As the disillusionment of the party increased, tempers began to flare in the group. Settlers would keep as much as they could on their overloaded wagons in hopes of trading once they reached the fort, but that wasn't always possible. Omissions? In the meantime, while the wagon train continued to the base of the summit, George Donners wagon axle broke and he fell behind the rest of the party. Anvils, weapons, plows, kegs, and barrels all dumped. There were a few reasons for it, and Brian Altonensays part of the problem was the saline-alkaline waters of the Platte were the perfect breeding ground for cholera left behind in settlers' waste products. In less than 15 minutes, 21 of the 46 actors in this strange combat were slain or disabled. Twelve of the emigrants were dead and of the forty-eight remaining, many had gone crazy or were barely clinging to life. In 1862 the Sioux made a savage onslaught far east into Minnesota. The latter was finally poisoned by a Mexican woman in 1876. Compiled and edited by Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated December 2021. With James and Margaret Reed were their four children, Virginia, Patty, James, and Thomas, as well as Margarets 70-year-old mother, Sarah Keyes, and two hired servants. The Hide Hunters. At Taos, New Mexico, were several troops of the Second Dragoons under Major Greer. Antonio, Patrick Dolan, Franklin Graves, and Lemuel Murphy soon died and in desperation, the others resorted to cannibalism. Once a band of several hundred Sioux set upon him. The next day, on May 12, 1846, they headed west again in the middle of a thunderstorm. The hardships of weather, limited diet, and exhaustion made travelers very vulnerable to infectious diseases such as cholera, flu, dysentery, measles, mumps, tuberculosis, and typhoid fever which could spread quickly through an entire wagon camp. He was as cruel and heartless an Indian as ever ambushed a stagecoach or murdered helpless women. It was a west-bound Concord, containing a full complement of passengers, including a Mr. White, his wife, child, and colored nurse. Hindsight is 20/20, so let's see if you can guess what went wrong with Brigham Young's plan to bring Mormon converts to their new paradise on Earth. Patrick Breen was a member of the Donner Party and kept a diary of their ordeal during the winter of 1846-47. Miraculously, just three days later on October 19th, one of the men the party had sent on to Fort Sutter Charles Stanton, returned laden with seven mules loaded with beef and flour, two Indian guides, and news of a clear, but difficult path through the SierraNevada. Keseberg was the last member of the Donner Party to arrive at Sutters Fort on April 29th. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The majority of the Donner Party emigrants were children. Immediately a regular volley was poured in from the opposite side; four of the passengers fell dead, another was severely wounded. Two men saved their lives, one feigning death in the bottom of the coach, the other escaping into the brush. As soon as the Spring of 1865 began to freshen the grass, the Indian tribes were again upon the warpath. The rescue parties stumbled across some stragglers, but the most horrific scene was discovered by a Lieutenant Anderson. who were witness to this tragedy. The warriors, or nearly all of them, threw themselves on the ground, and several vertical wounds were received by horse and rider. It was usually safer to keep rifles unloaded.and the third cause was stampeding livestock.Indians proved not to be any real danger to most pioneers. I don't know if anyone recorded the number of dishonest wagon masters, but in the hundreds of wagon trains heading to Oregon or California there certainly were some incompetent ones. Along the way, they discovered that some of their wagons would have to be abandoned and before long, morale began to sink and the pioneers began to adamantly blame Lansford Hastings. It was not pleasant; this sitting perched up on top of a coach, riding through dark ravines and tall grass, in which savages were ever lurking. A note left by Hastings had assured the party that they would be able to cross the desert in just two days, but the journey took five. Tamsen Donner left her dead husband and joined him only a short time before she died, too. However, what they didnt know was that the desert sand was moist and deep, where wagons quickly got bogged down, severely slowing their progress. Satisfied, the emigrants rested for a few days at the fort, making repairs to their wagons and preparing for the rest of what they thought would be a seven-week journey. Ironically, on the very day that theIllinoisparty headed west from Springfield, Lansford Hastings prepared to head east from California, to see what the shortcut he had written about was really like. Food was a huge concern, and that makes Fort Laramie nicknamed "Camp Sacrifice" that much more tragic. You'd be pretty mad, too. W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) was a driver between Split Rock and Three Crossings, one of the most perilous sections. The accusations got so bad he even sued for slander and won $1, but when Keseberg died in 1895, even his obituary reminded everyone he was a cannibal. The tale told by the Washington State Historical Society suggests they may have been the fortunate ones, because when the four soldiers took the first opportunity they had to pick the best horses and high-tail their way out of Dodge, they left the party with a broken defense. A number of the savages thus escaped, the troopers having to pull up at the brink but sending a volley after the descending fugitives. On the Trail - McCully Wagon Train - 1852. On April 16, 1846, nine covered wagons leftSpringfield,Illinoison the 2,500-mile journey toCalifornia, in what would become one of the greatest tragedies in the history of westward migration. Rumors started circulating that he was the first to dig into the not-so-scrumptious meal consisting of his fellow settlers, that he killed others for their meat, and that he preferred human meat to beef. They took full advantage of the opportunity and poured in the first volley, Greer