History That Doesn't Suck - 31: The California Trail: From the Donner Party to the Gold Rush

Episode Date: January 21, 2019

“Never take no shortcuts.” This is the story of one of the larger Oregon Trail’s most important branches: the California Trail. The Mexican province of Alta California has some beautiful land, so it’s not hard to see why west-bound Americans might want to make their home there. We’ll hear about newly independent Mexico’s struggles to support Alta California; why American Commodore “Tac” Jones mistakenly seizes (then leaves) Monterey; and of course, how the California Trail gets blazed by brave explorers and settlers. But then, it’s time for tragedy. Have you heard of the Donner Party? If not, I have two words for you: Winter. Cannibalism. On a lighter note, “there’s gold in them thar hills.” We’ll end with the discovery of gold. So grab your pickaxe (or earbuds). We’re heading to the not-yet-but-soon-to-be Golden State. ____ Connect with us on HTDSpodcast.com and go deep into episode bibliographies and book recommendations join discussions in our Facebook community get news and discounts from The HTDS Gazette  come see a live show get HTDS merch or become an HTDS premium member for bonus episodes and other perks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What did it take to survive an ancient siege? Why was the cult of Dionysus behind so many slave revolts in ancient Rome? What's the tragic history and mythology behind Japan's most haunted ancient forest? We're Jen and Jenny from Ancient History Fangirl. Join us to explore ancient history and mythology from a fun, sometimes tipsy, perspective. Find us at ancienthistoryfangirl.com or wherever you get your podcasts. From the creators of the popular science show with millions of YouTube subscribers comes the MinuteEarth podcast. Every episode of the show dives deep into a science question you

might not even know you had, but once you hear the answer, you'll want to share it with everyone you know. Why do rivers curve? Why did the T-Rex have such tiny arms? And why do so many more kids need glasses now than they used to? Spoiler alert, it isn't screen time. Our team of scientists digs into the research and breaks it down into a short, entertaining explanation, jam-packed with science facts and terrible puns. Subscribe to MinuteEarth wherever you like to listen. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and as in the classroom, my goal here is to make rigorously researched history come to life as your storyteller. Each episode is the result of laborious research,

with no agenda other than making the past come to life as you learn. If you'd like to help support this work, receive ad-free episodes, bonus content, and other exclusive perks, I invite you to join the HTDS membership program. Sign up for a 7-day free trial today at htdspodcast.com slash membership, or click the link in the episode notes. Welcome to History That Doesn't Suck. I'm your professor, Greg Jackson, and I'd like to tell you a story. This steep hill is the last thing our California-bound wagon party needs.

They've just spent two months wrestling their way across a not-so-tried-and-true shortcut from future Wyoming's Fort Bridger through the Wasatch Mountains and over the Great Salt Lake Desert. This shortcut is known as Hastings Cut-Off, but the only thing it's managed to cut is the wagon party's nerves. As their wagons got destroyed, animals died, and schedule got delayed by a month. Now ill-equipped, hungry, fatigued, and worried about making it to California before the arrival of a deadly winter, you can see how everyone in this wagon party is on edge, right? So again, I repeat, this steep hill is the last thing our California-bound wagon party needs.

Well, the mood might be sour, but at least they know what to do with hills like this. It's time to double hitch the wagons. This means that, rather than using the usual two to three pairs of oxen to pull their wagons, they'll use five to six pairs of oxen to lighten the burden on each animal. You know, kind of like how you got an extra friend or two to help you carry that ridiculously heavy couch up two flights of stairs when you lived in that apartment building. Okay, well, even if you haven't had that exact experience, you get it. So now comes the physically demanding process of maneuvering these massive, powerful, horned beasts of burden from one wagon to the next, all while working the ropes and

hoping they're doing this fairly complicated task right. John Snyder won't be double hitching though. The ruggedly handsome 20-something pioneer is sure his driving skills can handle the steep incline, and he's going to prove it. Ha! But as John slowly ascends the hill, one party leader, James Reed, is gaining on the youth with his double-hitched wagon. Now we have a problem.

Prideful John doesn't want to let pushy James pass. And with everyone still flustered from the disastrous Hastings cutoff, this relatively small issue brings the men's tempers to a fever pitch. In other words, we have road rage. the men's tempers to a fever pitch. In other words, we have road rage. You need to know there are a few versions of what is about to play out. I'm going to quote sources and make this one clean narrative, but like so many conflicts in life and

parts of history, this is messy. Different witnesses recall the smaller details differently and disagree on whose shoulders the blame. All right, back to the story. You have no business here in the way, James hollers at the competing youthful driver. It is my place, John fires back. Both James and John's oxen have now become one tangled mess, bringing both wagons to a halt. Talk of settling this man-to-man at the top of the hill gives way as things escalate quickly. You are a damned liar, and I'll cut your heart out, James screams back at the youth. But John won't be out alpha-mailed. He grabs his shirt and pulls it open, exposing his bare chest. Cut away, he yells out, taunting his middle-aged opponent. Utterly enraged,

James answers by grabbing a large six-inch knife. Meanwhile, John's gripping his bullwhip. James now runs straight at the arrogant young wagon driver and sinks the blade into his exposed chest. Despite the wound, John manages to strike James in the head twice with the butt end of his bullwhip. But on his third swing, the bleeding out pioneer misses James and instead hits his assailant's wife as she tries to pull back her bloodlusting husband. Each man is covered in his own blood, but it's John who's got the worst of it. He's lost two ribs. The young driver staggers up the hill a few steps.

