The Donner Tragedy

A “shortcut” that turned into a death sentence. In this Time & Tales dark history episode, we follow the Donner Party into the Sierra Nevada winter of 1846–47: from hopeful departure on the California Trail to the fatal choice to take Lansford Hastings’ cutoff, ignoring Shoshone and Paiute warnings about the Wasatch and the Great Salt Lake Desert—lost weeks that became lost lives once early snows sealed the pass and families at Truckee Lake and Alder Creek turned from boiled hides to cannibalism to survive.
Joined by author K.M. West, we strip away the textbook version and look at what the record actually shows about hunger, choice, and how this story was told.
KM West Socials
*KM West Book Link
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Sources & Further Reading
William O. Fallon — April 1847 diary (Fourth Relief; Keseberg encounter). Donner Party DiaryForlorn Hope survivor accounts — diaries, statements, and early interviews compiled in Donner Party document collections. WikipediaDaniel James Brown — The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride. AmazonMichael Wallis — The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny. National GeographicAn Archaeology of Desperation: Exploring the Donner Party’s Alder Creek Camp; Truckee / Donner Summit historical & archaeological reports Truckee-Donner Historical Society