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Donner Party: Group of American pioneers in 1846-1847 who resorted to cannibalism
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this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2025
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There’s a fantastic book about the Donner Party called “The Indifferent Stars Above”, I highly recommend it. All most people know about the Donner party is the cannibalism but how they got there in the first place is just as interesting. It’s a great story filled with con men out to make a quick buck and people with just plain bad luck. One thing I learned was just how close they were to most of them making it out of the mountains but then an ill timed stop to rest, damned them all.
Yea the cannibalism is the hook but the whole story is enthralling. Thanks for the rec, I see this book is listed in “further reading”, I gotta check it out!
One aspect that struck me too was that American law did not apply west of the continental divide, so justice within the wagon train was decided by the group. Also, families within the wagons had a hierarchy and carried debts between one another if they borrowed one another’s supplies. I never really thought about the economics and different classes of people traveling together. Even when they were dying in the cabins (which were separated by miles) at Truckee lake, one family member coughed up $25 ($1000 today) to buy the ox carcass from another family… it’s crazy they didn’t pool resources and try to survive together.