Show ike e donned dunned 0 gaiu september 4 1947 will mark hundred and one yo years s nee the entry of the ill fated donner reed party into tooele thoele county no oth er company of immigrants to pass through this county encountered such tragedy and heart break as this caravan who passed through tooele thoele county to the gold fields of california the donner reed party was a wealthy well equipped party con of eighty one persons and a number of heavy loaded wag ons as well as many oxen cattle and horses the party travel ng without guides lost much able time cutting timber and building roads so that it was almost fall before they reach ed adobe rock nine in les north of tooele thoele city on september ath 1846 they never realized at that time that this was one of the last three watering places between them and pilots peak over one hundred miles away on septemo er ath they camped at twenty wells just out of what is now grantsville Grants ville there was however at that time no settlements be tween wyoming and california the last watering place before cross ng the salt desert was reach ed september ath at a skull val ley there stretched ahead of them over 75 miles of salt desert with out a trace of water or shade As they looked out mccross these salt flats they perhaps obtained the impression that they would be hard surfaced but this was mis leading for the heavily loaded wagons mired down they were forced to leave several wagons many household goods and prec ious sullies that would have got them to california oxen were un hitched and crazed by thirst ran in all directions eventually to perish from thirst and starvation thirty six of these animals were left to perish on the desert to add to sorrow of these people one of their party d ed and was buried in a bed of pure salt after three days and three nights of travel without rest or water they reached pilots peak where a spring of water was found tragedy still stalked their trail for this delay encountered on the salt desert hindered them from reach ng the pass over the seira nevada mountains until winter had set in they were trapped by storms on the pass their food supply gave out and they were forced to bol bo 1 their harnesses some historians tell us they were forced to eat their dogs only 45 of the original party survived the winter today one can still see the wa gon tracks of this caravan shim mering in the sun as a grim re minder that the salt desert defeat ed the once wealthy donner reed party and still presents to the un experienced traveler the same dan ger and illusion as it did over one hundred years ago |