Most people know what happened to the Donner Party, a group of settlers led by George Donner and James F. Reed, once they reached Alder Creek, California, in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Members of the party resorted to cannibalism in order to survive after they became trapped by a massive snowfall.
#DonnerParty #USHistory #WeirdHistory
The old man being left behind was always sad to me. I mean it was probably better for him in the end considering what happened to the Donner Party, but imagine not being able to keep up with the group and slowly watching them fading into the distance, leaving you behind to die, then being all alone in the wilderness.
That's terrifying sad....
He was making the trip to California with the plan to retire to Belgium and see his grandchildren, which makes it even more heartbreaking.
He should have prepped better. Done some weights. Maybe walked a few miles. Prior to the trip.
One of the Survivors said the whole tragedy was a judgement on them for having left that old man behind...
Poor Hardkoop
It’s like they purposely chose the worst scenario possible
Thats one way to make it into the history books
Are you thinking of selling your home or are you a frustrated seller wondering why I’m not getting any showings? Well, in this video I discuss what may be at the cause of your lack of home showings. Remember to the Subscriber the channel and press the bell Icon to get the notification for new video kzhead.info/sun/d7OtdqeDepeea4E/bejne.html
And I heard the woman were on their periods too, if that doesn’t making 10 times worse
Honestly I don’t even feel so bad for them anymore, California doesn’t need any more idiots
Feels like something our current administration likes to do these days as well. At least we’re being fed.
Banishing James Reed like thy did saved the survivors. He did make it to Sutter’s Fort and when the party didn’t arrive, he raised the rescue parties. He was relentless in his efforts to save everyone possible.
He's the one who stabbed the wagon driver who was whipping the oxen much to his distaste of the treatment
Ironic
@@jamesfracasse8178 This James Reed fellow sounds like somebody you'd want on a road trip
But he lead them to there fate as well. He always rubbed me wrong in this story.
Unfortunately, when he arrived at Sutter's Fort the Mexican-American War was raging, local men had gone off to fight and it took weeks to recruit enough rescuers! In 1849 the discovery of gold at Sutter's Fort led to a deluge of overland emigrants heading for California. In the fall California's governor sent teams of rescuers into the Sierras to find any stragglers, saving several lives. (He'd learned.)
Reed didn't just stab a guy for beating his ox. Two wagons in the remaining group became tangled, and John Snyder angrily beat the ox of Reed's hired teamster Milt Elliott. When Reed intervened, Snyder proceeded to rain blows down onto his head with a whip handle - when Reed's wife attempted to intervene she too was struck. Reed retaliated by fatally plunging a knife under Snyder's collarbone. Reed acted in self defense and tried to plead his case before the other travelers but they were already stressed out and had no time for a trial. One man offered to throw a rope over his wagon to hang Reed with it, but Reed's wife begged for his banishment instead. Reed would eventually come back with a recuse party.
Reed has some serious main character energy.
Damn, heartless bastards. A heartless time to live.
Reed was awesome!!
They were originally going to banish him with no horse! And then Virginia & Milt rode out after dark and took him his rifle and some supplies.
Thank God for the recuse party.
Doesn't seem like much of a party to me
No fat chicks!
@@Pfsif Seems like you'd want a little extra...meat for this type of "party" 🤷♀️
More like par-tayyyyy!
@gel mibson you d go BUT YOU WOULDN T COME BACK. Especially for seconds
They failed to mention all the cocaine they brought.
Hey, I played Oregon Trail when I was a kid and sometimes I died of starvation. I don't recall "eating cousin Jacob" as an option.
Would you have eaten him if you had the choice tho?
@Violet Fields as is mine
I remember that option. I paired Jacob with some fava beans. Delicious!
It would have been a valid and welcomed option.
I was in 2nd grade when it came out and we got to play it on these new things called personal computers!
"fun" fact: one of the surviving children died the night he was rescued, because he was so hungry he broke into the rescuers' food stores and ate until his starvation-shrunken stomach ruptured.
oh
Wow!
And I think he was only 12
@@grantwarnock493 even worse i-
@@noodleo3750 I know. I think a few of children didn’t make it to 5
Where they died is now “the Donner picnic area” 💀
when I and a certain group of friends meet up at a place, the first ones there request a table in the name of "The Donner Party" so if another group arrives, they know to ask for that to see if anyone else has arrived.