He begins to fall, but his friend, William Graves, catches him and lays him down. Uncle Patrick, I am dead. The blood-soaked wagon driver ekes out as Irish-born Patrick Breen comes running towards him He's right I am dead are John's last words The popular if arrogant youth dies on the spot within minutes

Murder Well, many say murder Or was this self-defense? There's no government in this remote spot along the Humboldt River in what is currently northern Mexico, and the party's leaders, apart from the one who just killed a man, are all farther ahead. Seriously, first the Hastings cutoff, that actually slowed them down. I mean, it's October 5th, 1846 for crying out loud, it's getting cold, and they should be in California already. And now murder? Good God.

Hopefully they can figure out what to do with James and get to California before the winter really hits. It seems like the poor Donner party just can't catch a break. Today, we're building off of the last episode's Oregon Trail to follow one of its earliest and major offshoots, the California Trail. That's right, we're heading to my native state. But to do it justice, let's head back in time and get a quick overview of Spanish and Mexican Alta California. From there, we'll start blazing the California Trail with the 1841 Bartleson Bidwell Party. Revisit our long-forgotten war buddy from episode 26,

U.S. Navy man Tack Jones, as bad intel leads him to seize Monterey, California. Then really break in the California Trail with Elijah Stevens' 1844 party. After that, though, it's time for heartbreak. We'll pick up with the tragic, deadly wagon train that opened this episode, the Donner Party. But we'll end on a happier note by catching a glimpse of California's gold rush. By the end of the episode, we'll understand how Americans came to populate this part of Mexico and set the stage for the soon-to-be Golden State. All right, now that you know where we're going today,

let's head back a few decades and get to know Alta California. You know how we do that. Rewind. You know from past episodes that Spain's centuries-long colonial rule runs across the Americas, but we'll just settle down in 1804. This is when the Spanish powers that be organized its most northwestern New Spain territory as Alta California. The province extends from Baja California, literally low California, and it's close-ish to lining up with the future U.S.-Mexican border, to the British-U.S.-disputed Oregon territory that you learned about in the last episode. West to east, Alta California starts at the Pacific Ocean and

swallows up the future U.S. states of California, Nevada, and Utah, as well as parts of Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Yeah, it's huge, and it's a ridiculous amount of territory to govern and protect if you don't have much of a population in it. Not that Spain hasn't tried to address this challenge. As it's already done in other parts of its empire, Spain sets up several precedidos, think forts, and missions back in the 1760s. The idea was that the precedidos would offer protection to Spain's territorial claims and people, while the missions, which soon ran along the coast from San Diego to San Francisco, would control, convert, and assimilate the indigenous peoples. This brutal yet effective practice works quite well in other Spanish provinces, but not so much in Alta

California. There just aren't enough other Spanish colonists to take over interior lands. Many of the indigenous peoples live just outside. Many of the indigenous peoples live just outside the grasp of the domineering missions and organize resistance against Spanish settlement outside the narrow coastal region. In fact, when Mexico gains independence from Spain in 1821, less than 15,000 Californios, that is Spaniards, or as of this year, Mexicans, live in Alta California, and it's not long before the mission system and the Presididos collapse. See, the missions are staffed by loyal Spanish citizens, so the newly liberated Mexican people run them out of town on a rail. As for the Presididos, well, you remember back in episode 29 when I told you how the newly established

post-revolutionary Mexican government struggles to maintain stability and consistency? Yeah, so as the Mexican government struggles, the presididos lose their staff and funding and effectively stop functioning. So the Californios are left to their own devices, and these farmers and ranchers don't want to keep foreigners out of the area. As the Mexican government struggles, they're more than happy to keep commerce alive by trading with Americans via overland trade routes or with the American, British, and Russian ships that come into their ports at Monterey and San Francisco. Money's money, you know? In turn, this trade allows stories of the opportunities in California. Land, easy climates, land. Did I mention land? To start trickling east along with Mexican goods.

And soon, Americans start thinking that heading west and settling down in the fertile western valleys of the Mexican province of Alta, California, sounds like a great idea. As you likely recall from the last episode, Manifest Destiny and a rough recession are motivating settlers to head across a nearly established trail to Oregon country by the early 1840s. It even has a few trading posts along the way. But there's no regularly traveled road to California. Only mountain men and explorers travel from the U.S. state of Missouri to the California coast and back. No one even knows if immigrants with wagons can make the trip. But in 1841, a group of crazy brave, or just straight crazy, people decide to find out.

Ready for the first wagon train to the future golden state? Here we go. Some 50 California Dreaming immigrants meet up at Elms Grove, Missouri. And yes, if you're thinking, wait, isn't that about where the Oregon Trail immigrants often start their trek? You're right. Once again, I'll remind you that California-bound crowds will follow the Oregon Trail for quite a ways. So our crew does that. They're even traveling with other pioneers who are heading to Oregon country's Willamette Valley.

