



Produced by David Schwan







HISTORY OF THE DONNER PARTY

A TRAGEDY OF THE SIERRA


By C. F. McGlashan

Truckee, Cal.





     To Mrs. Elizabeth A. Keiser,
     One of the Pioneer Mothers of California,


     This Book is Respectfully Dedicated by the Author.




Preface.


The delirium preceding death by starvation, is full of strange
phantasies. Visions of plenty, of comfort, of elegance, flit ever
before the fast-dimming eyes. The final twilight of death is a brief
semi-consciousness in which the dying one frequently repeats his weird
dreams. Half rising from his snowy couch, pointing upward, one of the
death-stricken at Donner Lake may have said, with tremulous voice:
"Look! there, just above us, is a beautiful house. It is of costliest
walnut, inlaid with laurel and ebony, and is resplendent with burnished
silver. Magnificent in all its apartments, it is furnished like a
palace. It is rich with costly cushions, elegant tapestries, dazzling
mirrors; its floor is covered with Oriental carpets, its ceiling with
artistic frescoings; downy cushions invite the weary to repose. It is
filled with people who are chatting, laughing, and singing, joyous
and care-free. There is an abundance of warmth, and rare viands, and
sparkling wines. Suspended among the storm-clouds, it is flying along
the face of the precipice at a marvelous speed. Flying? no! it has
wheels and is gliding along on a smooth, steel pathway. It is sheltered
from the wind and snow by large beams and huge posts, which are bolted
to the cliffs with heavy, iron rods. The avalanches, with their burden
of earth and rocks and crushed pines, sweep harmlessly above this
beautiful house and its happy inmates. It is drawn by neither oxen nor
horses, but by a fiery, hot-breathed monster, with iron limbs and thews
of, steel. The mountain trembles beneath his tread, and the rocks for
miles re-echo his roar."

If such a vision was related, it but indicates, prophetically, the
progress of a few years. California's history is replete with
tragic, startling events. These events are the landmarks by which its
advancement is traced. One of the most mournful of these is recorded in
this work--a work intended as a contribution, not to the literature, but
to the history of the State. More thrilling than romance, more terrible
than fiction, the sufferings of the Donner Party form a bold contrast to
the joys of pleasure-seekers who to-day look down upon the lake from the
windows of silver palace cars.

The scenes of horror and despair which transpired in the snowy Sierra in
the winter of 1846-7, need no exaggeration, no embellishment. From all
the works heretofore published, from over one thousand letters received
from the survivors, from ample manuscript, and from personal interviews
with the most important actors in the tragedy, the facts have been
carefully compiled. Neither time, pains, nor expense have been spared in
ferreting out the truth. New and fragmentary versions of the sad story
have appeared almost every year since the unfortunate occurrence.
To forever supplant these distorted and fabulous reports--which have
usually been sensational new articles--the survivors have deemed it wise
to contribute the truth. The truth is sufficiently terrible.

Where conflicting accounts of particular scenes or occurrences have been
contributed, every effort has been made to render them harmonious and
reconcilable. With justice, with impartiality, and with strict adherence
to what appeared truthful and reliable, the book has been written. It is
an honest effort--toward the truth, and as such is given to the world.

C. F. McGlashan.

Truckee, Cal., June 30, 1879.



Contents.



     Chapter I.

     Donner Lake
     A Famous Tourist Resort
     Building the Central Pacific
     California's Skating Park
     The Pioneers
     The Organization of the Donner Party
     Ho! for California!
     A Mammoth Train
     The Dangers by the Way
     False Accounts of the Sufferings Endured
     Complete Roll of the Company
     Impostors Claiming to Belong to the Party
     Killed by the Pawnees
     An Alarmed Camp
     Resin Indians
     A Mother's Death

     Chapter II.

     Mrs. Donner's Letters
     Life on the Plains
     An Interesting Sketch
     The Outfit Required
     The Platte River
     Botanizing
     Five Hundred and Eighteen Wagons for California
     Burning "Buffalo Chips"
     The Fourth of July at Fort Laramie
     Indian Discipline
     Sioux Attempt to Purchase Mary Graves
     George Donner Elected Captain
     Letter of Stanton
     Dissension
     One Company Split up into Five
     The Fatal Hastings Cut-off
     Lowering Wagons over a Precipice
     The First View of Great Salt Lake

     Chapter III.

     A Grave of Salt
     Members of the Mystic