@@GravesRWFiA Zzzzzz
Hastings cutoff is now known as Donner pass. I lived in the state of Nevada and my husband and I would drive through Donner pass regularly. In the winter we'd always see people stranded because they didn't know how to properly drive in snowy conditions or on snow. What saved my husband and I from being stranded on that pass was because we were from Colorado and so we knew how to drive in the snow. Wed see huge S.U.Vs stranded and wed carry tow chains to tow people out of Donner pass or over it and we drove a Subaru station wagon. Also it's hard to get cell phone signal on Donner pass so if you got stranded there was minimal chance of being rescued.
LOL
@@savanahdahlsten3149 Yeah, highway 80 is pretty treacherous over the summit. Lot's of weekend warriors that have no business coming to Tahoe during that time.
Everybody gangsta till the snow starts fallin
Michael Wyatt Oh boy, yuper or troll? I’m from Wisconsin there guy.
Oscar Ramirez Try being from the north and dealing with -40’s and even colder wind chills there guy and taking care of horses in those conditions. We had to walk out 5 gallon buckets filled with just under boiling water to put in the trough so it wouldn’t freeze by the time we got it out there.
Oh dear
guess you could say there was some... snow on tha bluff
Big facts
Imagine being the surviving families and party members that broke off and decided to go the decent route, amd then you find out all this after? It's gotta be natural selection.
It's called common sense. They didn't have a good guide or any guide for majority of the trip. They also ignored advice from a man that was just at the shortcut that flat out told them that the trail was barely good enough for people on foot and that it would be impossible for carriages. What did they do ? Interpret that as meaning "The trail is perfect for large groups in carriages, head there now"
Lillian...really look all around you, every day/hour, all you see is Darwinism...not taking into account cannibalism 🤢
It wouldn't have even been a difficult choice to have split off from these half wits earlier. You'd think the theme of "nobody knows WTF they're doing" would've asserted itself early among the reasonable and the blind leading the blind isn't the way to go into the uncharted hinterlands. Not very bright ppl that died, as cold as that sounds. Meh: sounds like we didn't lose any future Edisons, you might say.
or you write your own destiny
You do realize that there were survivors that took Hastings cutoff. This video doesn't even scratch the tip of the iceberg of the entire story. Much more to it. People were not to bright back then though to your point.
So we’re not gonna talk about how reed came back as a part of one of the many rescue parties and saved the people that exiled him and talked about killing him??”
I mean that’s the least he could do after sending them through the cut off😂
Sounds like a hero to me ...
His wife and children were still with the main party. He came back because of them.
By the way, James Reed was a certified legend! What did he do after getting the boot from the Donner Party, you ask? ✅ survived a 22-day trek from the wagon train to a fort, narrowly escaping starvation throughout ✅ gathered supplies and then set back out to bring them to the same group who totally just finished banishing his ass like a second ago ✅ got blocked by the same snow which trapped the others, avoided the urge to eat himself, successfully retreated ✅ got sucked into a war, survived the Battle of Santa Clara, ended up with his own land as a result ✅ helped lead yet another rescue attempt, actually found his wife and two of his kids! ("yeah, Honey, I'm headed into the mountains. Just meet me by the tree, OK?") ✅ made it all the way back to the Donner-Reed camp, rescued his remaining relatives and left the rest o' them suckers behind ✅ was a sheriff, farmer and commodities trader all in the same year ✅ fackin NAILED the California gold rush, built a 500-acre boss AF ranch, re-invested in mining and real estate companies ✅ was chief of police for the San Jose Police Department ✅ had a street in San Jose named after every one of his children ❌ took more than two years to do ALL of the shit I just listed Mahfugger died at 73 years old. Adjusted for inflation, that's 292 years old! #TheyShouldHaveIgnoredTheStabbingYo
Okay, guy was definitely a legend, but that 'adjusted for inflation' part killed me!
From his list of accomplishments, you’d think cow whipping guy must have been getting pleasure out of whipping those cows and James Reed peacefully attempted to put an end to that and stabbed that mofo when that dude told him the 1700’s version of “up yours.”
Yea he’s a Bay Area legend haha
Legend? Homie was hands down the main character he just doing all the side quests in between
You just earned a subscribe!
I learned more about the Donner Party in 13mins than I did watching an entire 2hr documentary. Thanks, Weird History!
Facts
Joe PG And I heard the woman were on their periods too, if that doesn’t making 10 times worse
This guy does wonders telling tales on his channel. Please subscribe, he has many good videos. I can recommend my favorites. Not affiliated, just basking in reflective glory as his channel grows! Long time follower!
Sneedy Ketler-Baumbach which are some good ones to watch
The American Experience one is top notch.