Including the Oregon-bound crowd, the group number's just over 70. Now first things first, they've got to elect a party leader. They select a 50-something man from Jackson, Missouri named John Barlson as their captain and go with the adventurous, literate 22-year-old whose beard would make any mountain man or hipster jealous, John Bidwell, as secretary. Hence their name, the Barlson-Bidwell Party. The newly minted Barlson-Bidwell Party heads out on May 19, 1841, and although we have a captain and a secretary, they're going to get a guide. See, Thomas Broken Hand Fitzpatrick, seriously, Broken Hand is the guy's at least until they reach Fort Hall near 21st century Pocatello, Idaho. From there, Broken Hand will give them a few tips to make it the rest of the way to California. Basically, if you're a Game of Thrones fan, just think of Broken Hand as serving as the hand for Captain Barlson.

Our motley crew of families, missionaries, adventure seekers, and their guide now continue west on the Oregon Trail. But even with the experienced broken hand at their helm, it's not all smooth sailing. Some group members aren't getting along. I mean, after the tales about pioneer groups in the last episode, that probably doesn't shock you, but this now mixture of pious missionaries and the much larger, less-than-perfect Barlson-Bidwell party isn't exactly, well, a match made in heaven. Devout Christian Joseph Williams gets quite frustrated. For instance, after a nasty thunderstorm soaks the camp one afternoon, Joseph complains in his diary, quote,

that night dreadful odes were heard all over the campground. Oh, the wickedness of the wicked, close quote. But Joseph endures. When the Bartleson group reaches Soda Springs, about 70 miles east of Fort Hall, they part ways with the missionaries and their guide, Broken Hand Fitzpatrick. At this point, 33 people intend to go to California, with or without a guide. The group includes,

of course, Captain John Barlson and bearded secretary John Bidwell. Among others, we also have brothers Andrew and Benjamin Kelsey and Ben's wife Nancy, as well as their one-year-old baby girl. Anyway, Broken Hand now gives the Barrelson party as detailed directions to California as he can, but his knowledge of the region is scanty at best. This happens less now thanks to smartphones, but we've all received directions from someone using caveats like, I think, or yeah, I'm pretty sure. You know what I'm pretty sure. You know what I'm talking about, right? This is one of those moments. Nancy says they basically have to, quote,

smell their way, close quote, through the desert. They head southwest from Soda Springs, following the Bear River, then follow the northern shores of the Great Salt Lake. But they turn south too soon and miss the headwaters of the life-sustaining Humboldt River. Crap. The party now treks across what you and I know as the desert of northern Nevada for days with very little grass for their animals or water for the party. As they travel through the unforgiving landscape, one by one the pioneers ditch their wagons. First, brothers Andrew and

Benjamin Kelsey, along with Benjamin's wife Nancy and their baby girl, leave their two wagons in the shadow of a mountain explorer John Fremont dubbed Pilot's Peak. The three hardy adults pack a few belongings onto their mules and oxen and prepare to walk hundreds of miles. I mean, they might technically be in Alta, California, but they're still in what will become the state of Nevada, so this group has a long way to go. Only three days later, everyone else in the Bartleson-Bidwell party follows the example of the Kelseys and ditches their wagons. It's already September 15th, so they have to pick up the pace if they have any hope of crossing the Sierra Nevada

Mountains before winter. The pioneers leave the wagons and any burdensome gear they have left at the base of the small Pequot Mountains and set out on foot. Since the party is, apart from Ben and Nancy's baby, entirely made up of healthy adults, they make good time. They quickly find the Humboldt River and the party uses this meandering waterway as their guide to cross the arid Great Basin. By the time they reach the intimidating Sierras though, they're out of food.

So one by one, they eat the pack animals. And without a guide, Bartleson, Bidwell, the Kelsey clan, and the rest of the men have no idea where to find safe passage over the granite boulder strewn mountains. So like that time your GPS completely led you astray, they end up adding at least 100 unnecessary miles to their trek by heading south and crossing at modern day Walker Pass. Yet, despite the detour, the entire party makes it safely to the fertile valleys of California. All right, the California Trail is officially open for business.

Well, sort of. It's more of a soft opening, like what will happen when future California's Disneyland opens in 1955 and most of the rides don't work. Anyway, since the Bartleson-Bidwell party left their wagons in the middle of nowhere and hiked over the mountains Von Trapp family style, though probably with less singing, no one knows if a wagon train of families can actually cross the Sierras. But even with this small uptick in American settlers arriving in the Mexican province, some Californios start to get a little nervous. After all, it's only been a few years since the Texas Revolution we discussed in episode 29. Remember the Alamo!

Now, the Mexican-American War is still a few years off, and we aren't going there today. But rumors that America wants to take California by force are making the rounds. That's how Commodore Thomas Abt Cassie Jones, aka Tack Jones, comes to think there's a war on. He reads, war's broken out, in a Mexican newspaper no less. By the way, we met this heroic naval officer in episode 26 when he was a young lieutenant commanding a small, grossly outnumbered naval force on Lake Bourne during the War of 1812. Remember? Now the commander of three U.S. Navy ships in the Pacific, Tack acts on this quote-unquote news by rushing off to seize Alta California's capital, Monterey. His Pacific squadron arrives

on October 19, 1842. By the next day, taken off guard Mexican army captain Mariano Silva and his 45 ill-trained, practically unarmed men have surrendered to tax 150 men, three ships, and 60 some odd guns. Without a shot fired, old glory is flying over the small Mexican redoubt. Was this too easy? Looking around at the total lack of Mexican defenses and the non-existence of a U.S. Army presence, Tack starts to put two and two together. The abashed commander realizes he's fought a battle in a non-existent war. Hashtag awkward. Tack lowers the stars and stripes, returns the fort to the Mexican soldiers,

