Just a warning, today's episode has some graphic
details and might not be entirely family friendly.
Welcome to What You Didn't Hear, the show that
uncovers the stories buried in history's shadows.
Today we'll travel back to the year 1846, to
one of the most infamous tales of American migration,
the Donner Party. A journey westward that began
in hope, but ended in tragedy, survival, and
infamy. So join me as we take a deep dive into
history. The mid -1840s were a time of expansion
and promise. The Oregon Trail and the California
Trail carried thousands of settlers westward,
chasing farmland, opportunity, and a new life.
Among them was a group led by brothers Jacob
and George Donner, and by James F. Reed, an Illinois
businessman. On April 16th, 1846, about 90 immigrants
left Springfield, Illinois. Spirits were high.
The journey, though long, was well -traveled.
By summer, they reached Fort Bridger in present
-day Wyoming. And here, a crucial decision altered
everything. They decided to take a newly advertised
shortcut. The Hastings Cut -Off. It promised
to save 300 miles on the journey to California.
The trailblazer, Lansford Hastings, claimed it
was a quicker, safer path. The truth, he had
never actually traveled the entire route himself.
The Donner Party, now around 87 people, turned
south from the main trail in late July. Almost
immediately, disaster followed. The supposed
shortcut led them across the Wasatch Mountains,
steep, tangled, and nearly impassable terrain.
It took them weeks to hack through, losing wagons
and supplies. Then came the Great Salt Lake Desert.
Hastings had assured them it was only 40 miles
across. In reality, it stretched closer to 80.
Families trudged across the scorching salt flats,
their oxen collapsing, wagons abandoned. By the
time they reached the other side, precious time
had been lost, and food supplies had dwindled.
Along with the Humboldt River, the party was
joined by a group of Paiute Native Americans.
They traveled with them for a couple days before
stealing and shooting several of the party's
oxen. Other immigrant parties who took the traditional
route had already crossed the Sierra Nevada safely.
The Donners, however, were now weeks behind schedule,
and winter was closing in. By late October 1846,
the party reached the Sierra Nevada mountains
near present -day Truckee, California. They were
only a few miles from safety, but the first snowstorm
struck early. the mountain passes filled with
snow trapping them at an elevation of about six
thousand feet the trials that the donner party
had so far endured resulted in splintered groups
each looking out for themselves and distrustful
of the others grass was becoming scarce and the
animals were getting weaker and weaker to relieve
the animals load every one was expected to walk
Keesburg, one of the members of the group, ejected
Hardcoop from his wagon, telling the elderly
man that he had to walk or die. A few days later,
Hardcoop sat next to a stream, his feet so swollen
they had split open, and he was never seen again.
They built makeshift cabins and shelters at what
became known as Donner Lake and Alder Creek,
which were about five miles apart from each other.
Inside, families huddled together against freezing
winds. Food supplies quickly ran out. They ate
what they could. They boiled leather, bark, and
bones. From the diary of Patrick Breen. Came
to this place on the 31st of last month, then
it snowed. We went on to the pass. The snow was
so deep we were unable to find the road. when
within three miles of the summit then turned
back to the shanty on the lake stanton came out
one day after we arrived here we again took our
teams and wagons and made another unsuccessful
attempt to cross in company with stanton we returned
to the shanty and continuing to snow all the
time we were here we now have killed most part
of our cattle having to stay here until next
spring and live on poor beef without bread or
salt Milt and Noah went to Dono's eight days
since, and not returned yet. Hunger gnawed at
them as snow piled higher and higher. The hope
of crossing the mountains faded. In mid -December,
fifteen of the strongest set out on foot, desperate
to find help. they were nicknamed the forlorn
hope with home -made snowshoes they trudged through
the deep snow but conditions were brutal the
group became lost and confused after two more
days without food patrick dolan proposed one
of them should volunteer to die in order to feed
the others some suggested a duel while another
account describes an attempt at a lottery they
decided to keep moving until someone simply fell
a blizzard halted the group in their tracks antonio
the animal handler was the first to die followed
by franklin graves later patrick dolan began
to rant deliriously stripped off his clothes
