Donner Party free essay sample

Document Study: Donner Party 1. The Donner Party was made up of the Donner brothers, George and Jacob, along with their wives and children, all adding up to 8 people, they were the main members. The families set off with another friend, John Denton, six wagons and two teamsters, Noah James and Samuel Shoemaker. The Reeds were another key family and they consisted of James Reed, his wife Margaret and their three children. Also travelling with them were: Virginia Reed (Margaret’s daughter from a previous marriage), Margaret’s mother and 5 employees: A servant, Eliza Williams, her half-brother, Baylis, and three teamsters. Hiram Miller also travelled with the Reeds as an employee. The Breen’s (9 in total), Eddy’s (4 in total), Murphy’s (13 in total), the Keseberg’s and Hardkoop (6 in total), the Wolfinger’s, Spitzer and Reinhardt (4 in total), McCutchen’s (3 in total), Graves’ (12 in total), Stanton, Halloran, Antonio and Trudeau were the others who made up the party. 2. Virginia Elizabeth Reed was Margaret Reeds daughter from a previous marriage. She was 13 years of age when she left with the Donner Party. She wasn’t formally adopted by James Reed, but he was her legal guardian and treated her like one of his own children. Her writings have become the most invaluable source of information regarding the Donner Party’s experiences on their trek. 3. In her letters, with the innocent and naive perspective of a child, Virginia Reed writes about her experiences as a member of the fateful Donner Party. The letters are addressed to her cousin, Mary (â€Å"My dear cousin Mary) and all state â€Å"I take this opportunity to write to you now, that we are all well at present†. She explains and illustrates to her cousin the trouble that her family went through on their journey to California. We see that, until they came to the â€Å"Big Sandy†, they did not have any troubles but when they crossed the desert, some of their best oxen were lost, their â€Å"best yoke of oxen’s† and are forced to sell some of their supplies to replace the animals. She then goes on to explain how the Donner Party was then forced to take a short cut, â€Å"Hastings’s Cut-off†, over the Salt Plains. Apparently, the Donner Party saved three hundred miles but was forced to go through a ong drive of â€Å"40 miles without water†. They eventually reach the mountains and experience on of their coldest nights. To escape the freezing temperatures, Virginia tells us that â€Å"We spread one shawl down, we laid down on it and spread another over us and then put the dogs on top†. She further states that, â€Å"if it hadnt been for the dogs w e would have frozen†. The Party lost their cattle and were forced to halve their provisions. Soon enough, the Reeds are forced to pack all their provisions onto a single mule and trek through snow which was so deep â€Å"we could not go over†. They were forced to build cabins and withstand the horrid weather in the Sierra Nevada from November through to March. They had to resort to killing their dog for food and then buried his carcass. Ten members of the group die from starvation and malnutrition and Virginia states that â€Å"we was hardly able to walk†. Their bleak situation is made even more profound as the letter goes on. Finally â€Å"pa† arrives back from seeking help and manages to bring them to safety. Virginia remains proud that throughout the ordeal the Reeds were the â€Å"only family that did not eat human flesh†. The next letter she writes is much lighter in nature and Virginia outlines to her cousin, Mary, how beautiful California is, exclaiming that, â€Å"We are all very pleased with California† She then goes on to explain how everyone has put on weight and tells Mary that there are many horses. Finally she says, â€Å"It aut to be a beautiful country to pay us for our trouble giting there†, which it was and after all their troubles it was truly deserved! 4. The letters are a comprehensive report of the events the Donner Party experienced on their journey to California. They cover the frightening journey the Donner Party undertook in great detail, especially considering a12 year old girl wrote them! First and foremost, she writes about the harsh and inhospitable conditions the party met along the way. Virginia, however, rarely speaks of the other families and people in the Donner Party, making only a single reference to the Donner’s. After all the families are reunited again after crossing the Great Salt Plains, Virginia only writes of the events which concerned, and involved the Reeds. However, this is probably to be expected because as a 12 year old girl, her sights and priorities would be of her own family. Another major area which she avoids completely is the cannibalism which the other families took part of. The one instance of eating something close to her is when she speaks of eating their dog, Cash. Interestingly, in the original letter she had inked out the line involving ‘Cash’ and its inclusion can only be merited to the Illinois journal, which had the sentence recorded. You can infer that she inked out these lines because she was ashamed of what she did and that could be why she didn’t include it in the letters. However, apart from those areas, the letters are incredibly detailed and comprehensive. 5. This document is priceless as a historical source. Written by Virginia Reed herself, it is a primary source which captures the feelings and experiences she had while on the challenging and disheartening journey the Donner Party underwent. Even though it lacks some parts, it is still an incredibly comprehensive and detailed source.