being struck in the breast, his life saved by a suspender buckle. The tale of the Donner Party is one of tragedy, hardship, and gruesome details. Sutters Fort in Sacramento, California, 1847. The ordeal of the Donner party highlighted the incredible risks that were inherent in the great overland trek, but it did little to slow the pace of migration. In the beginning, the wagon train was lucky to make even two miles per day, taking them six days just to travel eight miles. and brush to protect themselves from the harsh conditions. Occasionally the eight frisky mules would prove too much for their driver, and there would be a runaway, and a broken coach, to be repaired with whatever tools might be at hand. The robbers secured over $70,000, and it was later discovered that the driver, Williams, was an accomplice and received his share. Caching their provisions in Bear Valley, they returned to Sutters fort hoping to recruit more men and supplies for the rescue. Diseases and serious illnesses caused the deaths of nine out of ten pioneers. During 1863-65 the Sioux, Arapaho, and Cheyenne were all upon the warpath. Beside the driver, named Frank Williams, sat one of the robbers, thoroughly disguised. With the train desperately needing fresh meat, Cooper Smith, along with Barnaby, sets off . About this time, fear began to set in as provisions were running low and time was against them. He was interviewed a few times, and when he was 62 he issued his first formal statement. She died near Twin Falls, Idaho, and the children ranging from 13 years old to a newborn were orphans for the first time. The notorious tragedy occurred on 10 November 1921, the Wagon Tragedy.The Muslims who were captured by the British in connection with the Malabar riots were seized by a train wagon from Tirur and sent to Coimbatore, most of whom were wounded and suffocated.This is a kind of brutal massacre. While at Fort Laramie, Reed had been warned against attempting the route by an old friend from Illinois who had just completed the west-to-east journey through Hastings Cutoff, but the group chose to press ahead. When he sees an opportuni Don Brooke is desperate for money for his pregnant wife Bonnie, whose condition is too delicate for the long trip without more medical care so he seeks a bank loan. Given the starvation that happened later, it's impossible not to wonder how many people died dreaming of everything they dumped. When he sees an opportunity at the bank, it leads to tragedy.Don Brooke is desperate for money for his pregnant wife Bonnie, whose condition is too delicate for the long trip without more medical care so he seeks a bank loan. The movement began in 1856 and continued until 1860. It is easy to conceive the danger which night and day pursued those men who were then employed upon the Overland Trail. Donner Lake and Donner Pass, California, are named for the party. My father, with tears in his eyes, triedto smile as one friend after another grasped his hand in a last farewell. They were attacked on September 9, 1860, and 11 died in the two-day confrontation. Soldiers were used to guarding the stagecoaches, yet attacks were frequent, and the loss in property and lives was large. According to Brian Altonen, the settlers carried were standard medicines like castor oil, rum, peppermint essence, opium, and whiskey, because if you're dying, at least you wouldn't know it. About the Author: Adventures and Tragedies on the Overland Trail was written by Randall Parrish as a chapter of his book, The Great Plains: The Romance of Western American Exploration, Warfare, and Settlement, 1527-1870; published by A.C. McClurg & Co. in Chicago, 1907. They reached the Humboldt River on September 26th. The river crossing was massively dangerous, and according to WyoHistory, it was made safer but more expensive by the Mormon ferries that were set up in 1847. After the publicity, emigration toCaliforniafell off sharply and Hastings cutoff was all but abandoned. Tensions continued to mount as more and more people headed West, though, and on August 19, 1854, one hotheaded idiot kick-started a 22-year war. On February 19th, the first party reached the lake finding what appeared to be a deserted camp until the ghostly figure of a woman appeared. Twenty-two people, consisting of the Donner family and their hired men, stayed behind while the wagon was repaired. Don Brooke is desperate for money for his pregnant wife Bonnie, whose condition is too delicate for the long trip without more medical care so he seeks a bank loan. Five days later, on August 30th, the group began to cross the Great Salt Lake Desert, believing the trek would take only two days, according to Hastings. This custom of guarding coaches by soldiers along the Overland Trail was inaugurated during the Sioux uprising of 1863. On Thanksgiving, it began to snow again, and the pioneers at Donner Lake killed the last of their oxen for food on November 29th. Cholera is one of those old-timey diseases you definitely don't want, and it was a huge problem for a very gross reason, especially in the floodplain around the Platte River crossing. Some of the men tried to hunt with little success. The emigrant party consisted of only 11 people in five wagons. Eight of the men died, and the bodies of some of these were eaten by the others. The dead of those awful years lies numberless and nameless in their unknown, scattered graves. George P. Belden, well known in those days as The White Chief, thus describes the disagreeable duties: Troops were stationed in small squads at every station, about ten miles apart, and they rode from station to station on the top of all coaches, holding their guns ever ready for action. By this point, the members of the company had cached, or buried, virtually all their personal possessionsexcept for food, clothing, and the barest essentials necessary for survivalin an effort to minimize the load on their exhausted animals. From the earliest attempts, accidents were frequent, and suffering from exposure to the elements was common. When she came down with cholera, he just gave her a cup of camphor, because that's what you do, right?
wagon train tragedies