WEBVTT 00:00:07.580 --> 00:00:10.539 Just a warning, today's episode has some graphic 00:00:10.539 --> 00:00:12.900 details and might not be entirely family friendly. 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:17.039 Welcome to What You Didn't Hear, the show that 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:19.300 uncovers the stories buried in history's shadows. 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:23.420 Today we'll travel back to the year 1846, to 00:00:23.420 --> 00:00:26.019 one of the most infamous tales of American migration, 00:00:26.460 --> 00:00:29.699 the Donner Party. A journey westward that began 00:00:29.699 --> 00:00:32.759 in hope, but ended in tragedy, survival, and 00:00:32.759 --> 00:00:36.719 infamy. So join me as we take a deep dive into 00:00:36.719 --> 00:01:22.269 history. The mid -1840s were a time of expansion 00:01:22.269 --> 00:01:25.030 and promise. The Oregon Trail and the California 00:01:25.030 --> 00:01:27.609 Trail carried thousands of settlers westward, 00:01:27.730 --> 00:01:30.909 chasing farmland, opportunity, and a new life. 00:01:31.409 --> 00:01:34.250 Among them was a group led by brothers Jacob 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:38.230 and George Donner, and by James F. Reed, an Illinois 00:01:38.230 --> 00:01:53.060 businessman. On April 16th, 1846, about 90 immigrants 00:01:53.060 --> 00:01:56.260 left Springfield, Illinois. Spirits were high. 00:01:56.400 --> 00:01:59.420 The journey, though long, was well -traveled. 00:01:59.420 --> 00:02:02.200 By summer, they reached Fort Bridger in present 00:02:02.200 --> 00:02:05.500 -day Wyoming. And here, a crucial decision altered 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:10.099 everything. They decided to take a newly advertised 00:02:10.099 --> 00:02:16.500 shortcut. The Hastings Cut -Off. It promised 00:02:16.500 --> 00:02:19.400 to save 300 miles on the journey to California. 00:02:19.719 --> 00:02:23.400 The trailblazer, Lansford Hastings, claimed it 00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:26.780 was a quicker, safer path. The truth, he had 00:02:26.780 --> 00:02:29.080 never actually traveled the entire route himself. 00:02:33.539 --> 00:02:37.300 The Donner Party, now around 87 people, turned 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:40.539 south from the main trail in late July. Almost 00:02:40.539 --> 00:02:43.139 immediately, disaster followed. The supposed 00:02:43.139 --> 00:02:45.680 shortcut led them across the Wasatch Mountains, 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:48.840 steep, tangled, and nearly impassable terrain. 00:02:49.080 --> 00:02:52.360 It took them weeks to hack through, losing wagons 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:59.699 and supplies. Then came the Great Salt Lake Desert. 00:03:00.219 --> 00:03:03.020 Hastings had assured them it was only 40 miles 00:03:03.020 --> 00:03:06.000 across. In reality, it stretched closer to 80. 00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:09.379 Families trudged across the scorching salt flats, 00:03:09.659 --> 00:03:12.960 their oxen collapsing, wagons abandoned. By the 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:15.159 time they reached the other side, precious time 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:18.199 had been lost, and food supplies had dwindled. 00:03:19.439 --> 00:03:21.659 Along with the Humboldt River, the party was 00:03:21.659 --> 00:03:24.379 joined by a group of Paiute Native Americans. 00:03:24.699 --> 00:03:27.520 They traveled with them for a couple days before 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:29.759 stealing and shooting several of the party's 00:03:29.759 --> 00:03:35.389 oxen. Other immigrant parties who took the traditional 00:03:35.389 --> 00:03:37.990 route had already crossed the Sierra Nevada safely. 