by Gabrielle Schrader

Created on: April 12, 2011   Last Updated: April 13, 2011

The Donnor Party is an interesting piece of history and a tragic one. Sometimes referred to as the Donnor-Reed Party, the Donnor Party was a group of approximately 87 members who set out for California. They set out in wagons with livestock. Many of the members of the party were families. They had long delays and unfortunate accidents that delayed their wagon from reaching California for several months more than it should have taken. In fact, they spent their entire winter of 1846-1847 in the Sierra Nevada, where they were snowed in. Supposedly, some of the emigrants pursued cannibalism in order to survive. They ate the other members of the party who had died due to starvation and sickness. However, this is an often disputed fact. 

People know most of what is known from the journal entries and diary entries that the Donnor Party members kept throughout their journeys. Some of the members of the Donnor Party who survived this ordeal have also been interviewed. However, many of these interviewees have had different stories, particularly in terms of the supposed cannibalistic acts committed during the journey. This journey out west usually took four to seven months. The Donnor party left in early 1846 and did not arrive in California until nearly two years later! 

One of the difficulties with the Donnor Party was the fact that they decided to take a new route. This new route, called Hastings Cutoff, crossed Utah's Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake Desert. This was rugged terrain and it caused many problems for the families and for their wagons. The Donnor Party also had to cross the Humboldt River in present-day Nevada. This caused the group to lose many cattle and many wagons. It also caused anger amongst the families and the group had several divisions in leadership. 

Several times rescuers from California attempted to reach the emigrants but found it impossible. Rescuers finally did reach California by the middle of February 1847. When rescuers arrived, the Donnor Party had already been trapped for four months. Only forty-eight of the eighty-seven members actually made it to California. Historians have long considered this to be one of the most awful tragedies in Californian history and the history of western migration. In fact, it may remind some of their days playing the old Oregon Trail games on their computers in school. It was difficult to win those games and there was a lot of chance involved. That is what life was like for the Donnor Party and it is unfortunate that it had to be so.

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