and weighs anchor on October 21st, less than 48 hours after arriving in Monterey. The classy and respectful Tack even salutes the Mexican flag as his fleet sails into the sunset, but the genie can't go entirely back in the bottle. Though born of a misunderstanding, tax seizure of Monterey only confirms the turbulent Mexican government's fear that America has its eye on California. But like I said before, war is still a few years out, and that's a story for another day. Besides, we still have to finish establishing the California Trail. Want to learn how you can make smarter decisions with your money? Well, I've got the podcast for another day. Besides, we still have to finish establishing the California Trail. Thank you. Instead, we offer practical knowledge that you can apply in your everyday life. You'll learn about strategies to help you build your wealth, invest wisely, shop for financial products, and plan for major life events. And you'll walk away with the confidence you need to ensure that your money is always working as hard as you are.

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Subscribe to Conflicted wherever you get your podcasts. Explorers and other brave men and women seeking opportunity in the West keep attempting to get wagons over the formidable Sierras. In 1843, Chiles, a man who traveled with the 1841 Barlston Party, tries again to lead a group of wagons through the mountains. No dice. They have to leave their wagons behind and hoof it over the mountains themselves. But come 1844, Elijah Stevens' party makes magic happen.

They get their wagons, animals, adults, and children over the Sierras. Finally, the California Trail is a viable immigrant route. This party, made up of 23 men, 8 women, and 15 kids traveling in family groups, follows much of the same route as the Barlson Group. But with better info, they turn southwest of Fort Hall, avoid the Great Salt Lake and its salt flats altogether, and find the Humboldt River without a hitch. And in the Truckee Meadows at the eastern base of the Sierra Mountains, where the 21st century city of Reno sits, party leader Elijah gets help from local Paiute Indians. Good idea. The Paiute chief, whom the pioneers call Truckee, gives them travel tips that are

just as good as the ones you got on TripAdvisor for your last vacation. He tells the group to follow the large river, which John Fremont calls the Salmon Trout River, flowing right out of the mountains. It leads them to a large, clear lake, and from its shores, they'll see the summit. Then they can navigate easily enough down the Sierra's western slopes. The travelers are so grateful to the chief that they ditch Fremont's prosaic name and call it the Truckee River. They also name the clear blue lake, Truckee Lake. Think of this like a 19th century five-star review. Chief Truckee's easy-to-follow directions lead the pioneers safely through the mountains.

Even Mary Murphy and her six-day-old baby crest the 7,000-foot summit. They do lose one wagon, though, as the men hoist them one by one with chains and ropes over the granite boulders and cliffs near the summit. Despite this loss, the party arrives safely at Sutter's Fort in the western foothills of the Sierras. They've proven wagons can make it.

Whew! No more soft open. The California Trail is legit. And with the trail truly being open, there's one ambitious pioneer we met in the last episode who's looking to use it for his own fame and glory. Lansford W. Hastings. This is the Ohio-born lawyer who traveled to Oregon in 1842 and took over as his party's captain after Elijah White had 22 dogs executed.

Remember that? Honestly, how could you forget? It turns out Oregon doesn't hold enough opportunity for the dark-haired 20-something, once described by a fellow Oregon pioneer as, quote, an aspiring sort of man, close quote. So looking to make a name for himself, wannabe explorer Lanceford Hastings travels south to California. Thankfully, he can't get his own reality TV show at this point, but he does write and publish a book on immigrating to Oregon and California.

The Immigrant's Guide to Oregon and California is a do-it-yourself manual for Oregon and California-bound pioneers. It offers advice about what to bring and what to expect. I even cited the book in the last episode, as you might recall. Well, in it, Lansford mentions in passing a supposed shortcut on the California Trail. To quote him, The most direct route for the California immigrants would be to leave the Oregon route about 200 miles east from Fort Hall, thence bear west-southwest to the Salt Lake, and thence continue down to the Bay of San Francisco by the route just described. Close quote. He also writes that this route could save hundreds of miles.

Of course, he fails to specify just how many miles it would save because he doesn't actually know. Well, the book's a hit, and as copies fly off the shelves, Lansford figures he's ready to guide a wagon train from Fort Bridger to California. The star on Arise could stay in California, join the U.S. military, and possibly gain military glory in the annexation of Alta California from Mexico, but that's a big gamble.

It's 1845, and right now, the idea of war is still just a rumor that makes loyal Mexican citizens nervous. So Lansford heads east in early spring of 1846 and intercepts California-bound wagon trains. He plans to act the part of Moses, leading people through the desert to the promised land. And it's on the eastbound wagonless trip that Lansford Hastings explores his suggested cutoff bearing his name, Hastings Cutoff, for the first time. Meanwhile, in May 1846, a large company of westbound wagons under the command of retired Colonel William Henry Russell sets off from Missouri.

But the large party has a few smaller groups within it. The families and wagons of George Donner, his brother Jacob Donner, and wealthy three-wagon leading James Reed, who we met in the opening of this episode, are traveling to California. They have Lansford's new book and mean to take the cutoff. The not-yet-official Donner party arrives at Fort Laramie at the end of June, where they run into James Clyman, a former travel-savvy companion of the book-writing, hopeful guide, Lansford. James warns the Donner crew not to take Lansford's advertised new route. See, James Clyman actually served in the Black Hawk War with rich, haughty family man James Reed. They know and respect one another.

