From September 10ththrough the 25th, the party followed the trail intoNevadaaround the Ruby Mountains, finally reaching the Humboldt River on September 26th. On July 31 the Donner party entered Hastings Cutoff, which would take the group south of the Great Salt Lake in what is now Utah. In the meantime, the Graves family caught up with theDonner Party, which now numbered 87 people in 23 wagons. After dogs and cowhides had been devoured, many deaths occurred, and the survivors were forced to resort to cannibalism of the dead bodies. Fort Laramie Parade Grounds, photo by Kathy Alexander. The group had elected to use a shortcut to California that had been recommended to them by an unreliable guide named Lansford Hastings. Mail coaches, freight caravans, ranches, and parties putting up hay were attacked simultaneously. 320 North 4th Street On Thanksgiving, it began to snow again, and the pioneers at Donner Lake killed the last of their oxen for food on November 29th. As a protection for both lines, the Government later erected Fort Sedgwick on the South Fork of the Platte River. The wagon train encountered riders urging emigrants on the road to travel down to Fort Bridger and take a shortcut called the "Hastings . Thegeneral uprising among the tribes that followed extended to the Rocky Mountains and even to the banks of the Columbia River. The emigrant party consisted of only 11 people in five wagons. The fertile farmlands of central California drew a steady stream of settlers in the 1840s, and in the spring of 1846 several families from Springfield, Illinois, joined the westward migration. This setting oneself as a sort of target was a disagreeable and dangerous duty, but the soldiers performed it without murmuring. He was pulling a gun from the back of his wagon muzzle first when it discharged and shot him in the chest. Though he strongly suggested that the party take the regular wagon trail rather than this new false route, Reed would later ignore his warning in an attempt to reach their destination more quickly. On July 19ththe wagon train arrived at the Little Sandy River in present-day Wyoming, where the trail parted into two routes the northerly known route and the untested Hastings Cutoff. The journey was not an unpleasant one across the vast expanse of Plains. Swollen rivers could tip over and drown both people and oxen. The migrants began the ascent of the Sierra foothills low on food, and Paiute warriors killed several of the remaining oxen. On October 31 the weary migrants approached what is now Donner Pass across the Sierra Nevada and found their progress blocked by deepening snow. With the addition of roughly a dozen teamsters and employees, this initial party numbered some 31 people, and within a month the Donners and Reeds had reached Independence, Missouri. However, what was not known by Reed was that the Hastings Route had never been tested, written by Hastings who had visions of building an empire at Sutters Fort (nowSacramento.) Early contact between settlers and Native Americans was relatively peaceful, according to WyoHistory. There were no supply stations, carts broke down better than they rolled, Salt Lake City officials had no idea who was coming, and travelers weren't prepared for doing the work of hunters, pioneers, and oxen all at the same time. The next day, they arrived at the lake camp to find that both of their sons had died. The breaking out of the Civil War required the withdrawal of many of the regulars from the Plains, and the Indians, quick to perceive their opportunity, began wholesale depredations. The stumps represent the depth of the snow at the time. The history of his bloody deeds will never be told, for dead men tell no tales, and seldom did Bent leave any alive after a raid. He never rejoined the group. Compiled and edited by Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated December 2021. According to a fellow traveler, it worked. In less than 15 minutes, 21 of the 46 actors in this strange combat were slain or disabled. The party elected George Donner to serve as its leader, and at its peak the Donner party would number some 87 people29 men, 15 women, and 43 childrenin a column of 23 ox-drawn wagons. Such diseases as cholera, small pox, flu, measles, mumps, tuberculosis could spread quickly through an entire wagon camp. