succumbed and was eaten. Will liam Foster pursued and shot the h. dians, Luis and Salvador, who were eaten. The party came out of the Snow January 1, were aided by In- dians who gave them acorn bread and helped them to Johnson's Rancho. They had been 32 days coming from Donner's Lake, and eight had died. Two men survived and all the five W0men.