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Jun 20, 2024 · Donner party, group of American pioneers—named for the expedition’s captain, George Donner—who became stranded en route to California in late 1846. The party was trapped by exceptionally heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada, and, when food ran out, some members of the group reportedly resorted to cannibalism of those already dead.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, were a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Some of the migrants resorted to cannibalism to survive, mainly eating ...
Mar 5, 2010 · The Donner Party was a group of 89 emigrants from Illinois who purportedly turned to cannibalism to survive after getting trapped by snowfall while on a westward journey in 1846. Forty-two members ...
- Missy Sullivan
- 4 min
- The Donner Party started its trip dangerously late in the pioneer season. Travel on the California Trail, the route heading west from the middle of the country, followed a tight schedule.
- They fell behind schedule after taking an untested shortcut. After reaching Wyoming, most California-bound pioneers followed a route that swooped north through Idaho before turning south and moving across Nevada.
- The emigrants lost a race against the weather by just a few days. Despite the Hastings Cutoff debacle, most of the Donner Party still managed to reach the slopes of the Sierra Nevada by early November 1846.
- The majority of the Donner Party emigrants were children. Like most pioneer trains, the Donner Party was largely made up of family wagons packed with young children and adolescents.
Jul 1, 2017 · California's Donner Lake got its name from the Donner Party, whose members endured a terrible winter nearby in 1846. Photograph by Jason O. Watson, Alamy BOOK TALK
- 13 min
More than 80 immigrants led by George and Jacob Donner were trapped by heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada. Some of the group set out to find help, while the others remained in crudely built camps. When their food ran out, some resorted to cannibalism of those who had already died. Only 47 people were rescued and survived.
The Tragic Story of the Donner Party. On April 16, 1846, nine covered wagons left Springfield , Illinois on the 2,500-mile journey to California, in what would become one of the greatest tragedies in the history of westward migration. “My father, with tears in his eyes, tried to smile as one friend after another grasped his hand in a last ...
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