Trail of Desperation: The Donner-Reed Odyssey

Artwork for podcast The Remedial Scholar

Episode 11 • 16th October 2023 • The Remedial Scholar • Levi Harrison

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A group of American pioneers traveling

from the Midwest to California

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in wagons known as the Donna Reed Party,

encountered some difficulty, some.

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And it's not just, you know, flat tire

on the interstate difficulty.

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During the winter of: 1846

they encountered several difficulties

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that made them become stranded

in the Sierra Nevada mountains to survive

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some turn to cannibalism, mainly

eating those who had died from sickness,

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hunger or cold.

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Fortunately, they also may have

intentionally killed a couple of people.

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We'll get into that.

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Now, how did the Donner Party

end up in such a situation?

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And what else did they do to survive?

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And what can we learn from their ordeal?

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Discover the tragedy and true story on

another episode of the remedial scholar.

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Bad sanctioned history

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mystery.

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I feel I was denied

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credit critically need to know

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in information

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belongs to the AMC

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stop stuck in your remedial class.

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Welcome to the remedial scholar.

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I am your host, Levi.

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I'm so excited to have you back

and have your new here. Welcome.

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I love you.

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We're continuing this

dark and dreary episode trend

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on the second episode

in a row of some of the darker

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parts of American history last week,

which is this week.

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Cannibals.

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Not that they were like cannibals

by choice, unless you consider

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starving to death.

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JOYCE But either way,

they did act in cannibalistic ways.

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Some of the ways they did

it were also less than ideal, though.

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You know, we're getting too far ahead.

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First, Lisa messages.

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Send in your suggestions, ideas,

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If we were on the Oregon Trail,

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we would have died in the Rockies

because we have left too late today.

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It's pretty straightforward,

a little background

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than, you know, directly into the people

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in the journey west

and where it all went wrong.

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So let's get into it.

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In October: 1846

including men, women and children.

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So pretty much all the types of people

that exist entered the Sierra Nevada

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mountains, led by George Darren Donner

and James F Reid.

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They faced bad luck and poor leadership.

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Their biggest mistake taking the,

you know, not real traveled

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Hastings cut off supposed shortcut

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a supposed shortcut across

Utah in the Great Salt Lake.

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This choice

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put them three weeks behind schedule

and they were already behind anyway.

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And that made them low on supplies

due to the harsh

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conditions of the Great Salt Lake

Crossing.

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And weirdly enough,

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the guy who created the Hastings cut off

hadn't even really traveled it fully. So,

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and he's.

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He's got it. So there's stuff

going on. So.

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But yeah, the Donner Party,

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you know, had a bunch of poor decisions

and bad luck, you know,

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that just marred their journey

as they pushed forward.

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Many people relocated to Oregon

and California and territory

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during the: 1840

of the United States.

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You know the biggest

I think most famous example

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would be probably the gold

rush of the: 1849

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Right?

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That's where the San Francisco 49 ers

get their name.

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The only methods to get there at the time

was either a lengthy sea voyage

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that went down and around South America

or a perilous excursion over land.

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Now, quite

a few people were making this journey

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and there was a route

that was pretty much good.

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But, you know, there were some shortcuts

that people were trying

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to figure out just to make it

a little bit better, a little bit easier.

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I felt it was their destiny,

their manifest destiny, if you will,

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to populate the region between, you know,

the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

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Others traveled to the West

in search of an opportunity to make money.

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One of the members of the Donna

Reed party, Patrick Breen,

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for instance, believed that Catholics

should dwell in California.

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And that's a very specific belief

and dream to have.

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Now, Manifest Destiny was a widely held

belief in the 19th

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century United States that it was,

you know, both destiny and destiny

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and divinely ordained to expand across

North American continent.

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The term itself was first coined

ournalist John Lo Sullivan in: 1845

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His belief was rooted in the idea

that expansion of the United States across

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the continent was not only inevitable

but also a moral imperative.

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Proponents of Manifest

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Destiny believed that the United States

had a mission to spread democracy

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and freedom, its way of life,

from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

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This expansion,

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this expansionist ideology, justified

the westward movement of settlers,

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the annexation of New territories,

and at times military interventions.

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It fueled the acquisition of vast

territories, including the annexation

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of Texas, the Oregon Trail Migration,

and the Mexican-American War,

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which led to the acquisition

of territories like California and

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the American Southwest.

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While Manifest Destiny

was a powerful force shaping

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American expansion,

it was also controversial.

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Obviously.

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Critics

argued that it was a rationalization

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for the displacement and mystery

treatment of indigenous populations.

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What the American government

would never do that

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as well as the annexation of territories

belonging to other nations.

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Most of these explorers

traveled the Oregon Trail,

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setting out from Independence, Missouri,

over over the course of their 4 to 6 month

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expedition, they average about 13 miles

a day, one five miles every day,

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which we'll find out

is actually cookin pretty good

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with all of the stuff

you had to deal with.

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I don't know if you guys ever played

Oregon Trail, but I mean, granted,

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that game doesn't take that long to play,

but, you know, it does take a long time.

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And we'll find out that the Donna Reed

pottery slowed down way below

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that 15 miles day mark.

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So just keep that in mind.

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They traveled to reach a pass

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called South Pass in Wyoming,

which was easy for wagons to cross.

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They usually follow rivers

after from that point.

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After that, they had different choices

for where they wanted to go.

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Essentially.

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A man from Ohio Red flag named Lansford

stings, went to California in: 1842

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I was really impressed by what he saw.

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Wrote a book called The Immigrants Guide

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to Oregon and California

to encourage others to come, too.

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He suggested a shorter way to California,

even though it was actually longer

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by 125 miles. But that's just semantics.

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This new route would take travelers

through the

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Wasatch Range

and across the Great Salt Lake Desert.

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Instead of following the usual Oregon

Trail through Idaho, Snake River Plain

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lands for Hastings didn't try the shortcut

until he traveled from California

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to Fort Bridger, a remote outpost

outpost run

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by Jim Bridger in Wyoming much later. So

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he did

travel it, but also he traveled it on

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horse, not with a series of wagons,

which I think is important to note.

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He stayed at the fort to try

and convince others to take its path.

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You know, he would hand out pamphlets

and things.

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Hastings was one of only two individuals,

albeit neither, like I said, had used

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a wagon who had traveled, traversed

the southern Great Salt Lake Desert.

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According to documents from: 1846

most difficult portion of the journey

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to California was the final hundred miles

across the Sierra Nevada mountains.

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Beautiful mountain range.

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But they get a little snowy.

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These mountains receive

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a lot of snow due to their proximity

toward to the Pacific Ocean.

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There's storms that move across, winter

storms that move across the Pacific Ocean.

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And as they get into California

from the west,

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the wind direction makes a direct strike

on the Sierras,

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leading to sharply ascending air

and high snowfall rates.

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The Sierra Nevada

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mountains feature more than 500 summits

that are higher than 12,000 feet.

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The mountain's eastern flank

is quite steep as well.

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Timing was super important

to avoid getting stuck in the mountains

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because of snow in September,

as early as September, or mud

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from the spring rains when leaving

Missouri for Oregon or California,

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they had to keep this in mind.

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They also had to make sure

that there was enough grass, you know,

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that would be in the mountain

areas for the horses and oxen to eat.

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So if they didn't, it's going to be bad.

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All right. So all of that's well and good.

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But let's discuss the people,

the entrance of the story.

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In the early days of: 1846

about 500 wagons

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set out from Independence, Missouri.

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Why do I keep pronouncing it that way?

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Well, that's

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because every time somebody says Missouri,

there's a bunch of people

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who are in Missouri,

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like there's some sort of like Jesse

James Outlaw that needs to pronounce it.

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So ridiculous. I don't know.

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Anyway, so

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like I said, 500 wagons

set out from Independence heading west.

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Come May 12th.

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The Reid and Donner families,

a group of 32 just on to the tail

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end of the train with nine wagons

in tow for their year long stint in Texas.

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George Donner, a North

Carolinian, pushing, you know, almost 60

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at taking his time

exploring Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois.

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But ever since: 1846

hanging around Springfield,

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Illinois, nurturing his dreams

of venturing into the mythical realm

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of California for shot at a better life

and a life on the frontier.

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Traveling alongside him with his 44 year

old wife, Tamsin,

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and their trio of kids,

Frances, Georgia, and Eliza, plus George's

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daughters from a previous marriage

scandal, Elisa and Liana.

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At least that's an interesting name.

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Anyway,

the entourage doesn't stop there, though.

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It included George's 62 year old brother,

Jacob, Jacob's 45 year old wife,

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Elizabeth, and their five kids,

along with stepsons William Hooke

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and Solomon Hooke.

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And then they also had their Teamsters

helping out Hiram Miller, Samuel Shumaker,

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Noah James, Charles Birger Hershberger,

John Denton and Augustus Bitzer.

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Now, James F read, the other

half of the Donna Reed name was about 45.

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When they left.

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He had journey from Ireland to Illinois

as a little kid.