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Immediately a regular volley was poured in from the opposite side; four of the passengers fell dead, another was severely wounded. More than 155 years ago one of the worst tragedies in American travel occurred during the westward migration. During their first week in the Cutoff, the Donner party made good progress. While becoming so desperate as to eat tree bark seems like the worst part of the trail, there was one instance where it became worse for one wagon train party in the 1840s. On March 12ththe third relief led by William Eddy and William Foster reached Starved Camp where Mrs. Graves and her son Franklin had also died. Once a band of several hundred Sioux set upon him. Bryant wrote. On March 1stthe second relief party finally arrived at the lake, finding grisly evidence of cannibalism. After the publicity, emigration toCaliforniafell off sharply and Hastings cutoff was all but abandoned. When it was obvious a person wouldnt last the day, the train would often hold up moving in order to wait for the end. A few days later their last few cattle were slaughtered for food and party began eating boiled hides, twigs, bones and bark. He was last seen sitting under a large sagebrush, completely exhausted, unable to walk, worn out, and was left there to die. Everything was made ready for a charge when Major Greer suddenly decided to talk with the Indians before commencing to fight. They were killed by Indians, or escaped and then succumbed to exposure and starvation. Tales and Trails of the American Frontier, Byways & Historic Trails Great Drives in America, Soldiers and Officers in American History, Easy Travel Organization Tips You Will Love, Bidwell-Bartleson Party Blazing the California Trail. No wonder he was so badass, just look what his parents went through. They were a brave bunch, and slightly insane, so it's not surprising a whole lot of messed up stuff happened along the way. As the disillusionment of the party increased, tempers began to flare in the group. Stantons partner, William McCutchen had fallen ill and remained at the fort. According to the National Park Service, six children set off from Missouri with their parents in early 1844, with the seventh being born in the wagon. Jim Bridger and his partner Louis Vasquez assured the Donner Party that the Hastings Cutoff was a good route. More than 40 whites were killed, and the destruction of property was extensive. His wife Tamzene, though in comparatively good health, refused to leave him; sending her three little girls on without her. The two-day encounter resulted in the deaths of eleven emigrants by an estimated twenty-five to thirty Indians. It crossed the plains without difficulty, but as it neared Fort Bridger a dispute arose. On the Trail - Asa McCully's 1853 Wagon Train. George Bent had for father the famous Colonel William Bentof Bents Fort, but his mother was a Cheyenne woman. A history project by Sandy Wilbur. It's an undeniable fact: the cycle of life doesn't stop for anyone or anything, and there were a surprising number of newborn babies traveling the trail. On the Trail - McCully Wagon Train - 1852. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The Oregon Trail was a roughly 2,000-mile route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, that was used by hundreds of thousands of American pioneers in the mid-1800s to emigrate west.. Roadtrippers says Blue Mound, Kansas, was the site of the first accidental gun death on the trail, and it happened to the ill-named John Shotwell. Wagon Train cast list, including photos of the actors when available. In the beginning, the wagon train was lucky to make even two miles per day, taking them six days just to travel eight miles. As soon as Cody got a glimpse of the Indians, he handed the reins to Flowers and began applying the whip. The tales of suffering, desperate fighting, and incredible endurance cling to every mile from the Little Blue River to the Laramie River. Twenty men stayed at Devil's Gate to guard the wagon-train goods for the rest of the winter. Bell was not hit, but four or five of his men were killed or wounded. Montpelier, Idaho 83254, document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) National Oregon/California Trail Center. They took full advantage of the opportunity and poured in the first volley, Greer being struck in the breast, his life saved by a suspender buckle. Indian Attack on a Wagon Train by Charles Marion Russell The first notable tragedy on the Santa Fe Trail connected to stage coaching occurred almost with the first effort to establish the line. Antonio, Patrick Dolan, Franklin Graves, and Lemuel Murphy soon died and in desperation, the others resorted to cannibalism. At last, we were all in the wagons. The letter stated that Hastings would meet the emigrants at Fort Bridger and lead them on his cutoff, which passed south of the Great Salt Lake instead of detouring northwest via Fort Hall (present-day Pocatello,Idaho.). In 1921, a rebellion against British colonial rule by Mappila Muslims broke out in the Malabar District of British India. All the other stations were guarded in like manner, so it happened that every coach carried some soldiers.. The three bodies, including that of Isaac Donner, had been cannibalized. The pioneers lost valuable days conducting a fruitless search for the missing oxen before beginning a circuitous navigation of the Ruby Mountains in modern northeastern Nevada. The Mormon handcart pioneers were participants in