Across the Plains in the Donner Party: A Personal Narrative of the Overland Trip to California (1891)
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Across the Plains in the Donner Party: A Personal Narrative of the Overland Trip to California (1891)
THE story of the Donner Lake party is well known. The chief facts are that in 1846, while California was still a foreign country — being then a province of Mexico — a party of home-seekers left Springfield, Illinois. The chief organizer of the expedition was James T. Reed, and two families of the name of Donner were among the first to join him. Owing to circumstances that afterwards occurred, the party became known by their name instead of by Reed's. When they reached Independence, Missouri, many others joined them, and a large band of men, women and children finally left that then frontier town with their faces earnestly set towards the Sea of the Setting Sun. When they reached Fort Bridger they were urged to take a cut-off, which, it was. said, would save them three hundred miles. A large majority decided to go by the old road, which they did, and ultimately reached California with comparative ease and safety. Eighty-four persons, led by the Reed and Donner families, took the cut-off and thereby entangled themselves in great difficulties, and occupied so much of their time that they were eventually caught in the snow on the eastern slope of the Sierras. But before they reached this point, several disasters of great moment occurred. Mr. Reed suffered a great loss in that, when crazed for want of water in crossing the Salt Lake Desert, his oxen rushed off beyond control, and were never seen again; and, a couple of weeks later, while at the sink of the Humbolt, more head of oxen were stolen from the party by the Indians. When finally caught in the snow, over forty of the party perished, and such were the dire straits to which the survivors were reduced for food.
What now follows is the story of Mrs. Virginia Reed Murphy, Mr. Reed's daughter, who was then a child of twelve years of age.
