The tragic story of the Donner Group: mountains, cold and cannibalism

By the middle of the 19th century, the eastern United States was densely populated. The land there was expensive, and the work was low-paid. Therefore, more and more people were looking for happiness in the western part of the continent. Vast territories were empty there, the climate was favorable, and besides this, gold was mined. California has become a real promised land for those who did not find themselves along the Atlantic coast. But the path there was not easy. Crossing the continent took months, and on the way the settlers were deserts, mountains, full-flowing rivers and unfriendly Indians. Therefore, in order to reduce the risk, travelers hired experienced guides for money.

One of those who made money on immigrants was the lawyer Landsforth Hastings. This man had repeatedly visited California and was considered an experienced guide. In addition, he knew a route that was 600 km shorter than those suggested by others. The authority of Hastings was significant, so three families decided to use his services: the Donners, the Murphys and the Reeds.

Hastings, who had the gift of eloquence, managed to convince his clients that the trip would be a pleasant walk. He also said that the mountains indicated on the maps are just hills that can be crossed without the slightest difficulty. In May 1946, the expedition set out, hoping to reach sunny California before the first cold weather.

The detachment turned out to be rather big. It included more than 90 people, among whom there were no more than 30 healthy strong men. The rest of the travelers were women, children and the elderly, among whom were those who themselves moved with difficulty. The leader of the group was George Donner - a man of courage and determination. He completely trusted the conductor and, as it turned out, in vain. Later it turned out that Hastings had never yet walked the new route and had no idea what difficulties awaited the wanderers on the way.

One journalist knew that the conductor was a deceiver. He had already made an unsuccessful attempt to reach California by a short route. He left a letter addressed to him at the shop where Donner bought groceries. But by an unfortunate accident, it did not reach the addressee. Interestingly, Hastings himself promised to join the group later, but did not do so. The travelers had only a map compiled by them.

The first few weeks of the trip passed without incident. But then problems began to arise one by one. At first, carts began to break down, which could not withstand many days of driving on rocky roads. The settlers had to stop for a long time to repair the wheels. Men meekly endured the hardships of the road, but it was very hard for women, children and the elderly.

The short path unexpectedly turned out to be longer than the traditional one. On the way of the Donner group, either impenetrable forests or marshy swamps appeared. They had to be bypassed, wasting time and effort. After one of the crossings, the wanderers lost half of their cattle. He was kidnapped by the Indians, constantly circling around the caravan. After that, the first quarrels began among the travelers. Members of the Reed family accused the Donners of stealing and embezzling their livestock and some of their provisions. The atmosphere gradually heated up.

Soon the first conflict with the victim occurred. James Reid stabbed to death one of his companions, John Snyder, during an argument. By a common decision, the killer was expelled from the group, leaving him without provisions and weapons in the wilderness. As it turned out later, this saved Reid's life. His daughter secretly left him everything he needed to survive, and he, unlike most of his companions, did not die.

After this incident, conflicts began between the Donners and Murphy. The heads of families ceased to trust each other, and the once close-knit team broke into two warring camps. Every day the way was given to wanderers more and more difficult. The oxen pulling the wagons were weakening, and provisions were running out. Soon the weakest settlers began to get sick and die.

So the history of the Donner group approached a tragic denouement. The Wasatch Mountains, which Hastings called the hills, arose on the way of the travelers. There was only one way to escape - to cross the barrier before the first snowfalls. But on November 4, 1846, the air temperature suddenly dropped and a severe snowstorm began. It was impossible to move further, and the settlers set up camp.

By this time, the food was over, and there were not enough warm clothes. People began to die one by one. To feed themselves, the remaining oxen were slaughtered. But their meat was not enough for a long time and soon the hunt for mice and other small rodents began. They even ate cowhides, from which shelters were made from the weather.

Soon, the survivors made a difficult decision - there are bodies of those who could not stand the hardships and died. People brought up on Christian values accepted this idea with horror. But there was no other choice. The first to be eaten was Patrick Dolan, who went mad and then died. Later, two more corpses were eaten. The survivors claimed to have eaten only those who had died themselves. But later, rescuers found the bodies of a woman and a child near the camp. They were gnawed to the bone and clearly did not die of their own death.

The missing people were realized only in January 1847. On February 4, a rescue expedition set off from California to search for the Donner group. On February 18, the military and hunters found the camp in distress. Murphy's wife met them first. She asked the arrivals: "Are you from California or from heaven?"

Even the battered soldiers were amazed at the appearance of the camp. Corpses lay everywhere, lightly sprinkled with earth and snow. Between them wandered emaciated people, some of whom lost their minds. George Donner was dying. He suffered an accidental injury that led to infection and gangrene. Rescuers managed to pick up 23 people from the camp. This group included the weakest and sickest.

On March 1, 1847, the rescuers returned and took away the surviving children. Unfortunately, not all of them survived the difficult journey to California - some died on the way. When the third group of soldiers arrived at the camp, cannibalism reigned there again. This time we managed to bring out another group of people. Unfortunately, this was the last raid. The weather did not allow the military and volunteers to reach the camp for the fourth time, and the people who remained in the mountains died.