the migration of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Salt Lake City, Utah, who used two-wheeled handcarts to transport their belongings. Don Brooke is desperate for money for his pregnant wife Bonnie, whose condition is too delicate for the long trip without more medical care so he seeks a bank loan. Despite the disastrous crossings of Willie and Martinthe worst single tragedies to befall any overland travelersthe church continued to support the handcart scheme. In the beginning, the wagon train was lucky to make even two miles per day, taking them six days just to travel eight miles. One of their number, Gib Ryker, is a sociopath who enjoys antagonizing young Barnaby West. The accusations got so bad he even sued for slander and won $1, but when Keseberg died in 1895, even his obituary reminded everyone he was a cannibal. Road to hell and all. For 15 years, he was the terror of the Trail, and his acts of atrocity were incessant. There was actually someone riding ahead of the Donner Party acting as a scout, and Edwin Bryant sent a letter back warning them it was too dangerous to take the so-called shortcut. The Reeds, the Donners, and a number of others chose to head southwest toward Fort Bridger. Having traveled an extra 125 miles through strenuous mountain terrain and dry desert, the disillusioned partys resentment of Hastings, and ultimately, Reed, was increased tremendously. On the Trail - The Akin Wagon Train - 1852. On the Trail - The Westward Movement. You'd be pretty mad, too. Even as they started ferrying wagons across, they found they couldn't keep up dozens of wagons were lined up waiting for their turn to cross. There are many examples of bungling, bad decisions and charlatans who conned the settlers, but the tragedy that befell the Donner Party in 1846 outranks them all. They lived, met, married, and had a son you probably know of: Butch Cassidy. He had his full share of narrow escapes. A shot was fired from beside the trail, and the men inside the coach instantly discharged their guns toward the supposed ambush. With George were his third wife, Tamzene, their three children, Frances, Georgia, and Eliza, and Georges two daughters from a previous marriage, Elitha and Leanna. The letter ended up in the hands of Fort Bridger's founders, owners, and the people who stood to gain the most if thousands of settlers started passing through their trading post, so you can probably guess what happened next. There were a handful of skirmishes, but the last straw came when a sick cow from a wagon train wandered into a Sioux camp. The Government offered $5000 for his capture, dead or alive, but death finally came to him in the form of malarial fever. Of the 81. In a letter to her cousin in Illinois, Virginia Reed recounted that I have not wrote you half of the truble, but I hav Wrote you anuf to let you now what truble is, before concluding, Dont let this letter dishaten anybody. The group now numbered 74 people in twenty wagons and for the first week made good progress at 10-12 miles per day. Reed would continue west on horseback while the rest of his family remained with the Donner party. Donner Lake and Donner Pass, California, are named for the party. Again, hindsight they were buried under feet of snow, hundreds died, and those who survived lost arms and legs to frostbite. On July 20, 1846, the company divided, with most of the wagon train then turning north toward Fort Hall (modern southeastern Idaho) and using the well-known Oregon Trail to continue the journey west. The Wagon Box Grave headstone marks the burial site of the emigrant family. Time was supposed to heal all wounds, he wrote, but that was B.S. The Donner Party wasted no time in administering their own justice. Soldiers were used to guarding the stagecoaches, yet attacks were frequent, and the loss in property and lives was large. Firearms were the second leading cause of emigrant injury and death and a surprisingly large number of pioneers were injured by accidental firearm discharges. This occurrence took all desire for further peace talk from him, and the fight was on. The ill-fated Utter-Van Ornum wagon train would go down in history with the dubious honor of being the deadliest wagon train (via the Idaho Chapter Oregon-California Trails Association). Some members of the party suggested that Reed be hanged, but he was instead banished from the company. The Bonnie Brooke Story: Directed by Allen H. Miner. But in the mountain district to be traversed before reaching Santa Fe, the most serious disasters usually occurred during the winter. The route lying along the North Platte River became so dangerous that it was almost impossible to secure drivers even at the highest wages. You had no idea the decision to ferry or ford the river was so gross, did you? With John McIntire, Robert Fuller, Frank McGrath, Terry Wilson. S8, Ep2. Her disease wasn't contagious no one else caught it from her