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His mother got divorced

and they headed to America.

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That's that's a really it's

a really extreme reaction to a divorce.

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He was accompanied by his 32 year

old wife, Margaret.

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And Margaret brought her mom, Saraki's,

but she didn't make it.

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She succumbed to tuberculosis

at Alcove Springs shortly thereafter.

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Now, Rita Reid was interesting.

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So he had a lot of turmoil

going on, emotional from the death

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of his mother in law, but also financial.

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So that would kind of key into his life

a little bit.

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And, you know, he's

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he's trying to push on to make a good life

because they're so poor.

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It's just something to note

for future effort.

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So Reid also had some helping hands.

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He had people to watch over the auction,

James Smith,

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Walter Heron, Milford Elliott or MIT.

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And then also there was Liz,

Eliza Williams and Bayless Williams,

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which there was the cook and the handyman

for the for the Reed clan.

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The Reed's daughters and another family

join the group of about 50 wagons

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led by William H.

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Russell, less than a week

after leaving Independence.

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But June 16th, they had traveled 450 miles

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and had another 200 miles to go

before reaching Fort Laramie.

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You know,

there was some interesting challenges,

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some rivers

rising up due to torrential downpours.

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But, you know, it wasn't

anything that they couldn't handle.

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And outside of that,

everything seemed to be going pretty well.

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Some examples are not examples.

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Some written accounts, both from Donna's

wife, Tamsin.

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She had wrote

some friends saying it was okay.

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Virginia Reed, who was James Reed's

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daughter, said, yeah,

she was she remembered it.

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Pretty happy at this part of the trip

that during the journey

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many other families had joined

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the group was people traveling

like when you got a wagon train going

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on, it's not just everybody's

going to one final destination.

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There's people are like,

I'm just going to stop over here.

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I'm going to hang out here

for a little bit.

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And it wasn't just like

I mean, there was a big a big line

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for the most part, but it was also like,

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I don't know,

it was like a very lazy chain caravan.

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If I'm like,

that's kind of one one way to describe it.

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But anyway, so as families pick up,

there's going to be a lot of names.

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Don't feel inclined to remember them,

but there are some that will be

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key components, right?

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So the Murphys joined in.

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They're going to be one of the key

components also.

00;12;36;15 - 00;12;40;19

So the Murphy main family

and then some married daughters

00;12;40;19 - 00;12;42;01

who bring their husbands.

00;12;42;01 - 00;12;45;22

And then also we have a guy

named William Aid, Eddie William H.

00;12;45;23 - 00;12;47;16

Eddie and his wife Eleanor.

00;12;47;16 - 00;12;48;27

And then they have some kids.

00;12;48;27 - 00;12;53;10

Now, I'm going to be saying, Eddie, later

on, this is who I'm talking about.

00;12;53;10 - 00;12;57;12

There's a couple people named

Edward in the story, but Eddie is William

00;12;57;12 - 00;13;00;21

H. Eddie So if I don't make that clear,

that's what's happening.

00;13;00;21 - 00;13;04;23

Anyway, We also have Patrick Breen,

who I mentioned before.

00;13;04;28 - 00;13;10;28

He's a I when I, when farmer,

a farmer from Iowa and then Patrick Dolan.

00;13;11;00 - 00;13;12;13

Patrick's right.

00;13;12;13 - 00;13;16;00

And then Louis

Kingsburg, Heisenberg, German immigrant,

00;13;16;00 - 00;13;20;27

and then Spitzer and Reinhart,

who also traveled with another family

00;13;20;27 - 00;13;24;08

called the Wolf Angers,

a wealthy German family, German

00;13;24;08 - 00;13;27;08

couple who also, you know, had brought

a couple of people of their all.

00;13;27;08 - 00;13;29;19

So there's a big amalgamation of people

going on.

00;13;29;19 - 00;13;33;24

But these are kind of like the main

components of the dinner read party.

00;13;33;25 - 00;13;34;13

All right.

00;13;34;13 - 00;13;38;28

So as the groups traveling west,

they get to where links

00;13;39;00 - 00;13;42;02

Lansford,

Hastings starts to leave some messages

00;13;42;02 - 00;13;47;01

and he's he's sending people out

to meet on the wagon train to go hey, man,

00;13;47;02 - 00;13;48;11

here's the thing you could do.

00;13;48;11 - 00;13;50;19

You want to take the Hastings

cut off, buddy?

00;13;50;19 - 00;13;52;23

So the reason the donors got one of these

00;13;52;23 - 00;13;56;29

letters that was left by on July 12th

and letters, Hastings told the migrants

00;13;56;29 - 00;14;00;08

to stick together in big groups

and warn them about possible trouble

00;14;00;10 - 00;14;03;24

with both, you know, indigenous people

and then also the Mexican authorities

00;14;03;24 - 00;14;04;18

in California.

00;14;04;18 - 00;14;07;19

But these, you know, omens

that he was warning them,

00;14;07;19 - 00;14;10;11

I think were just kind of

to get his foot in the door

00;14;10;11 - 00;14;13;02

because he's like, hey, also got this cool

new road.

00;14;13;02 - 00;14;14;03

It's pretty cool.

00;14;14;03 - 00;14;15;13

I named it myself.

00;14;15;13 - 00;14;19;12

Cool name Hastings cut off. Anyway,

00;14;19;14 - 00;14;22;06

so he's like, if

you want to take it, albeit for Bridger,

00;14;22;06 - 00;14;25;00

and I'll show you the shortcut

that I'll guide you through it, basically.

00;14;25;00 - 00;14;30;05

But as the wagon like continued westward,

pretty much everybody else was like, Now

00;14;30;05 - 00;14;34;16

I think we're going to just go to the

the determined and that specific path

00;14;34;16 - 00;14;37;19

that everybody else was taking,

like why do we got to be fancy with it?

00;14;37;20 - 00;14;40;18

So a lot of them

just kind of stuck on this.

00;14;40;18 - 00;14;40;27

Right?

00;14;40;27 - 00;14;42;03

But there was a

00;14;42;03 - 00;14;42;15

you know,

00;14;42;15 - 00;14;44;06

there was a smaller group

that was like, hey,

00;14;44;06 - 00;14;46;10

we'll

we'll follow this route to Fort Bridger.

00;14;46;10 - 00;14;47;11

We'll we'll do this.

00;14;47;11 - 00;14;50;07

Now, there's like I said,

a lot of Europeans in the thing

00;14;50;07 - 00;14;53;14

and some of the hardy American people

didn't really like them.

00;14;53;14 - 00;14;57;11

James Reed One of them,

you know, he had military experience.

00;14;57;11 - 00;14;59;20

You know,

he had you know, he's 40 something.

00;14;59;20 - 00;15;00;20

That's pretty good, right?

00;15;00;20 - 00;15;03;19

But he also was a little bit

bossy, came off as

00;15;03;19 - 00;15;07;03

snooty, pompous and also Irish.

00;15;07;03 - 00;15;10;08

So not great, right?

00;15;10;11 - 00;15;13;00

Not in

my opinion, but in these people's opinion.

00;15;13;00 - 00;15;17;09

So the committee kind of push towards

George Donner as their leader.

00;15;17;09 - 00;15;20;08

They liked his calm and kind

nature, his experience, and also,

00;15;20;14 - 00;15;23;14

like I said, the fact

that he was American, even though,

00;15;23;20 - 00;15;26;22

you know, most of these people

were pretty well off thinking about it,

00;15;26;22 - 00;15;30;11

like in our standards,

but they were exactly the most

00;15;30;14 - 00;15;34;04

rough and tumble

and built for hardy journeys.

00;15;34;04 - 00;15;38;07

So I don't know, it kind of it

it honestly just seems like

00;15;38;10 - 00;15;41;01

nobody was prepared for this at all.

00;15;41;01 - 00;15;44;08

That's this is what this is

what we have going forward right now.

00;15;44;08 - 00;15;48;23

Journalists had to arrive at a place

called Black Forks approximately

00;15;48;25 - 00;15;50;13

a week ahead of the Donner Party.

00;15;50;13 - 00;15;52;28

This guy had some concerns.

00;15;52;28 - 00;15;55;27

He didn't think that they were going

to be traveling very well at

00;15;56;03 - 00;15;57;12

and also thought that

00;15;57;12 - 00;16;01;08

how many women and children were

would make the trip difficult for them

00;16;01;08 - 00;16;02;00

Because of this.

00;16;02;00 - 00;16;05;29

He took the initiative,

left some messages for the party members

00;16;05;29 - 00;16;10;22

as they approached, strongly advising

against opting for Hastings shortcut.

00;16;10;22 - 00;16;13;24

And he was like, Hey, listen,

I don't think you should do this.

00;16;13;24 - 00;16;17;07

I'll be a black fork's

if you guys need help, come here.

00;16;17;09 - 00;16;19;01

I'll talk to you about it, basically.

00;16;19;01 - 00;16;22;21

So the Donner Party arrived

Black Fawkes on July 27th.