00:03:38.270 --> 00:03:41.729 The Donners, however, were now weeks behind schedule, 00:03:41.909 --> 00:03:48.330 and winter was closing in. By late October 1846, 00:03:48.669 --> 00:03:50.669 the party reached the Sierra Nevada mountains 00:03:50.669 --> 00:03:54.449 near present -day Truckee, California. They were 00:03:54.449 --> 00:03:57.710 only a few miles from safety, but the first snowstorm 00:03:57.710 --> 00:04:00.870 struck early. the mountain passes filled with 00:04:00.870 --> 00:04:03.530 snow trapping them at an elevation of about six 00:04:03.530 --> 00:04:08.610 thousand feet the trials that the donner party 00:04:08.610 --> 00:04:11.490 had so far endured resulted in splintered groups 00:04:11.490 --> 00:04:14.530 each looking out for themselves and distrustful 00:04:14.530 --> 00:04:17.709 of the others grass was becoming scarce and the 00:04:17.709 --> 00:04:20.529 animals were getting weaker and weaker to relieve 00:04:20.529 --> 00:04:23.290 the animals load every one was expected to walk 00:04:23.800 --> 00:04:26.939 Keesburg, one of the members of the group, ejected 00:04:26.939 --> 00:04:29.740 Hardcoop from his wagon, telling the elderly 00:04:29.740 --> 00:04:33.000 man that he had to walk or die. A few days later, 00:04:33.060 --> 00:04:36.319 Hardcoop sat next to a stream, his feet so swollen 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:39.019 they had split open, and he was never seen again. 00:04:42.660 --> 00:04:45.959 They built makeshift cabins and shelters at what 00:04:45.959 --> 00:04:48.680 became known as Donner Lake and Alder Creek, 00:04:48.959 --> 00:04:51.240 which were about five miles apart from each other. 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:55.160 Inside, families huddled together against freezing 00:04:55.160 --> 00:04:59.319 winds. Food supplies quickly ran out. They ate 00:04:59.319 --> 00:05:02.319 what they could. They boiled leather, bark, and 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:10.839 bones. From the diary of Patrick Breen. Came 00:05:10.839 --> 00:05:13.699 to this place on the 31st of last month, then 00:05:13.699 --> 00:05:16.980 it snowed. We went on to the pass. The snow was 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:20.000 so deep we were unable to find the road. when 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:22.279 within three miles of the summit then turned 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:26.000 back to the shanty on the lake stanton came out 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.720 one day after we arrived here we again took our 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:32.439 teams and wagons and made another unsuccessful 00:05:32.439 --> 00:05:35.740 attempt to cross in company with stanton we returned 00:05:35.740 --> 00:05:38.920 to the shanty and continuing to snow all the 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:42.079 time we were here we now have killed most part 00:05:42.079 --> 00:05:44.660 of our cattle having to stay here until next 00:05:44.660 --> 00:05:47.920 spring and live on poor beef without bread or 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:51.040 salt Milt and Noah went to Dono's eight days 00:05:51.040 --> 00:06:03.720 since, and not returned yet. Hunger gnawed at 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:06.959 them as snow piled higher and higher. The hope 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:13.019 of crossing the mountains faded. In mid -December, 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:16.579 fifteen of the strongest set out on foot, desperate 00:06:16.579 --> 00:06:19.800 to find help. they were nicknamed the forlorn 00:06:19.800 --> 00:06:23.000 hope with home -made snowshoes they trudged through 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:26.220 the deep snow but conditions were brutal the 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:29.060 group became lost and confused after two more 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:31.860 days without food patrick dolan proposed one 00:06:31.860 --> 00:06:34.839 of them should volunteer to die in order to feed 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:38.480 the others some suggested a duel while another 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:41.699 account describes an attempt at a lottery they 00:06:41.699 --> 00:06:44.259 decided to keep moving until someone simply fell 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:48.540 a blizzard halted the group in their tracks antonio 00:06:48.540 --> 00:06:51.759 the animal handler was the first to die followed 00:06:51.759 --> 00:06:55.019 by franklin graves later patrick dolan began 00:06:55.019 --> 00:06:58.079 to rant deliriously stripped off his clothes 00:06:58.079 --> 00:07:01.360 and ran into the woods a short while later he 00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:05.079 