but the pioneers didn't know this at the time. The first notable tragedy on the Santa Fe Trail connected to stage coaching occurred almost with the first effort to establish the line. There was just as much dysentery and cholera as your MS-DOS family faced, but there was another huge problem, too a lack of gun safety classes. Continuing to encounter multiple obstacles, on October 16th,they reached the gateway to the Sierra Nevada on the Truckee River (present-day Reno) almost completely depleted of food supplies. She died near Twin Falls, Idaho, and the children ranging from 13 years old to a newborn were orphans for the first time. At the time, local Sioux were starting to demand more and more in the way of tolls, which makes sense considering the number of people tromping across their land. During 1863-65 the Sioux, Arapaho, and Cheyenne were all upon the warpath. The passengers were all old frontiersmen and were prepared for a desperate defense, anticipating a possible robbery attempt. When he sees an opportunity at the bank, it leads to tragedy. Donner Party Map, courtesy Donner Party Diary. With James and Margaret Reed were their four children, Virginia, Patty, James, and Thomas, as well as Margarets 70-year-old mother, Sarah Keyes, and two hired servants. Practical things were left, too, by people needing to spare their oxen from dragging the heavy loads. Though member, Lewis Keseberg, favored hanging for James Reed, the group, instead, voted to banish him. The next day, they arrived at Alder Creek to find that the Donners had also resorted to cannibalism. A week later they joined a large wagon train captained by Colonel William H. Russell that was camped on Indian Creek about 100 miles west ofIndependence. Hopeless, they retraced their steps where five feet of new snow had already fallen. "Tragedy at Mountain Meadows takes . Infuriated by the teamsters treatment of the oxen, James Reed ordered the man to stop and when he wouldnt, Reed grabbed his knife and stabbed the teamster in the stomach, killing him. Immediately messages were dispatched to neighboring settlements as area residents rallied to save the rest of theDonner Party. It was this falsified information that would lead to the doom of the Donner Party. In 1862 the Indian raids on the coaches and stations between Fort Laramie and South Pass, Wyoming were almost continuous. In the twenty-one days since reaching the Weber River they had moved just 36 miles. The caravan camped for five days 50 miles from the summit, resting their oxen for the final push. We join his story about three weeks after the Donner Party arrived at the blocked pass: But once settlers started heading West and claiming land for themselves all willy-nilly, not everyone was pleased. I remember the days traveling in a Connastoga Wagon and nites sleeping under the . The others were taken captive, but only four were ransomed back the other fell ill and died. It took two months and four relief parties to rescue the entire surviving Donner Party. About the Author: Adventures and Tragedies on the Overland Trail was written by Randall Parrish as a chapter of his book, The Great Plains: The Romance of Western American Exploration, Warfare, and Settlement, 1527-1870; published by A.C. McClurg & Co. in Chicago, 1907. In wet weather, for mile after mile, the passengers might be compelled to plod beside the wheels, laboriously prying them out of the clinging mud and burdening the air with profanity. On November 20 Patrick Breen, whose family had joined the party in Independence, Missouri, began a diary which he continued until March 1. Many of their animals, including Sutters mules, had wandered off into the storms and their bodies were lost under the snow. More small cabins were constructed, many of which were shared by more than one family. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Donner-party, Legends of America - The Tragic Story of the Donner Party, EyeWitness to History.com - The Tragic Fate of the Donner Party, 1847, Online Nevada Encyclopedia - Donner Party, Donner party - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). According to Peter D. Olch, being run over by wagon wheels was the most frequent cause of injury or death. Children were especially susceptible to being run over by heavy wagons. Like most pioneer trains, the Donner Party was largely made up of family wagons packed with young children and adolescents. On December 16 a party of 10 men and 5 women set out to cross the mountains on improvised snowshoes. Elijah P. Utter led a wagon train of 44 emigrants along the Oregon Trail. Jacob Donner, and his wife Elizabeth, brought their five children, George, Mary, Isaac, Samuel, and Lewis, as well as Mrs. Donners two children from a previous marriage, Solomon and William Hook. Indian peril on the northern Overland route, while never wholly absent, grew most serious during the Civil War, when the Plains tribes became