>  ZR> Have you ever seen the documentary that PBS has shown about the 
onner
 >  ZR> party?  It is a real tear-jerker... and very informative... it really
 >  ZR> gave me much  more insight into the trauma these families endured..
 >  So, what is it about these families?  I don't think
 > we heard about it  on THIS end of the states!
Probably not. To make a very long story short, the Donners set out on the 
Oregon Trail/California Trail from Missouri. Their first mistake was starting 
too late in the year. Then at one of the Forts (Bridger?) they heard about a 
"shortcut" that was supposed to save hundreds of miles of travel, so they 
decided to take it. Dumb mistake. The trail was hardly cut at all. As a 
result, they got almost to the top of the east side of the northern Sierras 
(near where Truckee, CA is today) and couldn't go any further because of 
snows, etc. They hastily built cabins and prepared to stay for the winter. 
They hardly had any provisions, weren't very good hunters, and when they got 
ill, they had no medicines. So they started dying off. The ones that were 
left resorted to cannibalism to keep themselves alive. Few were left to hike 
out in the springtime, with help of rescuers.
                                 -donna
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