So from one old soldier to another, Clyman bluntly tells James Reed, quote, Take the regular wagon track and never leave it. It is barely possible to get through if you follow it, and it may be impossible if you don't. The somewhat stubborn James Reed shoots back that he means to get to California as quickly as possible. There is a Nyer route, and it is of no use to take so much of a roundabout course. By this, James means that he and the rest of the people traveling with the Donner brothers intend to follow Lansford's vaguely suggested cutoff and

head straight west from Fort Bridger. After they leave James Kleinman at Fort Laramie on July 17th, a writer meets them on the road with information that sways several families. The eastbound man has an open letter from Lansford Hastings himself addressed to, quote, all immigrants now on the road, close quote. The guidebook author offers to meet immigrants at Fort Bridger and guide them in person across his new route. If they had any lingering doubts about Lansford Hastings' cutoff, this letter sweeps them away. So on July 19th, all the pioneers who want to take the untested Hastings cutoff separate from other California bound groups and elect George Donner as their leader, officially becoming the Donner Party.

And using this cutoff is going to be the party's undoing. Brace yourselves. Here we go. A little behind schedule already, the excited Donner party hustle to catch well-known Lansford at the rendezvous point. But when they arrive at Fort Bridger on July 27th, the group learns their guide is left without them. Now, I don't want to get all judgy on these people, but Lansford's already failing to keep his word. That's a red flag. And honestly, the Donner Party can still easily rejoin the main California trail. But they don't. Instead, they follow the advice of Fort Bridges Park owner, Louis Vasquez, who has financial incentive to promote this route passing by his trading post. But James Reed sees Louis as a, quote,

very excellent and accommodating gentleman, close quote, who treats the party, to quote him again, honorably and fairly, close quote. So when the fort's other owner, Jim Bridger, says the Hastings Cut-Off is a, quote, fine, level road with plenty of water and grass. Close quote. They blindly believe him and follow Lansford's faint tracks. They encounter their first problem only six days later. Lansford leaves a note at the mouth of Weber Canyon, a steep river canyon that cuts through the rugged Wasatch Mountains. He writes that the narrow, rocky opening is impassable by wagon,

and the Donner party should send a messenger to catch up with him. He promises to come back and help them find safe passage through the mountain range. After a quick huddle, the men in the group vote to send James Reed, Charles Stanton, and William Pike on horseback to find Lansford and get help. But when the three riders catch up with their guide in the more advanced wagon train, Lansford refuses to turn back and guide them. Seriously, people, that's a red flag. Instead, this flake of a guide takes James to the top of a rise and points out some vague directions so that James, who may be wealthy enough to have three wagons on the road, but has no trailblazing experience, can guide his entire party through the mountains alone.

Damn, that's cold. As James and the other two men ride back, Lansford-less, to their party, he tries to mark a path the wagons could possibly take through the mountains. When he returns on August 10th, he dejectedly tells his fellow travelers that no expert help is coming, but he has found a way through which is, quote, fair, but would take considerable labor in clearing and digging, close quote. By this time, the Graves party, another family trying to cut off, has caught up with the Donner party. This brings their totals up to 23 wagons and 87 people.

Since the only way out is through, the party starts cutting a wagon road through virgin terrain. The men of the party hack their way through what 21st century Utahns call East Canyon and Immigration Canyon. 12-year-old Virginia Reed describes the backbreaking work. Quote, only those who have passed through this country on horseback can appreciate the situation. There was absolutely no road, not even a trail. The canyon wound around among the hills. Heavy underbrush had to be cut away and used for making a roadbed. Close quote. After 12 days of this, well, James Reed says 18, and William Graves says 40, but maybe he's just waxing biblical. The discouraged party makes its way into Salt Lake Valley. Young Patrick Breen rejoices, quote,

It gave us great courage, close quote. Well, good. They're going to need it. Just beyond the valley full of streams and tall grasses lie the salt flats, so they take a few days to rest their animals and gather water and grass for their upcoming trek across the waterless desert. George Donner's wife, Tamsin, finds a note from Lansford which reads, quote, two days, two nights, hard driving, cross desert, reach water, close quote. And George Donner reads in Lansford Hastings' guidebook that the flats are 40 miles wide.

But anyone who's ever had the pleasure of watching a speed race on the Bonneville Salt Flats, or the misfortune of driving across the desert between modern-day Salt Lake City and Wendover, Nevada, knows damn well that the flats extend twice that length. So thanks, Lansford. This won't be pretty. The party starts across the flats gamely on August 30th, but after three days of hard driving, day and night, many oxen give out. Several in the party are forced to unyoke their teams, leave their wagons, and hike out of the desert on foot. James Reed unyokes his multiple pairs of oxen and sends the dehydrated animals with his wagon drivers to find water. He then leads his wife, four young children,

and four dogs across the desert on foot. Just like everyone else, they plan to come back for their wagons once the animals are watered and fed. But in the middle of the night, his exhausted kids give out. The youngest is only three after all. James may be bullheaded, but he's no slave driver. He says, quote, I stopped, spread a blanket and laid them down, covering them with shawls. In a short time, a cold hurricane commenced blowing. The children soon complained of the cold.

