Show dads letter NUMBER SIX containing interesting historical information james H wallis TRAGIC STORY OF THE DONNER PARTY part two continued from last week it was now that the party discovered that its food supply was running out and a call was made for volunteers to make their way to utters fort in california Call fornia securing supplies and return to meet the party tills this mission was tel to win ani Ale mccutcheon Cutcheon and charles stanton wio left zhe the emmig ein migrant rant camp with a letter to captain sutter slitter asking tor for supplies to be sent on to thead the party pushed on across the we western stern desert but not without the loss of many cattle and 0 oxen though at times nearly tarnished famished by want of water by october 13 12 they reached the valley beyond the sink of 0 agdens dens rier ri er in what is now western nevada on october 19 near tile the site ot of wadsworth li nevada chades cha des stanton returned accompanied by two indians they had fool they distributed to the almost fa mishel travelers it was now decided to let stanton lead the party across the sierra nevada mountains to sacramento there was to be no delay for the snow on the distant peaks announced that winter was near at hand tile the truckee river was crosse I 1 and re crossed the party on oa into tile the mountain defiles and on october reached a cabin near truckee pike lake at the foot ot of what is known as Fr Fre emonts morits pass here they were forced into camp because of the heavy snow s meanwhile the five donner wagons with the other had become separated b by an accident tram fram the main company and were finally forced to make camp on a stream called pioneer creek a few miles from the like camp no one observed the picture aque gran granitur grani leur eur of the cie forest cov bied mountains which hemmed in on the north and west A piercing wind was driving storm clouds toward the emigrants and those who understood their threatening aspects realized that twenty one persons pel sons eight of them helpless child children Ten were there at the emerey of the pitiless storm king the teams were hurriedly unhitched the tents and the men and women began gath brinz material mate matei ilal ial for more suitable quarters some cut down trees some chopped oft off the branches and some with oxen dragged the logs into position the moon and stars came out before they went to bed yet the following morning the ground was covered with snow banow two or three feet in depth which had to be shoveled from the exposed beds before their occupants could arlee arise 1 I well remember the new day writes one of mr air donners daughters years afterwards there was no sheltered nook for shivering children so father lifted little georgia and me onto a log and mother tricked a buffalo robe around us there we sat eat snug and dry watching the hurrying anxious workers that night came tile the dreaded snow enow around the camp fires under the trees great feathery flakes came whirling down donn the air was EO full of them that one could see cee objects only a few feet away the two indians with us knew we were doomed and one of them wrapped his blankets about him hill and stood all night under a tree I 1 we children slept soundly on our cold bed of snow with a soft white mantle tailing falling over us so thickly that every few moment in my mother would leave to the shawl our only covering to keep us from being buried alive in the morning the snow lay jeep deep on mountain and in the valley vahey I 1 with heavy hearts we turned back to a cabin that had been built by the murphy party two years before we built more cabins and prepared as ag best we could coula for the winter and there the anent winter camp was made for the donner families the camp a few miles beyond on the lake consisted of a eliut or two one of which had been built by the townsend party in 1844 18 4 4 within a few days they were completely snowed in aej the two camp were left to their fate in the eaily part of november jacob donner passed sway away and he was followed soon after by three others they had become weakened weaker iod by bv hunger and cold and were unable to withstand the terrible hardships their companions made graves for them in the snowbanks meanwhile their food had all been consume j and their eattle cattle frozen to death and covered up rip by the snow there was but one thing to do dig into the snow for their carcasses it was weary work for the snow was wa higher tuan than the level of the guide marks and at times the thy searched e 1 day after day and lound found nc trace of hoof or horn the little field mice that had crept into the caime were caught ani ana used to ease the pangs of hunger also pieces of beet beef hide were cut into strips singed scraped and boiled to the consistency of glue and swallowed with an effort for no degree of hunger could make the sticky substance palatable Marrow lesa bones which had already been boiled and scraped were now budnej and eaten even the bark and twigs of pine were chewed in the vain effort to soothe the gna wings which made one cry in vain tar far bread and meat christmas and news years passed and by the middle of january the snow was fourteen feet deep 1 I remember that christmas day said eliza donnet donner many anany years after we all knelt down and prayed that god would spare us we had bad nothing tor for the children to eat we huddled fiddled li around the fire and triad at times to sing but we the children cried and mothers hid the hot tears that poured out of their eyes so BO that the little children might not see their deep sorrow now and then the ice on the mountain crags would crack and crash into some ravine and would startle us and an the frightened children drew nearer to us its there was a dearth of water for far prosser creek was frozen over through all that month the two camps patiently waltel for the coming of relief parties they prayed they hoped some asked god that death might come to release them from their terrible sufferings the men gave I 1 that the women might live the wom en took the food and gave it to the children the one burning question with them was hash has ithe the forlorn hope reached sut ets fort this party consist ing of fifteen men and women 1 had bad set out from the lake camp in december to try to make sacramento fathers fathera left their wives and children to the care of those left behind and determined to make one last effort to be continued |