Civics & Coffee: The Donner Party

Host: Alycia Asai
Episode Date: October 30, 2021

Episode Overview

In this Halloween-themed episode, Alycia Asai explores the chilling history of the Donner Party—one of America's most infamous disasters of westward migration. While remembered primarily for the resort to cannibalism during the winter of 1846-47, Alycia provides much-needed context and humanity to the travelers: who they were, their motivations, hardships, missteps, and the cascading series of tragedies that led to their nightmare in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Westward Move and “Manifest Destiny”

• Manifest Destiny's Influence: Alycia opens by highlighting the federal push for westward expansion. She references John L. O’Sullivan’s 1845 introduction of the phrase "Manifest Destiny" ([02:11]):

  “By the right of our Manifest Destiny to overspread and possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty.”

• Traveler Aspirations: George Donner, James Reed, and others are painted as determined pioneers, chasing both opportunity and the American mythos.

The Donner Party: Formation and Early Journey

• Initial Group: Started with three core families: Donner, Reed, and Donner’s relatives ([04:02-05:10]).
  • George Donner: Wealthy and well-prepared.
  • James Reed: Pursuing opportunity after bankruptcy.
  • They carried abundant provisions, e.g., "200 pounds of flour per member over age 10."
• Early Optimism: Mrs. Donner’s letter reflects hope ([05:39]):

  “I am willing to go and have no doubt it will be an advantage to our children and us... and start tomorrow on the long journey.”

First Missteps and Timing

• Crucial Delays:
  • Late Start: Left Independence, Missouri, May 12, 1846—"the last of the season" ([06:30]).
  • Missed Deadlines: Arrived a week late at strategic waypoints like Independence Rock.
  • Trail Hardships: Suffered from heat, wagon accidents, and animal deaths; one case of a boy's leg amputation ends in fatality (Enoch Garrison, [07:59]), though this is outside the Donner count.

The Hastings Cutoff: Compounding Disaster

• Fork in the Trail: Debate over using the unproven Hastings Cutoff ([09:30]).
  • Reed, George Donner, and Jacob Donner commit to shortcut; elected George Donner as leader ([09:57]).
  • Joined by more families, swelling the group to 74, then 87 after picking up the Graves family ([10:33]).
• Crucial Omission: At Fort Bridger, missed a warning letter telling them to avoid the cutoff, misled by trading post operators ([11:23]).
• “Shortcut” Adds 125 Miles: The untested path proves harsher, requiring them to clear their own route and losing precious time, animals, and supplies during a brutal 68-day trek ([12:12-13:02]).

Discord Within the Party

• Rising Tensions: Fraught with "disagreements and high tensions" ([10:10]).
  • Violent Incident: James Reed kills John Snyder in an altercation and, after heated debate, is banished from the party ([14:07]).

The Sierra Nevada Ordeal

• Early Winter Sets In: The party is trapped by snow at Truckee Lake (today's Donner Lake) on October 30, 1846, just 90 miles from safety ([15:10]).
  • Separation: Split into two isolated camps: Truckee Lake and Alder Creek ([16:22]).
• Desperate Measures for Survival:
  • Initial Strategies: Ate slaughtered cattle, drank their blood, boiled hides for soup and glue-like meals ([16:50]).
  • Contemporary Account: Patrick Breen’s diary documents their suffering ([17:48]):

    “...Having to stay here until next spring and live on poor beef without bread or salt. It snowed during the space of eight days with little intermission after our arrival here.”

Death, Cannibalism, and Survival

• Famine Sets In: Deaths from malnutrition begin around Christmas ([18:45]).
  • Snowshoe Escape Attempt: 15 set off on homemade snowshoes ([19:05]).
• Cannibalism Begins:
  • Moral Crisis: Party debates drawing lots or dueling; ultimately, they wait for nature ([20:00]).
  • Franklin Graves’ Last Words: Urge his daughters to do whatever necessary to survive.
  • First Cannibalized: Patrick Dolan, Franklin Graves, and Antonio after their deaths ([20:43]).
  • Survivors’ Civility: Group vows not to eat kin, roasting flesh on sticks or drying as jerky. Alycia’s chilling aside:

    “Like the worst beef skewer you've ever had in your life” ([21:15]).

• Further Hardships: Two Miwok guides, Luis and Salvador, are murdered for food ([22:56]).
• First Rescuers: After 33 days, the battered snowshoe group reaches help ([23:43]).

Rescue and Aftermath

• Rescue Missions: Four separate rescue expeditions are organized, beginning in February ([25:18]):
  • Haunting Encounter: Upon rescue, a survivor asks,

    “Are you men from California or do you come from heaven?” ([25:56])

  • Ongoing Suffering: Many at camp are already dead; cannibalism had become the norm.
  • Grim Joy of Survival: Of the 87, only 46 survive—a majority are children ([28:28]).
• Legacy:
  • All adults of the Donner family die; Donner Pass and Donner Lake are named in remembrance.
  • The tragedy does not slow westward migration—gold rush fever follows soon after.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Opening Foreboding Quote:
  “I am beginning to feel alarmed at the tardiness of our movements and fearful that winter will find us in the snowy mountains of California, or that we shall suffer from the exhaustion of our supply of provisions.”
  —Edwin Bryant, 1846 ([00:00])
• On the group’s optimism and provisions:
  “We take cows and milk them and have some butter, though not as much as we would like.”
  —Mrs. Donner ([05:49])
• On moral breaking point and cannibalism:
  “Does anyone else find that just super haunting? Whew.”
  —Alycia Asai ([20:17])
• On a survivor’s reaction to rescuers:
  “Are you men from California or do you come from heaven?” ([25:56])
• Dark Humor:
  “Like the worst beef skewer you've ever had in your life.”
  —Alycia Asai ([21:15])
• On the sheer tragedy:
  “All of the adults in the Donner family perished, leading to several locations along the journey being renamed in their honor.” ([28:48])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00 – Opening and setting the tone; themes of hardship and timing
• 04:00–06:30 – Establishing the party, prepping for the journey, manifest destiny context
• 09:30–13:15 – The Hastings Cutoff debate, misleading advice, and disastrous “shortcut”
• 14:07 – The John Snyder altercation and Reed’s banishment
• 15:10–17:00 – Trapped in the Sierras; split of camps; early strategies for survival
• 18:45–22:00 – Death, starvation, the formation of the snowshoe party, and the turn to cannibalism
• 23:43–25:18 – Snowshoers reach civilization, start of rescues
• 28:28 – Final statistics, legacy, and the aftermath

Tone and Style

Alycia balances a deeply human, empathetic narrative with approachable, conversational storytelling. She injects moments of gentle levity and dark humor, never trivializing the suffering but making the content engaging and memorable for listeners.

Summary

This episode offers a comprehensive, empathetic, and vividly recounted story of the Donner Party tragedy—placing cannibalism in a broader context of ambition, mistakes, hope, and fatal timing. Through evocative storytelling, Alycia Asai not only details the somber facts but also highlights the endurance and choices of people facing unimaginable odds, all while demystifying one of America’s most chilling historical events.