00;16;22;21 - 00;16;26;00

They discovered that Lansford Hastings

had already parted with

00;16;26;02 - 00;16;28;24

40 wagons,

belonged to the Harlan Young Company.

00;16;28;24 - 00;16;32;02

In Hastings absence, Jim Bridger,

who happened to be a black force

00;16;32;02 - 00;16;34;07

at the time,

a third party that the shortcuts

00;16;34;07 - 00;16;38;22

shortcut was a relatively easy and secure

route, devoid of challenging terrain

00;16;38;22 - 00;16;42;17

or hostile encounters with Native

American Bridger, possibly motivated

00;16;42;17 - 00;16;46;14

by the fact that the benefits

to his trading station would be increased

00;16;46;14 - 00;16;50;13

because of this claim that a shortcut

would shave off a significant 350

00;16;50;13 - 00;16;51;22

miles from their journey.

00;16;51;22 - 00;16;54;22

As we know,

that's not true, but sounds cool.

00;16;54;29 - 00;16;59;25

Although they would need a few days

to travel the 30 to 40 mile dry lakebed,

00;16;59;25 - 00;17;03;24

Bridger assured them that water sources

would be readily available along the way.

00;17;03;25 - 00;17;06;21

James Reed found this exciting news.

00;17;06;21 - 00;17;08;10

He was really excited about it.

00;17;08;10 - 00;17;10;16

He was a staunch supporter of the Hastings

cut off

00;17;10;16 - 00;17;14;10

despite Edward warnings

that people had found on the way.

00;17;14;16 - 00;17;18;02

Reed was optimistic about it

and thought that they should definitely

00;17;18;02 - 00;17;19;06

be doing it now.

00;17;19;06 - 00;17;24;01

The words that were given to people in way

of like notes

00;17;24;01 - 00;17;28;02

along the trail that they found, you know,

people really were like, okay, well,

00;17;28;02 - 00;17;28;14

I don't know.

00;17;28;14 - 00;17;31;08

This guy seems pretty passionate

about the fact that we shouldn't go.

00;17;31;08 - 00;17;34;05

And so this kind of there's

a lot of turmoil going on.

00;17;34;05 - 00;17;35;27

There's a lot of people like, well,

I don't know.

00;17;35;27 - 00;17;37;24

Well, maybe we should, maybe we shouldn't.

00;17;37;24 - 00;17;41;25

And the guy who left the letters

originally, he thinks that Jim Bridger

00;17;42;02 - 00;17;45;01

might have actually hid these things.

00;17;45;02 - 00;17;47;05

He doesn't think that the full

00;17;47;05 - 00;17;50;28

basically the full voice of what he was

trying to say had been heard.

00;17;51;00 - 00;17;54;08

So, yeah,

that pretty much sets the stage for,

00;17;54;15 - 00;17;57;21

you know, this really this is

this is really the turning point.

00;17;57;21 - 00;17;59;03

I feel like I say that a lot

00;17;59;03 - 00;18;02;01

and then a couple of episodes,

but this really is so this,

00;18;02;01 - 00;18;05;27

you know, sets the stage for what would be

the most profound impact of the journey

00;18;05;27 - 00;18;06;19

and for these guys.

00;18;06;19 - 00;18;10;05

Now, while they got to for Fort Laramie,

they did make it there.

00;18;10;07 - 00;18;11;02

Not a big deal.

00;18;11;02 - 00;18;13;23

I read had encountered an old friend.

00;18;13;23 - 00;18;17;07

This guy Kleiman is his name,

who had just come from California,

00;18;17;07 - 00;18;18;21

shared valuable insights with Reed.

00;18;18;21 - 00;18;22;29

He emphasized the wagons would be suitable

for navigating the route, pointed out

00;18;23;02 - 00;18;26;16

and pointed out

the inaccuracies in Hastings information

00;18;26;19 - 00;18;29;10

and strongly discourage

Reed from taking the Hastings cut off.

00;18;29;10 - 00;18;32;02

So now he's got a good old friend

telling him not to do it.

00;18;32;02 - 00;18;37;24

But we'll see alongside Donner

and Reed for a portion of their journey,

00;18;37;26 - 00;18;43;01

Fellow pioneer Jesse Quinn Thornton went

as far as calling the Hastings, the Bear

00;18;43;01 - 00;18;48;08

unchausen of Travelers In his: 1848

book From Oregon to California, Thornton

00;18;48;08 - 00;18;51;07

capturing the sentiment

of a group of the group, portrayed

00;18;51;07 - 00;18;53;11

Tamsen Donner as feeling gloomy, sad,

00;18;53;11 - 00;18;56;19

disheartened about the prospect

of deviating from the main trail.

00;18;56;21 - 00;19;00;04

As suggested by Hastings,

she viewed Hastings as self-centered

00;19;00;04 - 00;19;04;03

and as a self-centered adventurer,

more concerned with his own interests.

00;19;04;04 - 00;19;05;22

So like I said, there's

00;19;05;22 - 00;19;10;01

there's a lot of discontent

going on in this decision making process.

00;19;10;01 - 00;19;12;25

After a four day rest period,

the necessary wagon

00;19;12;25 - 00;19;15;11

maintenance needed to be done.

They got it done.

00;19;15;11 - 00;19;19;15

Donner Party Donna Reed Party

set out on July 31st,

00;19;19;15 - 00;19;23;26

1846, 11 days after the Harlan

Young Party had preceded them.

00;19;23;26 - 00;19;27;29

During this phase, the McCUTCHEON family,

composed of William, Amanda

00;19;27;29 - 00;19;31;07

and their daughter Harriet,

along with their along with a 16 year

00;19;31;07 - 00;19;35;01

old boy named Jean-Baptiste Trudeau

from New Mexico, claiming familiarity

00;19;35;01 - 00;19;38;26

with Native Americans and the train

in route to California to join the group.

00;19;38;28 - 00;19;40;10

Now, this was a welcome addition.

00;19;40;10 - 00;19;41;18

Hey, we need help.

00;19;41;18 - 00;19;43;05

You said you've been here before.

00;19;43;05 - 00;19;45;17

You know how to deal

with Native Americans.

00;19;45;17 - 00;19;46;09

Come on board.

00;19;46;09 - 00;19;50;07

Donner listed a new driver, signaling

a shift in dynamics of the journey.

00;19;50;07 - 00;19;51;06

Their passes.

00;19;51;06 - 00;19;54;02

They made a significant decision

to alter their course and venture

00;19;54;02 - 00;19;58;23

south, opting for that's opting

to follow the challenging hastened cut off

00;19;59;00 - 00;20;02;08

as they went into this new territory,

they quickly realized

00;20;02;08 - 00;20;05;01

that the difficulties

surpassed their expectations.

00;20;05;01 - 00;20;07;18

Negotiating steep hills

became a frequent challenge,

00;20;07;18 - 00;20;10;22

prompting wagon drivers

to lock their wheels to prevent slips.

00;20;10;22 - 00;20;14;09

In stark contrast to the well-established

Oregon Trail that Hastings cut off proved

00;20;14;09 - 00;20;18;04

to be more formidable path to navigate

lands for Hastings in a somewhat,

00;20;18;08 - 00;20;23;05

you know, silly, weird thing that he was

do what he was leaving

00;20;23;05 - 00;20;26;15

notes written like stapled

or weighed in staple them.

00;20;26;15 - 00;20;29;22

He'd like tacked

these notes to trees along his path,

00;20;29;23 - 00;20;33;24

which just kind of makes him

seem like a weird mad hatter or something

00;20;33;24 - 00;20;37;23

in my brain, like the most intense

scavenger hunt you can have.

00;20;37;25 - 00;20;40;10

On August six,

they stumbled upon a note from Hastings

00;20;40;10 - 00;20;42;06

advising them to wait

until he could guide them

00;20;42;06 - 00;20;44;13

through an alternate route, distinct

from the one

00;20;44;13 - 00;20;47;26

taken by the Harlan Young Group

in an attempt to locate Hastings,

00;20;47;26 - 00;20;52;05

William Pike,

Charles T Stanton and James at Reed Road.

00;20;52;05 - 00;20;58;03

Ahead encountering valleys of extreme

difficulty, more crazy cliffs and lifting

00;20;58;06 - 00;21;01;26

had to move rocks to clear the way

they faced challenging terrain

00;21;01;26 - 00;21;03;14

that risked damaging the wagons.

00;21;03;14 - 00;21;07;11

Despite Hastings

promise to guide them through this tough

00;21;07;14 - 00;21;10;14

stretch, the only company in them

for part of the way

00;21;10;21 - 00;21;15;12

offering, you know, general directions

to follow you, I feel like is not great.

00;21;15;15 - 00;21;19;01

I'm going to guide you guys

through all of this, but basically

00;21;19;01 - 00;21;20;16

what you're going to want to do, like it's

00;21;20;16 - 00;21;22;19

like when somebody is like,

I'll help you with that.

