The Expedition of the Donner Party and Its Tragic FateEliza Houghton (b. 1843) was the youngest child of George Donner, one of two Springfield, Illinois, brothers who organized the ill-fated California-bound emigrant party that bore their name. Eliza and her older sisters were rescued by relief parties that made their way to the stranded travellers at Donner Lake, but their parents perished, and the girls were left to make their way alone in the West. The expedition of the Donner party and its tragic fate (1911) begins with Mrs. Houghton's account of her childhood and the family's tragic overland journey, and rescue. She continues with her life as an orphan, first at Fort Sutter, and then with a family in Sonoma and with her older half-sister in Sacramento. She describes the impact of the gold rush and new immigration on the area, farm work and domestic work, and her own education in public schools and St. Catherine's Convent in Benicia. She writes at length of the emotional scars caused by contemporary rumors of cannibalism among the Donner Party and offers full accounts of Donner family history as well as the background of her husband, Samuel Houghton. An appendix contains several documentary sources for the history of the Donner Party. |
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arms asked Breen brought BRUNNER California called Captain carried cattle CHAPTER child CHRISTIAN BRUNNER clothes cross dead death Donner Lake Donner Party Donner's Camp dress Eddy Edwin Bryant Elitha Eliza emigrants eyes face Fallon father felt fire Forlorn Hope Fort Bridger Fort Laramie Frances Frémont friends George Donner Georgia grandma Graves hand heard horse husband Indians Jakie John Baptiste journey keep Keseberg knew lake cabins later Leanna letter little girls live looked Mary McCutchen Messrs miles morning mother mountains Murphy night Patrick Breen promised ranch reached Reed RELIEF PARTY River Sacramento San Francisco Second Relief settlement Sierras Simon Murphy sister snow Sonoma soon Stanton starving stood Sutter's Sutter's Fort talk tell Third Relief THOMAS FALLON told took trail tree turned Valley wagons walk watched wife young
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Page 322 - Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small; Though with patience he stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all.
Page 21 - Chain up, boys — chain up," with as much authority as though he was "something in particular." John Denton is still with us. We find him useful in the camp.
Page 20 - We laid in 150 pounds of flour and 75 pounds of meat for each individual, and I fear bread will be scarce. Meat is abundant. Rice and beans are good articles on the road;' cornmeal, too, is acceptable. Linsey dresses are the most suitable for children. Indeed, if I had one, it would be acceptable. There is so cool a breeze at all times on the plains that the sun does not feel so hot as one would suppose. We are now four hundred and fifty miles from Independence. Our route at first was rough, and...
Page 20 - PLATTE, June 16, 1846. MY OLD FRIEND: We are now on the Platte, two hundred miles from Fort Laramie. Our journey so far has been pleasant, the roads have been good, and food plentiful. The water for part of the way has been indifferent, but at no time have our cattle suffered for it. Wood is now very scarce, but "buffalo chips" are excellent; they kindle quickly and retain heat surprisingly. We had this morning buffalo steaks broiled upon them that had the same flavor they would have had upon hickory...
Page 73 - ... who had left their babes, wanted to go back and die with them, if die they must ; but Mr. Eddy and the Indians — those who had crossed the range with Stanton — declared that they would push on to the settlement. Then Mary Graves, in whose young heart were still whisperings of hope, courageously said: ' ' I, too, will go on, for to go back and hear the cries of hunger from my little brothers and sisters is more than I can stand. I shall go as far as I can, let the consequences be what they...
Page 340 - Donners' camp, eight miles distant over the mountains. After traveling about halfway, we came upon a track in the snow which excited our suspicion, and we determined to pursue it. It brought us to the camp of Jacob Donner, where it had evidently left that morning. There we found property of every description, books, calicoes, tea, coffee, shoes, percussion caps, household and kitchen furniture, scattered in every direction, and mostly in the water. At the mouth of the tent stood...
Page 324 - ... wretched and pitiable beings. Those who but one month before would have shuddered and sickened at the thought of eating human flesh, or of killing their companions and relatives to preserve their own lives, now looked upon the opportunity these acts afforded them of escaping the most dreadful of deaths, as a providential interference in their behalf.
Page 20 - ' buffalo chips ' ' are excellent; they kindle quickly and retain heat surprisingly. We had this morning buffalo steaks broiled upon them that had the same flavor they would have had upon hickory coals. We feel no fear of Indians, our cattle graze quietly around our encampment unmolested. Two or three men will go hunting twenty miles from camp ; and last night two of our men lay out in the wilderness rather than ride their horses after a hard chase. Indeed, if I do not experience something far worse...
Page 330 - Many of the sufferers had been living for weeks upon bullock hides ; and even this sort of food was so nearly exhausted with some, that they were about to dig up from the snow the bodies of their companions for the purpose of prolonging their wretched lives. Mrs. Reed, who lived in...
Page 297 - Swords, were fired, and with every thing surrounding them connected with this horrid and melancholy tragedy, were consumed. The body of George Donner was found at his camp, about eight or ten miles distant, wrapped in a sheet. He was buried by a party of men detailed for that purpose.