Having four dogs with us, I had them lie down with the children outside the covers. They were then kept warm. Close quote. The warmth and rest don't last long, though. A loose steer, driven mad with thirst, charges at the sleeping family. Only their barking dogs save them from getting trampled. Even though it's still dark, with cold winds howling across the desert, the reeds walk miles to the edge of the barrens where other families have set up a makeshift camp.

Once the sun is up, James realizes his teamsters have lost all the cattle save two. And the reeds aren't the only ones whose animals wandered or stampeded in a desperate search for water. The entire party spends precious days hunting down enough oxen and cows for their wagons, which have to be rescued from the desert. In the end, the Donner party loses 36 head of cattle and has to abandon four wagons.

Running low on supplies and knowing how far behind they are by now, some families combine wagons to continue on, hoping to meet the Humboldt River and the main trail within a few days. The party also votes to send Charles Stanton and William McCutcheon ahead to Sutter's Fort. The men promise to gather supplies and return to the party as quick as possible. On September 26th, when the entire party had hoped to be over the Sierras and safely in California, they reunite with the main trail. The too-good-to-be-true cutoff has added an extra 125 miles.

They spent 68 days on the supposed shortcut trail, while parties on the main road took only 37. I bet these guys are kicking themselves for ignoring James Kleiman's advice back at Fort Laramie. With weak animals, tired kids, low supplies, and high tempers, the party treks west. And that's their disposition when they hit that hill on October 5th. Yeah, you remember this episode's opening. This is when James murders John. Or kills in self-defense. But no matter whose side you come down on, the party responds by banishing James Reed.

He finds himself alone on the trail while his wife and four children stay with the party. But James' banishment hardly fixes the infighting. A few weeks down the trail, you can still cut the Donner party's tension with a knife. Before the wagon train reaches the base of the Sierras, two more men and their party disappear. Hardcoop, an elderly Belgian man riding in Louis Keesburg's wagon gets kicked out to save weight. Hard Koop asks others for a ride because he can't keep pace with the wagons. No one will take him. He tries to walk along the trail but can't keep up and is never seen again. Later, the supposedly wealthy German immigrant Wolfinger heads a little ways off the trail to cash some supplies.

Louis Kiesberg and two other teamsters offer to go with him. The last three all return to camp, but Mr. Wolfinger doesn't. Louis only offers vague replies that the missing man will, quote, be along soon, close quote. Uh-huh. The party keeps heading west. The German immigrant never shows up. The exhausted Donner party finally arrives at the Truckee Meadows, again, think modern-day Reno, Nevada, on October 16th. But instead of pushing on and hoping the men they sent ahead for supplies will meet them on the mountain pass, the party votes to rest in the valley.

John Breen writes that, quote, the weather was already very cold and the heavy clouds hanging over the mountains to the west were strong indications of an approaching winter. Some wanted to stop and rest their cattle. Others, in fear of the snow, were in favor of pushing ahead as fast as possible. Close quote. Good grief.

If you haven't noticed by now, this group of travelers makes poor decisions together. I mean, first they take Hastings' cutoff against good advice, then they stick with the cutoff even without a guide, and their disorganization on the trail has led to Lord of the Flies style infighting. So it's no surprise that they make the fatal error of resting at the base of the mountains for 10 freaking days before following the Truckee River over the Sierras. While traveling up to Truckee Lake, Charles Stanton, one of the guys they sent ahead for supplies back at the Salt Flats, meets them. He has seven mules laden with supplies and two guides from Sutter's Fort. His partner, William McCutcheon, stayed behind due to illness.

Lucky bastard. The much-needed supplies and food help the party get to Truckee Lake, but if they ever had any luck, it's run out. On October 30th, while the entire party camps at Alder Creek less than 10 miles from the lake, it snows eight inches. Many people think they can still make it to the summit if they just keep pushing, but then George Donner slices almost all the way through his hand trying to fix his wagon, so the Donner family stay at the creek. The rest of the party makes it to the lake. Dutiful journal writer, Irish-born Patrick Breen says, we pushed on as fast as our failing castle could haul our almost empty wagons. At last, we reached the foot of the main ridge near Truckee Lake. It was sundown. The weather was clear,

but the large circle around the moon indicated an approaching storm. This is a bad omen. Before anyone in the party can crest the summit, five more feet of snow falls. It's time to hunker down. Now down to 81 people, the marooned-in snow party desperately tries to get a few shelters up. There's an old, abandoned cabin that the nine brains move into. The four Keesburgs build a lean-to next to it. The Graves family throws up a pine log cabin with a makeshift wall in the middle. They take one side and banish James Reed's wife, Margaret, with her four kids to the other. The large Murphy clan builds one

last cabin and shares it with William and Eleanor Eddy and their two toddlers. And back at the creek, the two Donner families, along with their teamsters and Doris Wolfinger, share two tents. The hired help and single travelers squeeze in wherever they can find a free corner. On November 4th, winter sets in. It snows for eight straight days. The trap pioneers hope a rescue party will reach them before the fresh supplies run out. Some of the campers butcher their few remaining oxen and freeze the meat in the snow, but with snowdrifts as deep as 15 feet, just finding the animals is an ordeal. Party members who traveled ahead, like William McCutcheon and banished James Reed, wait at Sutter's Fort for

the rest of the party. They organize rescue efforts as soon as the first snowstorm passes in mid-November and their friends and family haven't arrived safely. Meanwhile, the Donner Party members stuck at the lake plot ways to get themselves and their kids out of this mess. In early December, a party of 17 healthy men and women, according to William Graves, quote, resolve to go through or die in the attempt.