00;21;22;19 - 00;21;25;04

And then all they do is

give you very vague advice

00;21;25;04 - 00;21;26;20

that you probably could have figured out

on your own.

00;21;26;20 - 00;21;29;23

Four days after the party set, Outstanding

and Pike decided to take a break

00;21;29;23 - 00;21;32;27

while Reed continued alone face

with a crucial decision, the group

00;21;32;27 - 00;21;36;10

weighed their options, turn back

and rejoin the established trail.

00;21;36;10 - 00;21;39;26

Follow the tracks of the Harlan

Young Party into the perilous terrain

00;21;39;26 - 00;21;44;15

of Weber Canyon, or forge their own path,

as suggested by Hasty Reed Advocate.

00;21;44;18 - 00;21;48;11

Reed once again

advocating for digging Hastings his way.

00;21;48;11 - 00;21;53;01

The new one, though this time, despite

a notable drawback, a significant drop

00;21;53;01 - 00;21;57;24

in their daily distance traveled distance,

which was now only averaging about 1.5

00;21;57;24 - 00;22;02;20

miles per day, which, as mentioned at the

beginning, averages about 15 miles a day.

00;22;02;20 - 00;22;05;02

To accommodate the wagons,

all able bodied men

00;22;05;02 - 00;22;08;26

had to undertake the laborious task

of clearing vegetation, cutting down

00;22;08;26 - 00;22;11;03

trees, moving rocks

to cover a path forward.

00;22;11;03 - 00;22;15;09

Wasn't until August 20th that the Donner

Party finally reached a mountaintop,

00;22;15;09 - 00;22;16;26

which gave them a very,

00;22;16;26 - 00;22;21;05

very beautiful view panoramic view of

the Great Salt Lake below in the valley.

00;22;21;08 - 00;22;22;11

I've seen this view.

00;22;22;11 - 00;22;23;06

It is very pretty.

00;22;23;06 - 00;22;27;16

I mean, there is a city there now,

but I could imagine, however, escaping

00;22;27;16 - 00;22;31;10

the grasp of the formidable Wasatch Range

proved to be an arduous task.

00;22;31;11 - 00;22;34;11

Taking nearly two additional weeks

as the group navigated

00;22;34;11 - 00;22;35;15

the challenging terrain.

00;22;35;15 - 00;22;38;01

Tensions within the party

reaching, boiling points.

00;22;38;01 - 00;22;41;11

You know, there's even,

you know, arguments would break out.

00;22;41;14 - 00;22;44;23

In one instance, Reed in particular

found himself

00;22;44;23 - 00;22;47;28

under the scrutiny of a decision

to embark on the Hastings cut off

00;22;47;28 - 00;22;51;28

situation became more dire for some

for some of the less fortunate families.

00;22;51;28 - 00;22;52;14

Is dwindling.

00;22;52;14 - 00;22;55;16

Food and supplies

left them on the brink of starvation.

00;22;55;20 - 00;22;57;06

The families

probably thought they had a heart,

00;22;57;06 - 00;22;57;26

but then

00;22;57;26 - 00;23;01;24

they still stumbled upon Stan and Pike,

who had road ahead before, remember?

00;23;01;24 - 00;23;05;25

And these dudes were pretty much close

to eating their own horses.

00;23;05;25 - 00;23;07;10

They hadn't yet. They were close.

00;23;07;10 - 00;23;08;01

Stanton and Pike,

00;23;08;01 - 00;23;12;04

who had initially left with Reed,

ended up lost on their return journey.

00;23;12;04 - 00;23;14;26

And so that just added one.

00;23;14;26 - 00;23;20;13

One more thing now, tragedy struck on

August 25th, and Luke Holleran succumbed

00;23;20;13 - 00;23;24;16

to his consumption, further deepening

the somber atmosphere within the group.

00;23;24;16 - 00;23;27;17

Few days later, the party stumbled upon

a damaged and battered letter

00;23;27;17 - 00;23;30;08

from Hastings, its fragments,

hinting at the ominous challenge

00;23;30;08 - 00;23;34;03

that lay ahead Two days and nights

of grueling travel without grass or water

00;23;34;03 - 00;23;38;11

faced, this grim forecast,

the group decided to give their oxen

00;23;38;11 - 00;23;40;12

some much needed rest

and make preparations

00;23;40;12 - 00;23;42;26

for the daunting journey

that awaited them wasn't all off,

00;23;42;26 - 00;23;45;20

although they had gotten some more people

who had found them.

00;23;45;20 - 00;23;47;25

The Grace family,

who was one of the last to leave

00;23;47;25 - 00;23;50;13

Missouri, had caught up to them,

which was on purpose.

00;23;50;13 - 00;23;53;25

They wanted to find them as people

hadn't heard from them in some time.

00;23;53;29 - 00;23;57;24

So Franklin Ward,

Graves and Elizabeth, who's his wife,

00;23;57;24 - 00;24;01;23

and then Mary William, Eleanor

and a bunch of other children.

00;24;01;23 - 00;24;04;06

And then they also had a

00;24;04;06 - 00;24;06;29

so there was a mary daughter

who had her husband

00;24;06;29 - 00;24;10;23

and then also a hired hand

named John Snyder.

00;24;10;23 - 00;24;14;04

So these guys, they all had three wagons

and added to the group,

00;24;14;04 - 00;24;16;29

which, you know, was needed

fresh blood to help out a little bit.

00;24;16;29 - 00;24;18;20

You get the new crew kind of vibe.

00;24;18;20 - 00;24;21;21

And together, after a period of respite,

the party encountered

00;24;21;21 - 00;24;25;27

a big, big obstacle: 1000

obstructing their path.

00;24;25;27 - 00;24;29;25

Over the next 36 hours,

they scaled this imposing barrier,

00;24;29;25 - 00;24;34;23

reaching its crest and revealing a vast,

desolate plain below, William Merrick,

00;24;34;23 - 00;24;38;00

a member of the party, aptly described it

as one of the most inhospitable

00;24;38;00 - 00;24;38;29

places on earth.

00;24;38;29 - 00;24;42;27

Landscape was strikingly flat

and covered with a layer of white salt,

00;24;43;04 - 00;24;44;28

creating a surreal, barren vista.

00;24;44;28 - 00;24;48;11

As their water supply dwindled

and their oxen showed signs of exhaustion,

00;24;48;12 - 00;24;53;21

the harsh reality of their predicament

became undeniable that having draw,

00;24;53;23 - 00;24;57;05

having driven through the salt flats

quite a few times myself

00;24;57;05 - 00;25;00;08

and it's just nonsense,

like it is completely barren,

00;25;00;08 - 00;25;03;28

boring, chalky, white,

and it's wild to see it firsthand.

00;25;03;28 - 00;25;05;12

It's kind of interesting, kind of cool.

00;25;05;12 - 00;25;09;26

But then after a while you're like, Okay,

can I get some green in here, please?

00;25;10;00 - 00;25;10;25

On August 30th,

00;25;10;25 - 00;25;14;10

the Donna Reed party found themselves

compelled to press on with their journey.

00;25;14;13 - 00;25;19;10

Salt crust covering the ground transformed

into a sticky quagmire as daytime heat

00;25;19;10 - 00;25;23;00

allowed moisture to seep through,

causing the wagon wheels to sink into it.

00;25;23;02 - 00;25;24;16

Nights brought biting cold.

00;25;24;16 - 00;25;28;05

They're in the high desert right now,

so it does get pretty cold

00;25;28;05 - 00;25;29;27

and it's in August,

so it's starting to cool down.

00;25;29;27 - 00;25;31;18

Anyway, while they subjected them

00;25;31;18 - 00;25;34;26

to the scorching heat,

the nights contrasted very cool.

00;25;35;02 - 00;25;39;00

Despite catching glimpses of lakes

and other wagon trains, some in

00;25;39;00 - 00;25;42;04

the group believed they had finally left

Hastings rat's behind.

00;25;42;04 - 00;25;43;02

So pretty excited.

00;25;43;02 - 00;25;45;15

However,

their optimism gave way to a harsh reality

00;25;45;15 - 00;25;48;04

when their water supply depleted

just after three days.

00;25;48;04 - 00;25;50;21

Facing a dire situation, several members

dismounted.

00;25;50;21 - 00;25;54;10

Their oxen scoured the desolate landscape

for any trace of water.

00;25;54;14 - 00;25;57;29

Some of the weakened animals had to be

left behind, tethered to the wagons.

00;25;57;29 - 00;26;02;01

Extreme thirst proved disastrous, as nine

out of Reed's ten oxen managed

00;26;02;01 - 00;26;06;04

to escape numerous cattle and horses

from other families also went missing.

00;26;06;07 - 00;26;10;15

Some wagons damaged beyond repair,

but miraculously, nobody died.

00;26;10;16 - 00;26;15;04

Journey across 80 mile long, great Salt

Lake Desert turned into a grueling

00;26;15;04 - 00;26;19;20

six day ordeal, doubling the promise

two days over a distance of 40 miles.

