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Donner Party Trail
George Donner did not want to take the traditional route to get to California, and read in a book by a man who'd never been through this way that there was a shortcut to California through the mountains, rather than around them. They set off from Independence, Missouri to start the trek that was said to reduce the journey by four hundred miles. "Hastings cutoff" actually added 100 more miles to the journey, and left them stranded for over five months. -
The Party Diverges
In Wyoming the party breaks away from the larger train they had been traveling with to take Hastings Cutoff. Although they recieved many warnings from others--including Hastings himself-- not to take the route, the party insisted upon going the "shorter" route -
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Smooth Sailing
The trip was going very well, for a long while. "I could have never believed we have traveled so far with so little difficulty. Indeed, if we do not experience anything worse, I shall say the troubl is all in getting started." wrote Tamsen Donner in her journal. -
The First Snow Falls
Thirty miles away from the California plains, an axle breaks and the party stops to make the repair and to rest for the night. During the night, five feet of snow falls, trapping the party in the freezing mountains for nearly five months. Within three weeks of being trapped, all food is gone. They kill their oxen and cattle and eat those in an attempt to survive. -
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On and off Mountain Snowstorms
These heavy on and off snowstorms are what got the party stuck in the mountains on the first place. They thought the snow would hold off until at least December, but the snow came way early and stayed way late, exhausting the party's supplies, forcing them to resort to cannibalism. It was out of nessecity and the people eaten were already dead. Plus, no one ate their own family members, so it was civilized in the "no eating family members" rule. -
Supplies are Exhausted
Three weeks after the first snow falls, the group has exhausted their main food supplies. They must now resort to eating the oxen and cattle that once pulled the wagons, berries they find, and bark off of the trees. -
Eating The First Human
The party eats their first human. Up until this point, the party had eaten everything from the oxen pulling the wagons to the bark off the trees. The dead were cut and labeled, so no one ate a family member. This continues for the long months to come. "...were one to die, the rest might live..." -
Sending Relief Parties
There were 4 relief parties sent out in attempts to save the Donner Party. The first was sent in February of 1847, which was nearly four months after the party got stranded initially. The first party rescued 21 people, the second 14. The third party took care of the rest of the children, but left five behind. Three of the five included Mr. and Mrs. Donner and Lewis Keseberg. By the time the fourth relief party arrived, there was only one remaining member, Lewis Keseberg. -
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Relief Parties
From February to May there was a total of four relief parties sent out into the Sierra Nevadas to rescue members of the party. Out of the original 87 people, only 48 made it to California alive. -
Keseberg is Found
When the fourth relief team arrived in an attempt to rescue a few more people, they came upon Lewis Keseberg. "He was reclining upon the floor of the cabin, smoking his pipe. Near his head a fire...upon which was a camp kettle filled with human flesh...The appearance of Keysberg [Keseberg] was haggard and revolting." He got taken to California, living a tortured life. -
Lewis Keseberg's Life Afterward
From his rescue to his 1895 death, Keseberg lived a very sad, lonely life. Information on what the conditions were when he was found spread. Newspaper articles were published about what he did. He is projected as a bad man for surviving. He is nearly hanged because he denied killing the Donners and he wasn't believed.He went to court wanting to sue the people who thought he killed the Donners, only recieving $1 in damages. He was often threatened and hardly went outside, even as an old man.