Close quote. But these two rescue attempts fail. James Reed's first rescue party has to turn back because of the snow. The 17 snowshoers flounder in the snow for a month, and they become the first of the Donner party to resort to cannibalism to stay alive. They find help in January, but only seven of the snowshoers survive, and of those, only William Eddy is well enough to make a return rescue trip. Meanwhile, the meager supply of frozen beef dwindles and disappears, leaving most people to subsist on boiled hides. Virginia Reed describes the harrowing days of snow, starvation, and even death as the stranded members of the Donner Party wait for help. Quote, the storm would often last 10 days at a time and we would have to cut chips from the logs inside which formed our cabins in order to start

a fire. We would drag ourselves through the snow from one cabin to another, and some mornings, snow would have to be shoveled out of the fireplace before a fire could be made. Poor little children were crying with hunger, and mothers were crying because they This desperation leads a few people at the camp to cannibalism. Some refuse to eat human flesh, but after days of no food, listening to their children cry and watching others die, the Murphy and Donner families give in to their hunger and fear first. They only eat people who have already died, but even dead children, like three-year-old James Eddy, are eaten. Eventually, every one of the survivors except the Reed family eats some human flesh in order to make it through the winter. Finally, in February, a relief party makes it to the camps,

finding half-starved people and a few butchered bodies in the cabins. A second party arrives only a few weeks later on March 1st. But when the worst storm of the winter strands the second rescue party in the snow as they cross the summit on foot, a third relief party has to rescue them. In what can only be described as selfless heroism, third rescue party member John Stark makes sure every one of the surviving men, women, and children in the second group escape certain death by carrying them to safety. The rest of the third rescue party moves on to help the last survivors at the campsite. They find six people at the lake cabins.

Louis Keesburg, Laveena Murphy and her youngest son Simon, and Tamsin Donner's three younger daughters. Francis, Georgia, and Eliza, ages 5, 4, and 3, respectively. They also trek over to the Donner family tents at nearby Alder Creek. Here, the men find Tamsin sitting by her two-week-to-walk dying husband, George. She agrees to come to the late cabins, but only to make arrangements for her daughters. The rescuers must leave immediately. They know all too well that they could get caught in a blizzard, just like the second rescue group did a few weeks ago. Keesburg refuses to go,

and Laveena Murphy is too weak, so the rescuers bundle up the children and ask Tamsen to join them. She refuses. She's already made up her mind to stay with her husband until his dying breath, and leaves her three baby girls to the care of friends. What a gut-wrenching decision. As she walks back to her tent, the rescuers call to her that they can't wait and she must come with them. She doesn't hesitate or turn back, walking resolutely back to her husband. The party of rescuers and surviving kids quickly head the opposite direction towards the summit. Young Georgia Donner later says,

quote, there was hardly time for words or actions and none for tears. Close quote. The party of parentless children and brave rescuers make it to safety. The last rescue mission heads into the mountains in April and finds only Louis Keesburg, who's eating newly dead Tamsin Donner's flesh to stay alive.

Because of this grisly discovery, even though most members of the Donner party resorted to some degree of cannibalism, Louis's reputation as a rabid, eager cannibal will follow him the rest of his life. By April 1847, all Donner party members are out of the Sierras. Of the 87 people who started on Hastings Cut-Off, only 48 survive. The Reed and Breen families make it out intact, but the surviving kids of both Donner families and the Graves family are orphaned. William Eddy and Louis Keesburg lose their entire families. The survivors emerge from the snowbound mountains emaciated, frostbitten, and dirty, but alive. Virginia Reed writes a few details of her family's ordeal to her cousins back in Illinois. She ends her letter with some sage

advice. Quote, never take no cutoffs and hurry along as fast as you can. Close quote. Truer words were never spoken, and no other wagon trains will take Hastings Cut-Off to California again. Yet even the tragic experience of the Donner Party doesn't discourage California-bound immigrants. They named the pass over the Sierras Donner Pass and renamed Truckee Lake, where so many of the doomed party died, Donner Lake. But Americans keep coming, with a marked increase in 1847 and 48 no less. There's only more incentive to trek west when a man building a sawmill near Sutter's Fort finds gold. Now I've mentioned Sutter's Fort a few times, so let me give you some details about this place.

John Sutter's lived in California since about 1839, when he set up a small trading post away from coastal Spanish settlements. Since then, he's been building, well, an empire with the profits of surrounding ranches and farms pouring into his own pocket. Unfortunately for the mustachioed Swiss immigrant, the political and military upheavals in California in the 1840s that you heard about with Tack Jones and Lansford Hastings has nearly bankrupted him. Sure, he got a land grant of nearly 50,000 acres on the Sacramento River from the Mexican authorities, which he's been selling and giving to incoming settlers, but the recent war with Mexico, which I promise is a story for another episode, is bad for business. So John hires James Marshall to build a sawmill about 45 miles up a river from his fort to bring in some cash. In January 1848, James goes to inspect the worksite. He's been paying a crew of guys a great wage, 25 bucks a month, to put in the mill,

but it's not their work that catches his attention. As he inspects the worksite, James finds a small gold-like pebble. Hang on, it's not gold-like. It's actual gold. Just lying there in the small stream bed. James goes back to the fort and shows John. They do some tests and it's gold all right. But the two jaded men don't freak out. I mean, James' workers have been digging for weeks at the mill site, and this is the only gold they've found. There's probably more money in the sawmill business, they figure. So work continues on the mill without interruption.