00;26;19;26 - 00;26;24;11

So not only was it longer than advertised,

but it also took them

00;26;24;11 - 00;26;25;25

longer than advertised.

00;26;25;25 - 00;26;29;17

Because while it was like

the idea of a guy like this

00;26;29;18 - 00;26;32;23

eyeball on it

like that, 40 about 40 miles,

00;26;32;25 - 00;26;36;07

turns out it's

80 of just upon reaching the spring

00;26;36;07 - 00;26;37;20

on the other side of the desert,

00;26;37;20 - 00;26;40;12

groups faith in the Hastings

cut off had dwindled to nothing.

00;26;40;12 - 00;26;44;05

Days were spent searching for lost

cattle, unearthing abandoned wagons

00;26;44;05 - 00;26;47;16

buried in the sand, and transferring

precious food and supplies to other wagons

00;26;47;17 - 00;26;48;20

in the face of adversity.

00;26;48;20 - 00;26;52;12

Red Reed adopted a more demanding stance

during the tough times.

00;26;52;12 - 00;26;55;28

He urged each family to take inventory

of their remaining food and belongings

00;26;56;00 - 00;26;57;26

in a bid to secure additional supplies.

00;26;57;26 - 00;27;00;29

He suggested that two men,

William McCutchen and Charles Stanton,

00;27;00;29 - 00;27;03;14

embark on a journey to Sutter's

Fort in California.

00;27;03;14 - 00;27;06;03

Sutter

was apparently notoriously generous,

00;27;06;03 - 00;27;10;05

and if anybody could use a helping hand,

it was this group the duo set out

00;27;10;08 - 00;27;14;10

and the rest of the party carried

along using a mix teams of cows,

00;27;14;10 - 00;27;17;24

oxen and mules

to pull the remaining functional carts.

00;27;17;24 - 00;27;18;27

By mid-September,

00;27;18;27 - 00;27;22;10

they still had another 40 miles to go,

which was disheartening to say the least.

00;27;22;10 - 00;27;24;18

Against all odds,

the Donner Party demonstrated

00;27;24;18 - 00;27;28;29

remarkable fortitude as they traveled

the challenging desert terrain, weathering

00;27;28;29 - 00;27;33;13

exhaustion and hunger that took a toll on

both their cattle oxen and themselves.

00;27;33;14 - 00;27;34;08

The harsh conditions

00;27;34;08 - 00;27;37;29

seemed to relent as they made their way

past the majestic Ruby Mountains.

00;27;37;29 - 00;27;41;27

Despite reservations about the Hastings

in his trail, they begrudgingly adhered

00;27;41;27 - 00;27;45;20

to it, marking a significant milestone

in their tumultuous journey.

00;27;45;20 - 00;27;48;27

Then they passed the Ruby Mountains

around September 26.

00;27;48;27 - 00;27;53;24

I've also driven through this

basically what they took is I-80.

00;27;53;25 - 00;27;57;17

I mean, if you look at Interstate 80,

they're on I-80 right now

00;27;57;19 - 00;28;02;17

Anyway, just so you know, the reunion

with Established Path Guided by a stream

00;28;02;17 - 00;28;06;01

that would later carve its identity

as the Humboldt River, this stark

00;28;06;01 - 00;28;09;17

realization that they had basically fallen

behind about a month

00;28;09;17 - 00;28;12;19

and they were already behind anyway,

they got there.

00;28;12;22 - 00;28;14;12

They left way too late.

00;28;14;12 - 00;28;16;28

They left in May.

They should have left in March.

00;28;16;28 - 00;28;19;16

That's when everybody else was like,

This is the optimum time to do it.

00;28;19;16 - 00;28;22;00

And they're like, May's probably good now.

00;28;22;00 - 00;28;26;29

They took the shortcut that added

two months on to their under there.

00;28;26;29 - 00;28;30;05

Think now it's another a month behind

where they wanted to be

00;28;30;05 - 00;28;33;11

which is like four months

where it should be.

00;28;33;11 - 00;28;35;27

So that that just kind of sets

everything up.

00;28;35;27 - 00;28;39;02

So the extra time spent navigating this

challenging terrain,

00;28;39;05 - 00;28;43;23

facing unforeseen obstacles

that then significantly lagging behind.

00;28;43;23 - 00;28;47;03

Despite the setbacks,

the Donner Party pressed on determination

00;28;47;03 - 00;28;49;26

and resilience

becoming bedrock of their journey.

00;28;49;26 - 00;28;53;24

Each step forward held both the weight

of their journey, their past decisions,

00;28;53;24 - 00;28;57;17

and their hope for a more promising future

as they continued to forge ahead

00;28;57;17 - 00;29;00;25

through the trials

of their harrowing expedition in October.

00;29;00;25 - 00;29;03;15

New challenges, new

00;29;03;18 - 00;29;06;01

new faces even emerged for the party.

00;29;06;01 - 00;29;11;03

The Paiute Tribe had mingled

with the travelers in in this area.

00;29;11;03 - 00;29;14;02

It's a pretty relaxed atmosphere, clearly,

until they had made off

00;29;14;02 - 00;29;17;18

with some of their oxen and horses,

which, you know, not what you want to see.

00;29;17;18 - 00;29;18;27

They even killed a couple.

00;29;18;27 - 00;29;22;18

So not a good start for a friendship.

00;29;22;18 - 00;29;27;20

Can't say I'm surprised I would steal

these people, these people's oxen, too.

00;29;27;22 - 00;29;31;05

They just seem like

like the most unlucky group of people

00;29;31;05 - 00;29;33;07

to have ever gone anywhere.

00;29;33;07 - 00;29;35;11

Things only continue to grow and stress.

00;29;35;11 - 00;29;38;20

You know, small things became huge

and cause fights continuing.

00;29;38;20 - 00;29;43;29

You know, this

this group is just ripe for just anger.

00;29;44;01 - 00;29;45;16

There were fights breaking out.

00;29;45;16 - 00;29;47;21

One such fight came from pile up.

00;29;47;21 - 00;29;51;02

That couple of wagons

got caught up on one another.

00;29;51;02 - 00;29;52;00

And John Snyder,

00;29;52;00 - 00;29;56;12

one of the guys that was brought along

by the new crew, he's relatively new here.

00;29;56;12 - 00;29;59;25

He got real men, started beating

these oxen

00;29;59;27 - 00;30;02;22

and reed was not excited about it.

00;30;02;22 - 00;30;05;16

He was like, Hey, man, these are our oxen.

00;30;05;16 - 00;30;07;14

Probably shouldn't

beat the crap out of them.

00;30;07;14 - 00;30;10;16

And so this guy started beating him with

the he's got a whip handle

00;30;10;16 - 00;30;12;11

and he's just hitting him

over the head with it.

00;30;12;11 - 00;30;16;24

And then Reed's wife comes in

and this guy's like, All right,

00;30;16;25 - 00;30;17;26

I'm going to hit you, too.

00;30;17;26 - 00;30;22;15

So he hits her, apparently,

and one thing led to another,

00;30;22;18 - 00;30;28;16

and Reed ends up stabbing this guy

in the collarbone or under the collarbone.

00;30;28;18 - 00;30;29;04

I don't know.

00;30;29;04 - 00;30;30;18

It's written in a couple different ways,

00;30;30;18 - 00;30;33;25

and I don't really feel confident,

but I don't like it.

00;30;33;27 - 00;30;37;07

Reminds me of that scene in Saving Private

Ryan where he gets slow stabbed

00;30;37;12 - 00;30;40;00

and that's the worst way

you can go. Pretty sure.

00;30;40;00 - 00;30;44;09

Anyway, gravity of the moment hung heavy

in the air as repercussions of Reed's

00;30;44;09 - 00;30;46;03

this desperate act

00;30;46;03 - 00;30;50;00

unfolded, marking a profound shift

in the dynamics of the group's journey.

00;30;50;01 - 00;30;51;29

Because they were now outside

of American lands,

00;30;51;29 - 00;30;53;13

they had to deal with things on their own.

00;30;53;13 - 00;30;56;16

Unfortunately, George,

the elected leader of the group, was way

00;30;56;16 - 00;30;58;20

too far ahead

to make a decision on this matter.

00;30;58;20 - 00;31;03;11

See, the actual Donner family was about

a day ahead of where these guys were.

00;31;03;16 - 00;31;07;07

So this became this weird moment

where witnesses had seen the altercation,

00;31;07;07 - 00;31;09;09

but they also didn't

like Reed as a person.

00;31;09;09 - 00;31;12;08

So they kind of were like,

We don't really know what to do.

00;31;12;14 - 00;31;15;19

Pretty similar to how they didn't know

what trail they should follow.

00;31;15;19 - 00;31;18;07

They were like,

We should hang him. And then other people.

00;31;18;07 - 00;31;19;20

Maybe not, I don't know.

00;31;19;20 - 00;31;23;10

But so eventually they agreed to disagree

and he just got banished

00;31;23;10 - 00;31;24;26

and they were like, Get out of here.

