History of the Donner Party

History of the Donner Party, by
C.F. McGlashan

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Title: History of the Donner Party
Author: C.F. McGlashan
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History of the Donner Party
A Tragedy of the Sierra

By C. F. McGlashan
Truckee, Cal.

To Mrs. Elizabeth A. Keiser, One of the Pioneer Mothers of California,
This Book is Respectfully Dedicated by the Author.

Preface.

The delirium preceding death by starvation, is full of strange phantasies.

Visions of plenty, of comfort, of elegance, flit ever before the
fast-dimming eyes. The final twilight of death is a brief
semi-consciousness in which the dying one frequently repeats his weird
dreams. Half rising from his snowy couch, pointing upward, one of the
death-stricken at Donner Lake may have said, with tremulous voice:
"Look! there, just above us, is a beautiful house. It is of costliest walnut,
inlaid with laurel and ebony, and is resplendent with burnished silver.
Magnificent in all its apartments, it is furnished like a palace. It is rich
with costly cushions, elegant tapestries, dazzling mirrors; its floor is
covered with Oriental carpets, its ceiling with artistic frescoings;
downy cushions invite the weary to repose. It is filled with people who
are chatting, laughing, and singing, joyous and care-free. There is an
abundance of warmth, and rare viands, and sparkling wines. Suspended
among the storm-clouds, it is flying along the face of the precipice at a
marvelous speed. Flying? no! it has wheels and is gliding along on a
smooth, steel pathway. It is sheltered from the wind and snow by large
beams and huge posts, which are bolted to the cliffs with heavy, iron
rods. The avalanches, with their burden of earth and rocks and crushed
pines, sweep harmlessly above this beautiful house and its happy
inmates. It is drawn by neither oxen nor horses, but by a fiery,
hot-breathed monster, with iron limbs and thews of, steel. The
mountain trembles beneath his tread, and the rocks for miles re-echo
his roar."
If such a vision was related, it but indicates, prophetically, the progress
of a few years. California's history is replete with tragic, startling
events. These events are the landmarks by which its advancement is
traced. One of the most mournful of these is recorded in this work - a
work intended as a contribution, not to the literature, but to the history
of the State. More thrilling than romance, more terrible than fiction, the
sufferings of the Donner Party form a bold contrast to the joys of
pleasure-seekers who to-day look down upon the lake from the
windows of silver palace cars.
The scenes of horror and despair which transpired in the snowy Sierra
in the winter of 1846-7, need no exaggeration, no embellishment. From
all the works heretofore published, from over one thousand letters

received from the survivors, from ample manuscript, and from personal
interviews with the most important actors in the tragedy, the facts have
been carefully compiled. Neither time, pains, nor expense have been
spared in ferreting out the truth. New and fragmentary versions of the
sad story have appeared almost every year since the unfortunate
occurrence. To forever supplant these distorted and fabulous reports -
which have usually been sensational new articles - the survivors have
deemed it wise to contribute the truth. The truth is sufficiently terrible.
Where conflicting accounts of particular scenes or occurrences have
been contributed, every effort has been made to render them
harmonious and reconcilable. With justice, with impartiality, and with
strict adherence to what appeared truthful and reliable, the book has
been written. It is