Then come March, one of the laborers, Henry Bigler, gets an idea. He tells the guys he's going on a goose hunt, but actually heads about 20 miles down river to pan for gold. With the recent heavy rains, he figures any loose gold would have washed downstream. Henry's right. Within a few days,

the enterprising man has found $30 worth of gold. That's over a month's wages. Now, Henry's a member of this rather new church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, usually called Mormons, working in California with other members of his faith. He tells his friends, and pretty soon, a lot of them are panning for gold too.

By the end of April, they've basically quit working on the sawmill and are raking in over a hundred dollars a day in gold with that kind of money to be made men from all over northern california come to the american river in the early spring hundreds of drop whatever else you're doing and get rich quick miners establish two productive panning sites one's called mormon island which is obviously a nod to hen. The other's called Negro Bar, because this is where free black miners work. By the way, as uncomfortable as this is,

that'll still be its name in the 21st century. The guys working these sites gather as much gold as they can throughout the spring of 48 and verify their findings. Sure, one guy finding one gold pebble in one small ravine in the foothills of the Sierras is exciting for a day, but verified and established mining sites that produce high quality gold consistently for every miner that shows up, that's worth getting out of bed for. But how does word spread beyond the region around Sutter's Fort? Well, if Henry Bigler has a good idea to pan for gold down a river, his friend and fellow Mormon, Sam Brannan, has a once-in-a-lifetime epiphany that will make him some serious money.

He looks at the men panning and digging for gold and realizes they all have something in common. They need equipment. Entrepreneurial Sam puts his plan into motion immediately. In the summer of 1848, he heads to Sutter's Fort, about 30 miles from the mining sites, and starts working on a warehouse and store. Then, and this is the important part of the whole scheme. He travels 90 miles west to San Francisco with a glass vial full of gold flakes. He walks the streets waving the bottle and shouting, Gold! Gold! Gold on the American River!

Sam's news basically empties San Francisco overnight. Now don't get too excited. The sleepy port town only has a few hundred residents. But still, it's a port town. And while word quickly spreads to other California towns, it also starts trickling back to the eastern United States. So it's Sam's epic publicity stunt that takes the gold rush to a national level. By late summer 1848, there are about 5,000 people in mining camps on the American River, all of them buying supplies from the ready and waiting Sam.

But that number is about to go through the roof as gutsy, enterprising, adventurous Americans hear about gold out West and get ready to hit the California Trail. In 1849, about 90,000 people arrive in California. Roughly 90% of these pioneers are men traveling without their families. The gold seekers come from all walks of life, farmers, lawyers, day laborers. Some are rough cut and humble, sure, but others are well educated and sophisticated. As one gold seeker, William White, explains,

To look at the miners in those days, the first impression you would get was that they were all of a rough cast of men. Their uncut hair, their long beards, their red flannel shirts. But get into a conversation with this man and you will find, to your surprise, in nine cases out of ten, a refined, intelligent, educated American, his whole heart on his old home and those he has left there. Whatever their backgrounds, they all arrive at Sutter's Fort and Sam's Supply Store around August 1849. Some come over land, others sail into San Francisco Bay, but no matter how they come, this group become the 49ers. Oh, and to be clear, we are still talking about minors,

not football players. Some people really do strike it rich in the first year of the gold rush. Others get lost in the crowds. While San Brandon's supply warehouse and store are a huge success, John Sutter falls behind the curve. Between a half-finished sawmill and none of the gold claims being on his huge track of land, he can't cash in on the new discovery or his dream empire. Henry Bigler and most of the other members of his faith take their gold and head east to rejoin their families. The road they build over the Sierras gets used by almost every westward bound gold hunter, ensuring that most travelers from here on out will make it safely over the treacherous mountains that trap the Donners. So the California Trail is fully broken in. Hordes of gold seekers will

come west on the southwestern offshoot of the Oregon Trail, further fulfilling America's idea of manifest destiny. And with that, we have two legs of the Oregon Trail down, one to go. History That Doesn't Suck is created and hosted by me, Greg Jackson. Research and writing, Greg Jackson and C.L. Salazar. Production and sound design, Josh Beatty of J.B. Audio Design. Musical score, composed and performed by Greg Jackson and Diana Averill. For a bibliography of all primary and secondary sources

consulted in writing this episode, visit historythatdoesntsuck.com. Join me in two weeks where I'd like to tell you a story. puts them at producer status. Henry Brunges, Jake Gilbreth, James G. Bledsoe, Janie McCreary, Jeff Marks, Jennifer Moods, Jennifer Magnolia, Jeremy Wells, Jessica Poppock, Joe Dobis, John Frugaldugel, John Boovey, John Keller, John Oliveros, John Radlavich, John Schaefer, John Sheff, Jordan Corbett, Joshua Steiner, Justin M. Spriggs, Justin May, Kristen Pratt, Karen Bartholomew, Cassie Conecco, Kim R., Kyle Decker, Lawrence Neubauer, Linda Cunningham, Mark Ellis, Matthew Mitchell, Matthew Simmons, Melanie Jan, Nick Caffrel, Noah Hoff, Owen Sedlak, Paul Goranger, Randy Thanks for watching!