00;31;24;26 - 00;31;26;15

They didn't

even give him a gun or anything.

00;31;26;15 - 00;31;29;02

But it was okay

because his daughter, Virginia,

00;31;29;02 - 00;31;31;21

she apparently escaped

and brought him a gun.

00;31;31;21 - 00;31;33;20

But it doesn't really say how she like

she is.

00;31;33;20 - 00;31;36;13

Road ahead

where I'm going, I'm taking this gun.

00;31;36;13 - 00;31;38;14

Don't anybody ask me where I'm going.

00;31;38;14 - 00;31;43;02

Donner Party united once again

after a bit found themselves

00;31;43;02 - 00;31;47;03

fractured by the relentless hardships

that they had faced on the trail,

00;31;47;03 - 00;31;50;20

and their challenges

mounted palpable sense of division

00;31;50;20 - 00;31;54;04

permeated the group, eroding the bond of

trust that once held them together.

00;31;54;04 - 00;31;57;14

But the looming specter of survival

becoming an individual struggle

00;31;57;14 - 00;32;00;06

for each member,

a collective spirit began to dissipate.

00;32;00;06 - 00;32;01;08

Scarcity of food

00;32;01;08 - 00;32;05;16

and persistent torment on the arduous

journey only plagued the human members,

00;32;05;16 - 00;32;09;13

but also cast a shadow over the well-being

of their animal companions.

00;32;09;13 - 00;32;13;20

Nourishing these indispensable creatures

became an increasingly arduous task,

00;32;13;27 - 00;32;15;18

and the gradual deterioration

00;32;15;18 - 00;32;19;14

of the animals added an additional layer

of distress to an already

00;32;19;14 - 00;32;22;22

fraught situation to alleviate the burden

on the weakened animals.

00;32;22;22 - 00;32;24;03

A stark decision was made.

00;32;24;03 - 00;32;28;15

They're like, Hey, guys,

maybe we should not ride in the wagons.

00;32;28;15 - 00;32;29;11

Maybe that will help.

00;32;29;11 - 00;32;30;21

So they all started walking.

00;32;30;21 - 00;32;32;19

Seemed like a good idea.

00;32;32;19 - 00;32;36;00

Didn't work out the best

for some people because, you know,

00;32;36;00 - 00;32;37;11

they had small people with them.

00;32;37;11 - 00;32;40;29

One of the people that did not survive

this did not survive

00;32;40;29 - 00;32;45;04

very well, was a seven year old man

who was basically kicked out of the wagon.

00;32;45;04 - 00;32;47;27

He stayed in the wagon a little too long.

And then somebody was like, get out.

00;32;47;27 - 00;32;49;17

We made the agreement.

We're going to walk.

00;32;49;17 - 00;32;51;00

So he starts walking

00;32;51;00 - 00;32;54;01

and then his feet good, so mangled

that they're swollen that they split open

00;32;54;01 - 00;32;56;26

would somehow really sure how that works.

But I hate it.

00;32;56;26 - 00;32;59;06

Anyway, he was left behind which I get.

00;32;59;06 - 00;33;02;08

They don't want to waste

any time or food on this old bag of bones.

00;33;02;09 - 00;33;03;11

And now, in the midst of these

00;33;03;11 - 00;33;06;21

unfolding events, Reed

managed to catch up with the Donner Group.

00;33;06;21 - 00;33;10;19

That was the day ahead, accompanied

by a man named Walter Herron, a steadfast

00;33;10;19 - 00;33;13;20

member of his own team,

and a testament to their determination,

00;33;13;20 - 00;33;16;01

Reed inherited Preston,

covering an impressive

00;33;16;01 - 00;33;19;28

25 to 40 miles each day,

and they only shared one horse together.

00;33;19;28 - 00;33;23;08

I don't know if they rode

like one guy on the back,

00;33;23;15 - 00;33;27;03

holding gently

around the stomach of the other guy

00;33;27;04 - 00;33;31;18

or where one guy rode

and the other guy's steed or something.

00;33;31;18 - 00;33;33;23

I'm assuming they both shared

the horse leg.

00;33;33;23 - 00;33;36;01

They were riding tandem, right?

00;33;36;01 - 00;33;36;26

Had to be.

00;33;36;26 - 00;33;39;21

Anyway,

so they're cruisin, they're cooking bread.

00;33;39;21 - 00;33;41;00

They catch up with the Donner Party

00;33;41;00 - 00;33;42;21

and they're like,

No, we're going to keep going.

00;33;42;21 - 00;33;46;06

Because he's like,

I'm going to go to Fort Sutter right?

00;33;46;10 - 00;33;49;14

As the rest of the group

eventually reunited with the donors,

00;33;49;14 - 00;33;53;08

the reality had became more

apparent of their situation.

00;33;53;08 - 00;33;55;17

More animals are disappearing.

00;33;55;17 - 00;34;00;03

Native Americans had encountered

the travelers and scared away

00;34;00;03 - 00;34;04;22

all of their horses, all of the graves

family's horses leaving only one wagon.

00;34;04;24 - 00;34;07;21

And they had to leave it behind

because they had nowhere to pull it.

00;34;07;21 - 00;34;13;23

And as this just continued to be a problem

and the lack of food made their cows

00;34;13;23 - 00;34;18;13

go crazy and the cows ran away,

which made it an excellent opportunity

00;34;18;13 - 00;34;20;11

for the Native Americans

to take their cattle.

00;34;20;11 - 00;34;25;12

They take 18 in one night

and then the next day they take 21 more.

00;34;25;12 - 00;34;27;16

So this is really not great.

00;34;27;16 - 00;34;32;03

Right over this journey,

they had lost over 100 different types

00;34;32;03 - 00;34;36;14

of livestock and the oxen and things

were just getting really, really bleak.

00;34;36;14 - 00;34;36;25

Right?

00;34;36;25 - 00;34;41;12

One man had the berries wagon

in the Humboldt sink, the River Humboldt,

00;34;41;13 - 00;34;44;08

as I mentioned before,

he made this decision

00;34;44;08 - 00;34;47;02

because he had to eat his livestock,

which is not great.

00;34;47;02 - 00;34;48;21

Things are getting,

things are getting bad,

00;34;48;21 - 00;34;50;22

and they're not even getting

to the worst part of it.

00;34;50;22 - 00;34;53;16

Now, Reinhart and Spitzer,

I mentioned these guys earlier.

00;34;53;16 - 00;34;57;15

They had helped this guy bury his wagon,

but then they came back to the group

00;34;57;21 - 00;34;59;11

alone. Without this guy.

00;34;59;11 - 00;35;02;25

They had told the tale about the Paiute,

00;35;02;28 - 00;35;06;27

who had encountered them,

and they were trying to negotiate.

00;35;06;27 - 00;35;12;04

But in that

they said that he Wolfinger had died,

00;35;12;04 - 00;35;15;25

which is, I don't know,

kind of kind of a fishy tale.

00;35;15;27 - 00;35;17;19

They go and help this guy bear his wagon.

00;35;17;19 - 00;35;20;14

Then they come back and they're like,

I don't know, he died.

00;35;20;14 - 00;35;21;15

That's crazy.

00;35;21;15 - 00;35;22;19

I think the Native Americans

00;35;22;19 - 00;35;26;22

kill them now if they have desert,

they're not out of the desert yet.

00;35;26;22 - 00;35;30;00

They still got pretty much

the western half of Nevada to go.

00;35;30;06 - 00;35;34;08

The open terrain strengths like canvas

bearing witness to the untold stories

00;35;34;08 - 00;35;38;20

of perseverance, loss etched

into the very fabric of this expedition.

00;35;38;20 - 00;35;41;27

The group now burdened with the grief

and the weight of uncertain future,

00;35;41;27 - 00;35;43;01

continued to tread.

00;35;43;01 - 00;35;46;08

The unforgiving desert

in pursuit of an elusive horizon.

00;35;46;13 - 00;35;49;06

Any family face dire situation

when Native Americans

00;35;49;06 - 00;35;52;07

ambushed and killed their oxen,

forcing them to a forcing them

00;35;52;07 - 00;35;55;09

to abandon their wagon

with the depleted supplies.

00;35;55;09 - 00;35;59;11

They soon found out that the others

were not willing to share provisions

00;35;59;11 - 00;36;01;23

with their children,

so that found themselves

00;36;01;23 - 00;36;07;18

compelled to carry what they could

basically to help their kids,

00;36;07;20 - 00;36;08;26

which sucks.

00;36;08;26 - 00;36;12;14

Margaret

Reed and her family had a similar thing

00;36;12;17 - 00;36;16;12

having lost their similar experience,

having lost their wagon,

00;36;16;14 - 00;36;18;14

the desert just kept taking wagons.

00;36;18;14 - 00;36;22;06

This hungry desert, I guess

things looked bleak until they happened

00;36;22;06 - 00;36;26;20

upon the Truckee River,

which now kind of breed the green

00;36;26;23 - 00;36;31;01

green life into their brown desert

life experience.