Even when the food runs out, we'll still have each other.
More like each other to eat...Sadly.
😬
Yes, each other. 😈
Inspiring comment.
A+ post
"They picked up people along the way to beef up their numbers" 😄
I was like “bruh how is that funny”. Then I was like ooohh. Ooh. Ah. I see. Gotta prepare for the worst I guess.
Fun fact: In Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 there is a loose easter egg based on this tragic situation, Lake Donner is named after this and there is also a wagon and left over human bones next to a mummified corpse in a over hang like cave. Still sad for anyone involved.
Looks like I picked the wrong morning to eat my 'Donner's Frozen Breakfast Sausages' .
I love there children fingers😎
@@larrywalling2844 If you put some buffalo sauce on the arms they taste just like chicken wings ;)
@Andrew G. hell no TRUMP 2020
Whats in YOUR breakfast sausage? 😂
LMAO
When you beat Oregon Trail on the normal difficulty and then decide to do it on Hard mode.
You know, when this came out as a game when I was a kid in school, looking back at it, I could not have believed this was a "true story" even if you had showed me this video. I could have never comprehended something like this happening until my 30's
The only thing I remember from that game is its not wise ot forge the river or pick the Banker. Even though you have nore money, their survival skills suck....
@@bonniehowell4259 or invest in nothing but ammunition and shoot buffalo all day long lol
I love oregon trail.
At this point, this family must be in the afterlife going, "Ok, Ok! We get it! We fucked up! Enough already!" Problem is, we can't get enough of this story.
Man.!! Because I would give EVERYTHING to be a fly on the ..wagon.?😂 when all this happened
Epic😂😂
There's so much more to this story and even afterwards for many years. The rescue takes place over three or four attempts, the second part of the story. They were stranded for so long they built cabins. It snowed so much that when it melted the trees they cut down were still 30 to 40 feet high.
The large stone monument with figures on top is 20 feet tall to represent the depth of the snow. The Tahoe area of Northern California had "Donner Party" level snow this past winter ('22-'23), the snow was 50-80 feet deep depending on where you were
@@LeslieHeath-iw8ecAnd it was a tragedy. I find the jokes in this faux documentary discouraging. Those victims deserve better.
My favourite thing about these episodes is how the narrator talks like a cynical god reliving the past
He's such a smarmy condescending shithead... I want him to narrate my life as it happens.
rush1er lol
Pretty sure it’s Stephen Colbert...
Lumeniaellina...it does sound like Colbert...didn’t notice that at first haha
I heard it was Henry Kissinger
The "banished" James Reed actually went ahead to Sutter's Fort. In February he returned with a rescue party and brought his family back alive. The supplies he left for the rest helped them survive until another rescue party could get to them.
@Phil M what state are y all from forrest
That's good to hear, I actually don't feel like what he did by stabbing the oxe-whipper was that outrageous. Boo-hoo, 'killed a man over an animal, where's the judicial system' is such a childish way of thinking about the situation. All of them were on the edge, all of them suffering, and when a person loses their grip and starts whipping the very animals giving all these people a slight chance on life, the pure violent moment is enough to snap another man. Keep off the fucking animals and whip yourself if you're going mad, it's pretty much natural you'll get a taste of your own medicine if you start violence. It's not about the oxen, it's about losing control which is contagious. If one does not care for the animals, think about it this way - a similar situation would be a man snapping and kicking the last flour into mud. This would also merit a stabbing and if everyone loses it they can all kill each other there and then. So please, people, if you get stranded and go mad, try to take it out on yourself as privately as possible. Easier said than done tho, I guess
@@peggysue1725 yeah it's not like the ox CHOSE to be there. Wasn't the animals fault, it was the people that brought the oxen to carry all their crap.
You're missing the part where he figured "Oh, they're coming" and went on an adventure in the Mexican American war while they were eating each other.
Allison Simpson sound like a slave to me
That is only half the story! It is really interesting when you read about the whole trip. James Reed the one who was made to go off on his own was the one who saved the party! He made it through and sent help, after all his family was still with the party. It really is a fascinating story from start to finish. I've read several books on the story and man is it good reading. Truth is stranger than fiction!
I've definitely seen Donner packed in snow, so difficult to see others in front of you while driving. My heart goes out to these people. Such a sad situation.
Surprised that The Donner Party hasn't been adapted into American Horror Story series yet but this is still a dark and macabre part of history
It would probably be too similiar to Roanoke
@@mattnar3865 true
No it’s actually sad this story..