and ran into the woods a short while later he
returned and passed away the group then began
to eat dolan's body lemuel murphy passed away
shortly afterwards the group stripped the muscles
and organs from the bodies of the deceased and
dried them to store them for the days ahead efforts
were made to ensure no one would have to eat
his or her relatives after more than thirty days
the forlorn hope stumbled into the settlement
in california of the seventeen original members
of the forlorn hope only nine survived the trek
over donner's pass Their story spread quickly,
and rescue parties were organized. Relief was
on the way, but time was running out for all
those still trapped. Between February and April
of 1847, four relief expeditions reached the
stranded immigrants. Each time, rescuers found
shocking scenes of starvation and evidence of
cannibalism. survivors admitted that to live
they had resorted to eating those who had already
perished during the first rescue mission seven
men from the sacramento valley scaled donner
pass and approached where they had been told
the cabins at alder lake would be located they
began to call out for any survivors inside the
snow -buried cabins mrs murphy climbed up out
of the hole that led to her cabin and asked the
rescuers are you men from california Or do you
come from heaven? Food was given in small portions
to the starving survivors. It was reported by
the rescue party that 13 people at the camps
were dead and loosely buried in the snow near
the roofs of the cabins. The oxide roofs had
began to rot and the smell was unbearable. Another
quote from the diary of Patrick Breen. The Donos
told the California folks that they had commenced
to eat the dead people four days ago. three members
of the rescue party made the five -mile trek
down to alder lake where the donner family was
camped they returned with four starving children
and three adults twenty -three people were chosen
to return to sacramento with the rescue party
leaving twenty -one at the donner lake cabins
and twelve at the alder creek side the third
and final relief party arrived at donner lake
on march fourteenth led by foster and eddie upon
arrival they found their remaining children passed
away keseberg told eddie that he had eaten the
remains of eddie's son the rescue party left
with the donner girls simon foster trudeau and
clark leaving levinah murphy behind who was too
weak to leave and keseberg two more relief parties
attempted to evacuate any remaining adults from
the donner lake camp but were unable to cross
donner pass and no further attempts were made
until a salvage party returned on april tenth
to collect belongings of the families the donner's
belongings were all sold with part of the earnings
going to the orphaned donner children the donner
camp at alder creek was found empty except george
donner's body who had died just days before their
arrival On their way back to Donner Lake, they
found Louis Keesburg alive. He claimed that Mrs.
Murphy had died a week after the departure of
the Third Relief. The salvage party was suspicious
of Keesburg's story, and upon searching his cabin,
they found a pot full of human flesh, along with
George Donner's pistol, jewelry, and $250 in
gold. Of the original 87 members of the Donner
Party, only 48 survived, among them women and
children who endured unspeakable suffering. The
story horrified the nation, turning the Donner
name into a synonym for desperation, but also
for human survival against impossible odds. A
quote from a letter written by survivor Mary
Graves to her sister's father -in -law regarding
making the journey over the Sierra Nevada. I
will now give you some good and friendly advice.
Stay at home. You are in a good place, where,
if sick, you are not in danger of starving to
death. The Donner Party's tragedy wasn't just
the snow or bad luck. it was the result of choices
following an untested route ignoring warnings
and pressing forward too late in the season it's
a cautionary tale about hubris risk and cost
of poor leadership but it's also a reminder of
human endurance mothers gave their last scraps
of food to their children strangers helped one
another cling to life and despite everything
nearly half survived the most infamous ordeal
of westward migration The Donner Party remains
one of America's darkest legends. A story not
just of tragedy, but of resilience. When we think
of pioneers, we picture covered wagons, endless
prairies, and golden opportunities. But hidden
in the snow of the Sierra Nevada lies a harsher
truth. Sometimes the dream of the West demanded
everything. Thank you for listening to What You
Didn't Hear. I'm your host, Zane Gould, and if
today's story gripped you, share it with a friend,
and join me next time as we take a deep dive
into another story in history.