largely hostile. The rescue parties stumbled across some stragglers, but the most horrific scene was discovered by a Lieutenant Anderson. Along the way, William Russell resigned as the captain of the wagon train and the position was assumed by a man named William M. Boggs. Two rescuers, Jean-Baptiste Trudeau and Nicholas Clark were left behind to care for the Donners, but soon abandon them to catch up with the relief party. Historian Aaron Smith (via Deseret News) notes that the later settlers left, the more susceptible to cholera they would be, mostly because you were following in the footsteps of people who were essentially pooping out cholera as they went. They then took 23 of the starving emigrants, including 17 children, back to the settlements; several deaths occurred on the way. With scarcely any opportunity for defense, the unfortunate whites were shot down, scalped, and their mutilated bodies left upon the ground. The last survivor, Lewis Keseberg, who had supported himself during the last weeks by cannibalism, did not leave camp until April 21. There were two coaches loaded with mail and nine men, the leaders being Lem Flowers, a division agent, and the conductor named Brown. Leaving his family, Reed was last seen riding off to the west with a man named Walter Herron. Here they fought their assailants all day, six of the men being wounded, and all their stock was driven off. About 55 miles of the telegraph line was destroyed, stage stations razed, and employees killed, for long distances east and west. At the lake stood one existing cabin and realizing they were stranded, the group built two more cabins, sheltering 59 people in hopes that the early snow would melt, allowing them to continue their travels. Omissions? It was the worst disaster of the overland migration to California. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. That's horrible, but there's a fascinating footnote that comes out of all this. A large, well equipped wagon train rolled toward California in 1846. In later years Kicking Bird, also a Kiowa, became the terror of the Plains. After building ferries to cross the water, the party was on their way again, following the Platte River for the next month. He was interviewed a few times, and when he was 62 he issued his first formal statement. To spare the animals, everyone who could, walked. The Hide Hunters. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. By the time they reached the shore, they also blamed James Reed. The train left Tirur station at 7.15pm. Only two of the ten men survived, including William Eddy and William Foster, but all five women lived through the journey. They'd established a safe home in the Walla Walla Valley, and within the year the seven had been officially adopted by the couple who were killed in a massacre three years later, along with John and Francisco Sager, the eldest children. "The child was dead his miseries were over!" I use these web pages to make available the sources of information that I run across - wagon . Sure, there are a lot of ways to go on the trail, but no one wants to be remembered like that (and he definitely wasn't the only one). Along the entire journey, others would join the group until its size numbered 87. The old man, who could not keep up with the rest of the party with his severely swollen feet, began to knock on other wagon doors, but no one would let him in. There was one major problem, thoug. He was tracked to Denver, Colorado, and hanged with very little ceremony. Also dumped? About the same time, a force of over 2,000 Indians made a determined attack upon a detachment of troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Collins at Rush Creek, Nebraska, 85 miles north of Julesburg. With the train desperately needing fresh meat, Cooper Smith, along with Barnaby, sets off . Between early September and late October 1860, 34 of the 44 would die, including Elijah and his entire family. Everyone was in the same boat, so to speak, and traders didn't have much use for the more impractical items they'd brought along. Encountering few problems along the trail, the pioneers reachedFort Laramiejust one week behind schedule on June 27, 1846. Cholera was the main scourge of the trail. George Donnerwas a successful 62-year-old farmer who had migrated five times before settling inSpringfield, Illinois along with his brother Jacob. Animals could cause very serious injury to their owners. On October 5that Iron Point, two wagons became entangled and John Snyder, a teamster of one of the wagons began to whip his oxen. In nine brand new wagons, the group estimated the trip would take four months to cross the plains, deserts, mountain ranges and rivers in their quest for California. The wagon train reached Independence, Missouri about three weeks later, where they re-supplied. At a lonely spot, this man suddenly shouted an alarm that the robbers were upon them. The Donner Partycontinued