7th ID! (Me too)
@@proantagonist5042 sad dark and macabre
I don’t like saying things like “they did this to themselves” but Jesus Christ they really did do this to themselves. Still such a tragedy but my god....
A lot of epically botched expeditions result in a lot of "they did this to themselves."
remember lad, every famous successful expedition had a guide. Here is a list from the top of my head 1. Tenzing, a Sherpa, led Edmund Hillary to the top of Mount Everest 2. Sacajawea led Lewis and Clark across America 3. That one explorer who had a small army traveling Africa 4. Marco Polo had the help of a whole party 5. Vikings had the guide of their massive balls as they traveled across the Atlantic and discovered America hundreds of years before the rest of Europe Okay maybe not that last one but you get the idea
Oh if you want a mismanaged trip that led to cannibalism I suggest reading about the Franklin Expedition. It’s pure Victorian arrogance and depressing implications.
@Harry Paul yeah but maps of the west back then were very inaccurate so they were more or less traveling blindly with a compass
@@surreal9583 But who first guided the guides? History tends to celebrate white men for "ground breaking expeditions" to places that people of color have already been. (Save for the vikings, they were pretty cool)
I live in far Northern California and I’ve been up in the Sierra Nevada’s many times. If you’ve ever been in the high Sierra’s you’ll know why the Donner Party was in such dire circumstances over winter. This past winter 2021-2022, there was a record high of 18 feet of snow fall on Donner Pass.
Parts of Tahoe had up to 50 feet in 2023, my sil's Uncle lives in Tahoe and he had 30 feet of snow in places
See the short version video: "What Went Right With the Donner Party"
They should've just fast traveled.
They didn't discover the location yet
They can’t if enemies are near by
They were over encumbered
The holy trinity
Choose ur fighter
Speaking of cannibalism, you should do a video on the Andes mountains plane crash.
VectorHelix - It was either cannibalism or eat the airline food!☠️🥘
The movie Alive was filmed on a glacier in Canada.
@@AtheistOrphan lol
I read Alive in high school and it's always been one of my favorite books. What an incredible story. I always loved the part where when they were guiding the helicopter back to the crash site, the pilot did not believe them when they pointed out the mountain they had climbed to get out. He said, "That's impossible." They really did pull off a seemingly miraculous self rescue mission.
@Milquetoast Eugenicist only this year or every year?
“Boy, did this guy suck” HAHAHAH I love that line
"Provided enough grass for the cattle in case they started feeling peckish" And "People really started feeling hangry" "Grandpa would have wanted it that way son,"
Are used to live in Roseville California and every time I would drive to Reno I would pass “Donners pass” and it would always give me the creeps.
GUIDE: “It won’t snow until November” Me: “How the f*** do you know??”
He must’ve had the weather network app
@@Jaker2123 🤣😆😂
probably the farmer's almanac or previous years' weather patterns
That dam climate change!
Global warming came too late for them :-(
The desert of northern Nevada is no joke. There’s still like a 40 mile stretch with absolutely nothing.
That's a two days journey by foot, assuming you keep a decent pace. 1 and 1/8 a day if you go full legionary
Pyro Paragon fallout reference?
@@tishtishman9101 No. In Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus' book, "Epitome of Military Science," he states that the top speed for a Roman legion convoy on the march on good, flat terrain was 33 miles a day for short periods of time.
40 miles of nothing? Sounds like Alabama
@@magentuspriest Alabama is 190 miles wide, thank you very much!
You missed a lot of the weirder stuff, some of the men actually got through to California and sent back a couple of indians to try and help rescue the party. The group of men they were rescuing decided to eat their guides. One of the men warned them and they split, but they had no food and didn't get far, the group they had tried to rescue ate a few of their deceased comrades and caught up with the starving guides, then killed and ate them. One of the last men out was suspected of killing Tamsen Donner, and almost lynched by the rescuers. The wierdest thing is that they had slaughtered their livestock but lost track of where they had stshed the carcases in the snow. The last party of rescuers found the last man with a pot of human flesh and Tamsen Donners valuables, with some ox carcasses melted out of the snow. Some indigenous groups believe that one a human eats human flesh he will crave it for the rest of his life. Maybe they are right.
There's actually a thing for that. It's called Wendigo sickness. It comes from the taboo that eating another humans flesh attracts ravenous cannibal spirits that possess your mind and make you go insane.