returned and passed away the group then began 00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:12.879 to eat dolan's body lemuel murphy passed away 00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:15.899 shortly afterwards the group stripped the muscles 00:07:15.899 --> 00:07:18.920 and organs from the bodies of the deceased and 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:22.060 dried them to store them for the days ahead efforts 00:07:22.060 --> 00:07:25.040 were made to ensure no one would have to eat 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:29.100 his or her relatives after more than thirty days 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:31.300 the forlorn hope stumbled into the settlement 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:34.800 in california of the seventeen original members 00:07:34.800 --> 00:07:37.540 of the forlorn hope only nine survived the trek 00:07:37.540 --> 00:07:42.540 over donner's pass Their story spread quickly, 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:45.680 and rescue parties were organized. Relief was 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:48.420 on the way, but time was running out for all 00:07:48.420 --> 00:07:55.819 those still trapped. Between February and April 00:07:55.819 --> 00:07:59.360 of 1847, four relief expeditions reached the 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:02.360 stranded immigrants. Each time, rescuers found 00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:05.779 shocking scenes of starvation and evidence of 00:08:05.779 --> 00:08:09.120 cannibalism. survivors admitted that to live 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:11.819 they had resorted to eating those who had already 00:08:11.819 --> 00:08:15.899 perished during the first rescue mission seven 00:08:15.899 --> 00:08:18.519 men from the sacramento valley scaled donner 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:21.199 pass and approached where they had been told 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:24.319 the cabins at alder lake would be located they 00:08:24.319 --> 00:08:26.779 began to call out for any survivors inside the 00:08:26.779 --> 00:08:30.120 snow -buried cabins mrs murphy climbed up out 00:08:30.120 --> 00:08:32.419 of the hole that led to her cabin and asked the 00:08:32.419 --> 00:08:36.340 rescuers are you men from california Or do you 00:08:36.340 --> 00:08:40.240 come from heaven? Food was given in small portions 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:43.240 to the starving survivors. It was reported by 00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:45.679 the rescue party that 13 people at the camps 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:48.639 were dead and loosely buried in the snow near 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:52.120 the roofs of the cabins. The oxide roofs had 00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:56.360 began to rot and the smell was unbearable. Another 00:08:56.360 --> 00:08:59.220 quote from the diary of Patrick Breen. The Donos 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:01.820 told the California folks that they had commenced 00:09:01.820 --> 00:09:05.740 to eat the dead people four days ago. three members 00:09:05.740 --> 00:09:07.860 of the rescue party made the five -mile trek 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:10.279 down to alder lake where the donner family was 00:09:10.279 --> 00:09:13.500 camped they returned with four starving children 00:09:13.500 --> 00:09:16.580 and three adults twenty -three people were chosen 00:09:16.580 --> 00:09:19.320 to return to sacramento with the rescue party 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:21.980 leaving twenty -one at the donner lake cabins 00:09:21.980 --> 00:09:26.019 and twelve at the alder creek side the third 00:09:26.019 --> 00:09:28.500 and final relief party arrived at donner lake 00:09:28.500 --> 00:09:33.029 on march fourteenth led by foster and eddie upon 00:09:33.029 --> 00:09:35.950 arrival they found their remaining children passed 00:09:35.950 --> 00:09:39.950 away keseberg told eddie that he had eaten the 00:09:39.950 --> 00:09:42.750 remains of eddie's son the rescue party left 00:09:42.750 --> 00:09:46.289 with the donner girls simon foster trudeau and 00:09:46.289 --> 