00;36;31;02 - 00;36;34;05

And it's tough because as they're going,

they know

00;36;34;05 - 00;36;38;02

they need to go further and faster

because it's October.

00;36;38;03 - 00;36;40;13

Things are getting

things are getting dicey.

00;36;40;13 - 00;36;42;26

They're they're getting to the Sierra

Nevadas now.

00;36;42;26 - 00;36;45;26

But they do know that

snow will be falling soon.

00;36;45;26 - 00;36;48;06

So the survival was imperative.

00;36;48;06 - 00;36;51;10

You know, it dictated that they move

constantly.

00;36;51;10 - 00;36;54;24

And Stanton, one of the guys

who had ventured out a month prior

00;36;54;24 - 00;36;57;24

in search of assistance from California

finally joined.

00;36;57;24 - 00;37;01;02

He came back and his return was good news.

00;37;01;02 - 00;37;06;20

You know, he brought news and also

also brought some guides, which is good.

00;37;06;22 - 00;37;11;08

These guides, Native American in nature

employed by John Sutter from Centers four

00;37;11;09 - 00;37;15;25

and they had mules which had food

and different vital supplies.

00;37;15;25 - 00;37;18;15

So big day for them. Big, big time.

00;37;18;15 - 00;37;22;06

These two Native Americans were Miwok men

00;37;22;08 - 00;37;25;27

who are they

changed their names to Lewis and Salvador

00;37;25;28 - 00;37;28;28

after they converted to Catholicism,

which is an important.

00;37;28;28 - 00;37;30;12

But I felt like I should share that now.

00;37;30;12 - 00;37;34;21

The Eddie and Reed families, you know,

they kind of felt a little bit better.

00;37;34;21 - 00;37;37;11

They're like, okay, things are getting,

things are getting better.

00;37;37;11 - 00;37;37;28

That's good.

00;37;37;28 - 00;37;41;17

So they enter the Sierra Nevada mountains

also.

00;37;41;17 - 00;37;46;18

Stan had brought news that Reed Inherent

had had successfully made it to settlers

00;37;46;18 - 00;37;49;27

for although said that it looked

pretty rough when they got there.

00;37;50;01 - 00;37;50;27

Not surprised.

00;37;50;27 - 00;37;53;20

I mean, granted,

they were writing house and horse.

00;37;53;20 - 00;37;58;21

They were writing a house and they,

you know, it still a long time.

00;37;58;21 - 00;38;03;00

Like it doesn't matter how quick even

horseback is still a ridiculous journey.

00;38;03;00 - 00;38;05;28

I don't know. I, I get that

it was like wood.

00;38;05;28 - 00;38;07;17

They had to do it to make it happen.

00;38;07;17 - 00;38;09;13

But like, if I was back

then, I'd be like, now,

00;38;09;13 - 00;38;13;09

man, I'm just going to farm or something

because this seems way too.

00;38;13;11 - 00;38;13;29

And you

00;38;13;29 - 00;38;16;29

know, this, this whole team,

this whole group, I can't

00;38;16;29 - 00;38;21;11

imagine how crazy they must feel right now

because they've already faced like the

00;38;21;11 - 00;38;25;27

the hardships that so many other people

have already faced to this point.

00;38;25;27 - 00;38;27;00

Like, it's crazy.

00;38;27;00 - 00;38;27;28

They dealt with a lot.

00;38;27;28 - 00;38;32;26

But now, now they have a big decision

to make push forward and a for exhaust

00;38;32;26 - 00;38;38;06

their livestock or give the livestock

a rest, hunker down for the winter,

00;38;38;09 - 00;38;41;24

hunker down for a little bit before

going into the Sierra Nevada mountains.

00;38;41;24 - 00;38;43;13

I don't know.

I don't know what I would do.

00;38;43;13 - 00;38;45;19

I think I would just be like all do

we got to go?

00;38;45;19 - 00;38;48;03

Like, if we're going to go,

we've got to go right now, you know?

00;38;48;03 - 00;38;49;08

And they had been assured

00;38;49;08 - 00;38;52;17

that the pass would remain free of snow

until middle of November.

00;38;52;17 - 00;38;57;28

But October 20th is where they're at right

now, which meant, hey, man,

00;38;57;28 - 00;38;58;22

we got to go.

00;38;58;22 - 00;39;02;13

Like I said,

they decided to proceed methodically,

00;39;02;15 - 00;39;05;14

allowing one family at a time

to navigate the challenging terrain

00;39;05;14 - 00;39;09;02

the brings to the lead,

followed by the cars Katzenberg's Stanton

00;39;09;05 - 00;39;13;27

escorting the Reids and the graves

and finally the Murphys at the very back.

00;39;13;27 - 00;39;14;27

Bad luck gets worse

00;39;14;27 - 00;39;18;20

from here after an accidental gunshot hits

William Pike and he dies.

00;39;18;20 - 00;39;21;09

A short

while later, an axle on a wagon snaps.

00;39;21;09 - 00;39;23;02

And then George is trying to fix it.

00;39;23;02 - 00;39;27;06

George Donner's trying to fix it,

and then he cuts his hand. So

00;39;27;09 - 00;39;28;03

you just can't win.

00;39;28;03 - 00;39;29;11

Like, literally anything.

00;39;29;11 - 00;39;32;13

Like anything that can happen badly

happens.

00;39;32;13 - 00;39;36;22

Like these guys are Murphy's

Law incarnate, so they keep going.

00;39;36;23 - 00;39;40;13

The Donner Party found themselves

at the mercy of a relentless snowfall.

00;39;40;13 - 00;39;44;05

Now Breen's undeterred

by the challenging conditions, ascended

00;39;44;08 - 00;39;48;12

this almost a thousand foot slope,

which is pretty hardcore,

00;39;48;14 - 00;39;52;15

and that led them to the shores of Truckee

Lake, now recognized as Donner Lake,

00;39;52;15 - 00;39;57;26

where they discovered a semblance

of refuge near a cabin or a several cabins

00;39;58;03 - 00;40;02;25

which was put up by the Stevens

Townsend Murphy party two years prior.

00;40;02;25 - 00;40;06;27

Now cabins in the: 1840

not really that great.

00;40;06;28 - 00;40;11;15

Also put it into the fact that nobody's

been updating them through the weather.

00;40;11;15 - 00;40;15;11

They are pretty mangled,

but it's better than nothing.

00;40;15;13 - 00;40;19;26

The Breen's graves, Murphy's Habsburgs,

Eddie's and Reeds all came together.

00;40;19;28 - 00;40;23;21

Truckee Lake and the Dodgers made camp

about five miles away.

00;40;23;24 - 00;40;27;11

Everybody started working, trying

to make the cabins a little more suitable,

00;40;27;15 - 00;40;31;16

trying to repair them

and prepare them for the weather.

00;40;31;16 - 00;40;34;09

The winter snow continues to fall

and further entrenched.

00;40;34;09 - 00;40;37;04

Their decision to remain camp

throughout the winter.

00;40;37;04 - 00;40;40;18

Families

now committed to this in Truckee Lake.

00;40;40;21 - 00;40;43;12

Their makeshift cabins consisted,

00;40;43;12 - 00;40;47;16

like I said, of three different cabins,

and they had dirt floors.

00;40;47;16 - 00;40;50;24

Nothing do crazy,

no flatscreen TVs or anything like that.

00;40;50;24 - 00;40;55;19

They had to use what they could

to patch holes in the roofs, in the walls.

00;40;55;21 - 00;40;59;24

The Breen's at ease and Murphy's shared

one cabin, the reeds grazing.

00;40;59;24 - 00;41;02;26

Habsburg

occupied their own individual cabins.

00;41;03;02 - 00;41;07;08

Katzenberg's matriarch,

the main Katzenberg,

00;41;07;10 - 00;41;11;06

used his efforts to construct

lean to the side of the bream

00;41;11;06 - 00;41;15;05

cabin to accommodate

his family, basically just a tent add on.

00;41;15;07 - 00;41;16;04

They expanded it.

00;41;16;04 - 00;41;19;29

They knocked down the wall

kind of open floor concept.

00;41;20;01 - 00;41;22;01

The cabins pretty simple in nature.

00;41;22;01 - 00;41;24;04

But, you know, they they got the job done.

00;41;24;04 - 00;41;26;11

They had large openings, no doors,

00;41;26;11 - 00;41;28;18

also didn't have a windows,

but they didn't really need them

00;41;28;18 - 00;41;30;03

because there was about holes

in the walls.

00;41;30;03 - 00;41;32;10

So 60 total people here, that's a lot.

00;41;32;10 - 00;41;34;04

And the snow just keeps falling.

00;41;34;04 - 00;41;36;24

And even a red

00;41;36;24 - 00;41;39;28

eight day long snowstorm,

which that's a rough day.

00;41;39;28 - 00;41;41;14

That's a real rough day for you.

