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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.
- Missy Sullivan
- 4 min
Jun 20, 2024 · Donner party, group of American pioneers stranded en route to California in 1846. The group was named for the expedition’s captain, George Donner. It was widely circulated that members of the party resorted to cannibalism after their food ran out, giving the party its lasting notoriety.
- 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.
- 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.
Oct 28, 1992 · A cautionary tale of human endeavor and failure, hope and despair, greed and ambition, The Donner Party chronicles the harrowing tale of the ill-fated emigrant group who set out for the promised...
Donner party, Group of U.S. pioneers stranded en route to California in 1846. 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.
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Why was the Donner Party named after George Donner?
What happened to the Donner Party?
There were 87 emigrants in the Donner Party, plus Luis and Salvador, two California Indians who joined them in Nevada, for a total of 89 people. Of the 89, a net of 81 people were trapped in the mountains, due to additions and departures from the group during the journey.