00:09:49.409 clark leaving levinah murphy behind who was too 00:09:49.409 --> 00:09:54.299 weak to leave and keseberg two more relief parties 00:09:54.299 --> 00:09:56.919 attempted to evacuate any remaining adults from 00:09:56.919 --> 00:09:59.519 the donner lake camp but were unable to cross 00:09:59.519 --> 00:10:01.679 donner pass and no further attempts were made 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:04.440 until a salvage party returned on april tenth 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:08.679 to collect belongings of the families the donner's 00:10:08.679 --> 00:10:11.519 belongings were all sold with part of the earnings 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:14.620 going to the orphaned donner children the donner 00:10:14.620 --> 00:10:17.340 camp at alder creek was found empty except george 00:10:17.340 --> 00:10:20.539 donner's body who had died just days before their 00:10:20.539 --> 00:10:23.830 arrival On their way back to Donner Lake, they 00:10:23.830 --> 00:10:27.049 found Louis Keesburg alive. He claimed that Mrs. 00:10:27.190 --> 00:10:29.750 Murphy had died a week after the departure of 00:10:29.750 --> 00:10:32.669 the Third Relief. The salvage party was suspicious 00:10:32.669 --> 00:10:35.730 of Keesburg's story, and upon searching his cabin, 00:10:35.870 --> 00:10:38.990 they found a pot full of human flesh, along with 00:10:38.990 --> 00:10:43.129 George Donner's pistol, jewelry, and $250 in 00:10:43.129 --> 00:10:54.960 gold. Of the original 87 members of the Donner 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:58.879 Party, only 48 survived, among them women and 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:02.039 children who endured unspeakable suffering. The 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:04.340 story horrified the nation, turning the Donner 00:11:04.340 --> 00:11:07.720 name into a synonym for desperation, but also 00:11:07.720 --> 00:11:20.919 for human survival against impossible odds. A 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:23.220 quote from a letter written by survivor Mary 00:11:23.220 --> 00:11:26.299 Graves to her sister's father -in -law regarding 00:11:26.299 --> 00:11:30.419 making the journey over the Sierra Nevada. I 00:11:30.419 --> 00:11:32.480 will now give you some good and friendly advice. 00:11:32.940 --> 00:11:36.139 Stay at home. You are in a good place, where, 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:38.899 if sick, you are not in danger of starving to 00:11:38.899 --> 00:11:44.480 death. The Donner Party's tragedy wasn't just 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:47.720 the snow or bad luck. it was the result of choices 00:11:47.720 --> 00:11:51.019 following an untested route ignoring warnings 00:11:51.019 --> 00:11:54.519 and pressing forward too late in the season it's 00:11:54.519 --> 00:11:57.480 a cautionary tale about hubris risk and cost 00:11:57.480 --> 00:12:00.799 of poor leadership but it's also a reminder of 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:03.500 human endurance mothers gave their last scraps 00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:05.940 of food to their children strangers helped one 00:12:05.940 --> 00:12:08.379 another cling to life and despite everything 00:12:08.379 --> 00:12:11.860 nearly half survived the most infamous ordeal 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:20.299 of westward migration The Donner Party remains 00:12:20.299 --> 00:12:24.279 one of America's darkest legends. A story not 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:27.559 just of tragedy, but of resilience. When we think 00:12:27.559 --> 00:12:30.100 of pioneers, we picture covered wagons, endless 00:12:30.100 --> 00:12:33.299 prairies, and golden opportunities. But hidden 00:12:33.299 --> 00:12:35.759 in the snow of the Sierra Nevada lies a harsher 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:39.039 truth. Sometimes the dream of the West demanded 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:52.850 everything. Thank you for listening to What You 00:12:52.850 --> 00:12:56.190 Didn't Hear. I'm your host, Zane Gould, and if 00:12:56.190 --> 00:12:58.750 today's story gripped you, share it with a friend, 00:12:58.789 --> 00:13:01.090 and join me next time as we take a deep dive 00:13:01.090 --> 00:13:02.950 into another story in history.