to travel along the Humboldt River with their remaining draft animals exhausted. He was a member of the Donner Party, and according to Sierra College, he paid horribly for his survival. Brian Altonen, a medical science and public health expert, took a look at the diseases running rampant through wagon trains and found the heartbreaking case of Susannah, a little girl who died just a month after her mother. With the Sierra pass just 12 miles beyond, the wagon train, after attempting to make the pass through the heavy snow, finally retreated to the eastern end of the lake, where level ground and timber was abundant. The wagon train comprised 18 to 30 wagons pulled by ox and mule teams, plus several hundred cattle and a number of blooded horses the men were driving to California's Central Valley. Two days after the Snyder killing, on October 7th, Lewis Keseberg turned out a Belgian man named Hardcoop, who had been traveling with him. Over the next four months, the remaining men, women, and children would huddle together in cabins, makeshift lean-tos, and tents. There were a few reasons for it, and Brian Altonensays part of the problem was the saline-alkaline waters of the Platte were the perfect breeding ground for cholera left behind in settlers' waste products. Generally, the first fire from the Indians killed one or two horses and tumbled a soldier or two off the top of the coach. Instantly they were fiercely attacked by an ambushed party of Apache under White Wolf. The text as it appears here, however, is not verbatim as it has been edited for clarity and ease of the modern reader. With the train desperately needing fresh meat, Cooper Smith, along with Barnaby, sets off . Talk about incentive. There followed a hot running fight, the passengers firing from the coach windows, and the Indian arrows flying thickly, wounding the horses, badly injuring Flowers, and killing two of the passengers. The note indicated that Hastings had left with another group and that later travelers should follow and catch up. On March 14ththey arrived at the Alder Creek camp to find George Donner was dying from an infection in the hand that he had injured months before. His name was John Lawrence Grattan, and he was a second lieutenant in the Army stationed at Fort Laramie. In April of that year occurred a terrible fight between the mail-stage and Indians on the Sweetwater River. On December 15 Baylis Williams, an employee of the Reed family, died of malnutrition at the lake camp; his was the first recorded death in the camps, although many others would soon follow. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Five days later, on August 30th, the group began to cross the Great Salt Lake Desert, believing the trek would take only two days, according to Hastings. W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) was a driver between Split Rock and Three Crossings, one of the most perilous sections. On their eighty mile journey through the Salt Lake Desert, they had lost a total of thirty-two oxen; Reed was forced to abandon two of his wagons, and the Donners, as well as man named Louis Keseberg, lost one wagon each. The Santa Fe Trail was the first used for staging purposes and was also the first to be reddened with blood and witness the hardships of prairie travel. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Here, the train split, with the majority of the large caravan taking the safer route. On August 25th, the caravan lost another member, one Luke Halloran, who died of consumption, near present-day Grantsville,Utah. Such accidents could cause the loss of life and most or all of valuable supplies. From start to finish, it took between five and six months, and it's hard to imagine today. Reed had recently read the bookTheEmigrants Guide to Oregon and California, by Landsford W. Hastings, who advertised a new shortcut across the Great Basin. Don Brooke is desperate for money for his pregnant wife Bonnie, whose condition is too delicate for the long trip without more medical care so he seeks a bank loan. The Wagon Tragedy centenary is a special moment for Kuruvambalam in Malappuram as 41 of 70 persons who died after being stuffed into an unventilated g. . Invariably such a storm meant a stampede of the mules, nor would a man dare to desert his shelter to seek them. Never for a moment could they feel secure; every trip promised to be their last, and many a time, the coach dashed up to a station only to find it in ruins and surrounded by dead. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. As they broke a new trail through the nearly impassible terrain of the Wasatch Mountains, they lost about two weeks time. Cholera was the main scourge of the trail. All the other migrants of 1846 had completed their journey to California, and the Donner party was racing the weather to clear the passes in the Sierra Nevada.
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