00;41;41;14 - 00;41;47;11

Last week, all of the supplies that I had

brought were brought with Stanton.

00;41;47;11 - 00;41;50;09

When he returned, they were starting

to dwindle pretty quick.

00;41;50;09 - 00;41;53;03

Then cows started. Dioxins started to die.

00;41;53;03 - 00;41;56;23

Now there was a lake and it wasn't frozen

quite yet, but they did not know

00;41;56;23 - 00;41;58;08

how to catch lake trout.

00;41;58;08 - 00;41;59;14

So not great.

00;41;59;14 - 00;42;02;25

William Eddy, he's

you know, he's a good hunter.

00;42;02;28 - 00;42;05;02

Apparently. He's like,

Hey, guys, I can hunt.

00;42;05;02 - 00;42;08;24

And he had taken down a bear,

which was good, but

00;42;08;26 - 00;42;10;21

didn't last them as long as they had.

00;42;10;21 - 00;42;14;22

They didn't ration

this bear at all, apparently. And

00;42;14;24 - 00;42;17;04

their provisions depleting rapidly.

00;42;17;04 - 00;42;22;03

The terrain becoming more

and more unforgivable as cold and cold

00;42;22;03 - 00;42;26;04

and cold, the wind whipping at their,

you know, exposed skin.

00;42;26;04 - 00;42;29;07

I can't even imagine

this sounds like a nightmare.

00;42;29;10 - 00;42;31;11

And I can't imagine what these dudes

were thinking.

00;42;31;11 - 00;42;33;01

Right.

00;42;33;01 - 00;42;34;22

They started to get real desperate.

00;42;34;22 - 00;42;38;22

I think this is one of the parts

that cracks me up a little bit,

00;42;38;24 - 00;42;41;23

but it also kind of tells

you exactly how they're feeling.

00;42;41;23 - 00;42;44;24

They started to sell oxen to one another

00;42;44;24 - 00;42;47;24

and they would sell them for like crazy

markups.

00;42;48;00 - 00;42;51;01

Margaret Reed made a deal

where she would pay double for what

00;42;51;02 - 00;42;54;25

what it would be worth for three

when they got to wherever they were going.

00;42;54;25 - 00;42;59;01

And the Eddy family

made an also a wild deal

00;42;59;01 - 00;43;02;16

where they paid double for a dead ox.

00;43;02;16 - 00;43;03;21

They're like, will pay.

00;43;03;21 - 00;43;06;04

You will buy that ox. And they're like,

He's dead.

00;43;06;04 - 00;43;08;24

All right, we'll pay you double like this.

00;43;08;24 - 00;43;11;28

Just the desperation is so clear.

00;43;11;28 - 00;43;14;24

And it also continued outside

of the terrible haggling.

00;43;14;24 - 00;43;16;09

They had decided that

00;43;16;09 - 00;43;17;02

they were going to start

00;43;17;02 - 00;43;21;09

making adventures to try and get

through the massive snowbanks.

00;43;21;09 - 00;43;24;19

So there's like 15 feet snowbanks

or maybe 12, I don't know,

00;43;24;19 - 00;43;27;22

15 feet seems like a lot,

but they're like, We got to do it.

00;43;27;26 - 00;43;31;14

Also, on November 20th, Patrick

Breen begins writing a journal,

00;43;31;14 - 00;43;34;14

which is pretty cool

because this is like the

00;43;34;17 - 00;43;38;22

the account of this in it,

like It was written at the time

00;43;38;24 - 00;43;43;08

from somebody who was there

instead of like a retroactive account.

00;43;43;08 - 00;43;44;11

So that's kind of neat.

00;43;44;11 - 00;43;49;00

The enduring life at Truckee Lake posed

an immense and relentless challenges.

00;43;49;02 - 00;43;52;23

Unyielding, heavy snowfall

continued to imprison the residents

00;43;52;23 - 00;43;56;03

within their cramped little shelters,

their little makeshift shelters.

00;43;56;03 - 00;43;59;24

Now they had to deal with,

you know, their depleting, depleting food.

00;43;59;27 - 00;44;03;22

They had to get crafty,

had to get really resourceful.

00;44;03;22 - 00;44;07;02

They would cook strips of ox hide

and basically

00;44;07;02 - 00;44;10;19

boil it into a jelly,

and then they would eat that.

00;44;10;22 - 00;44;14;16

And that's how,

you know, you're getting desperate. Like

00;44;14;18 - 00;44;17;26

they would make soups of relatively random

things.

00;44;17;26 - 00;44;22;08

They would grind up horse and ox bones,

which I guess is just jello, right?

00;44;22;08 - 00;44;26;02

Anyway, these bones,

subjected to the relentless heat, reached

00;44;26;02 - 00;44;29;28

a brittleness that rendered them

susceptible to breaking down upon chewing,

00;44;29;28 - 00;44;33;02

which is just kind of a testament

to their resourcefulness.

00;44;33;02 - 00;44;36;04

I guess even got to the point

where they're cutting up

00;44;36;05 - 00;44;39;13

oxide rugs and they're tearing it up

00;44;39;13 - 00;44;43;01

and then throwing it into the fire

and then eating that.

00;44;43;04 - 00;44;45;24

So, yeah, humble meal of rug.

00;44;45;24 - 00;44;47;07

I don't know

if you guys have ever listened to

00;44;47;07 - 00;44;50;11

people talk about like the dust bowls

of the Great Depression,

00;44;50;11 - 00;44;51;12

but there's like stories

00;44;51;12 - 00;44;54;20

where they would just like

chew on candle wax and pretend it was gum.

00;44;54;20 - 00;44;58;17

This is, this is that kind of level

of like, wildness to me.

00;44;58;17 - 00;45;01;04

Like, this is some crazy stuff.

They're eating rugs now.

00;45;01;04 - 00;45;03;19

Different people around

the camp had different ideas.

00;45;03;19 - 00;45;05;27

Some of the workers,

00;45;05;27 - 00;45;09;18

some of the hired hands were catching

mice as they roamed around.

00;45;09;19 - 00;45;13;00

But many people got real weak

and pretty much just spent

00;45;13;01 - 00;45;16;21

most of their time in their bed

is as the snow continued to fall.

00;45;16;23 - 00;45;19;14

People were less

and less likely to go visit the Donner's

00;45;19;14 - 00;45;22;02

five miles away,

which was an all day journey at the time.

00;45;22;02 - 00;45;26;10

So Jacob Donner had died and three

of their hired men had also died.

00;45;26;15 - 00;45;31;06

One of the men, Joseph Rinehart, confessed

to killing Wolfinger, which I knew it.

00;45;31;09 - 00;45;33;19

There was something weird about his story.

00;45;33;19 - 00;45;34;25

I didn't like it. Anyway.

00;45;34;25 - 00;45;37;28

George Donner doing his best Skywalker

impression at the time

00;45;37;28 - 00;45;42;27

as his head, his injury turning,

which meant there was only four able

00;45;42;27 - 00;45;46;21

bodied, able bodied men in the Donner

camp to do any of the hard work.

00;45;46;21 - 00;45;49;21

Not saying that the women couldn't do it,

but nobody could.

00;45;49;24 - 00;45;51;13

You know,

everybody's all tired of the stuff

00;45;51;13 - 00;45;53;21

Margaret read

and managed to save up enough food

00;45;53;21 - 00;45;56;13

for a Christmas pot of soup,

which pleased her children.

00;45;56;13 - 00;46;00;02

However, by January they were at the risk

of starving again, even considered

00;46;00;02 - 00;46;04;20

eating the oxides

that had served as their roof eaten rugs.

00;46;04;20 - 00;46;06;14

Now they're going to eat their roof.

00;46;06;14 - 00;46;08;29

This season, people got more

and more desperate.

00;46;08;29 - 00;46;09;28

Margaret Reed, Virginia

00;46;09;28 - 00;46;13;27

Reed, Mitchell, Eliot, Eliza Williams

all decided to leave to find food.

00;46;13;28 - 00;46;15;16

Now they were like, Well,

00;46;15;16 - 00;46;19;06

we'll bear the weather

and we'll we'd rather find food,

00;46;19;06 - 00;46;22;18

then watch the kids

die of of malnutrition,

00;46;22;18 - 00;46;24;13

you know, and they travel for four days

00;46;24;13 - 00;46;26;19

through the snow

before having to turn back.

00;46;26;19 - 00;46;30;12

And they moved in with the brains

because there was no longer livable

00;46;30;12 - 00;46;35;00

and also mainly

because they had eaten roof

00;46;35;02 - 00;46;36;12

and are not even

00;46;36;12 - 00;46;40;12

lying like they had the oxide roof

and they had eaten that.

00;46;40;14 - 00;46;44;03

And basically because of that,

their cabin was screwed.

00;46;44;03 - 00;46;47;02

Now situation continued to deteriorate.

00;46;47;03 - 00;46;50;22

Artists Spitzer and Bayliss

Williams, the driver for the Reeds, died

00;46;50;22 - 00;46;52;22

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