Also when the men from the wreck of the HMS Terror started wandering into local Inuit camps, they had similar experiences of offering help to the starving men & having it refused in favor of killing & eating each other. (In this case, the hunters left 1 seal for 3 men & they left it to rot & killed & ate each other, instead.) I don’t know if it was delirium from hunger & madness from consuming human flesh, or a lack of familiarity with the culture & landscape & not seeing dead seal as food, or some sort of insatiable hunger for more human meat once it’s been consumed... but the fact that these stragglers from the Donner party killed & ate the guides who could have been their rescuers... it makes you realize that there are not many social taboos people will avoid in order to survive. It’s all crazy!
The guy who ate Mrs Donner, Louis Keseberg, opened a restaurant in California later 👀
Why would Indians help them? Where did you read this?
@@l.b.2592 I believe it is in pretty much all of the documentaries. One of the men had reached a settlement, I don;t have the details in front of me, but I believe it was the guy who had been kicked out but his wife and family were still with the Donners. Don't shoot me if I am wrong, but a small party set out to search for the missing train and they had recruited a couple of guides. When they came up with a group from the Donner Party, they themselves had run out of food, the rescuees were starving, and again I'm not sure if they had already eaten one of their own, but they decided to kill and eat the guides. One of the men warned them and they ran for it, but they were starving too, and the resuees eventually caught up , killed and butchered them. I have no idea what the guides motives were, they may have been paid or they may have just wanted to save lives, a decision I'm sure they regretted for the rest of their "short" lives.
As someone who lives on the Wasatch Mountains, I couldn't imagine traveling through any trail not deemed safe. It's forested mountains, so it's hard enough to see as is
“The cattle needed a break and a meal to stay nice and alive”🤣🤣
I nearly choked on my tea when he said that 🤣
Fun fact: Abraham Lincoln was supposed to join the donnor party, but his wife didn’t want him to go
Wait.. Really?
noor indra seriously..... look it up, Lincoln and reed knew each other and lincoln was supposed to go with the “donnor- reed party”
Nott!!
Julie Riddick wow fascinating! I never knew that tidbit. Thnx for sharing
@@chrisdooley6468 it's not true.
I went thru almost the exact same thing as the Donner party when I crossed the country via a Greyhound bus ride. Only, there were a few more murders.....
People love to judge those who lived in the past out of context and with a superficial air of superiority, since they are unable to speak and testify on their behalf.
I live 40 minutes away from Donner. Even today I wouldn’t drive through the highway that passes the pass in winter. Very dangerous, especially before the snow plows really get the road clean. Save your trips to Tahoe and truckee when the CHP says it’s safe. A lot of people from the Bay Area or other warmer parts of Cali end up crashing and dying a lot because the don’t think it’s going to be that bad. Stupid.
I can't tell you how many times we heard of out-of-towners either crashing (and sometimes dieing) due to bad road conditions or people just getting stuck in the snow and people needing to be rescued for fear of them freezing to death.
I live on Reno and have family in Sacramento. I have made the trip over the pass plenty of times in the winter. Still despite having 4x4 there are times I have turned around at Boom Town. If the snow is heavy in Verdi it will be brutal over the pass.
Because Bay Area people are arrogant fools that have zero experience with water and judging road conditions whom also drive wrecklessly.
Wow that is ironic that dumb ppl are still being stranded in this pass.
@@rontayan I learned to drive in California but I grew up in Missouri, the amount of bay area drivers I see that have no clue how to drive in rain, just RAIN, astonishes me every year. It's either going way too slow, still staying 10 feet off the bumper of the car in from of them, or still going 85.
As a Californian, I've been obsessed with this story since I was a kid. Recently, I met a new hire at work and found out that he is a descendant of Jacob Donner's surviving family members. And how did I discover this? HIS NAME IS DONNER. 😳
Now this is why I read the comments section
Woooooow !!!!! Can we see a picture Ms. Melissa?
Wow, what does he have to say about being related to them? what’s he like?
@@mbrammy7 He's young, super cool, and funny. He doesn't know as much as I do about the story and he's not entirely convinced of the reports of cannibalism. I get the impression his family doesn't like discussing that aspect, which is understandable lol.
@@melissamcqueen582 I certainly wouldn't press him on it. I certainly wouldn't discuss it if it were my family. Dark stories always interest me. And as a Nevadan, I know a lot of their troubles happened in my state which really delayed them getting to the Sierra Nevada mountains. I've been fascinated with it since I was a kid when my dad told me about them.
I love your videos, they are direct, factual and to the point!! I'm a school counselor who does small group counseling. I am thinking of showing some of your child appropriate videos to my students to help them learn and understand about why people think and act the way they do!! How ones upbringing, surroundings, culture, religion, etc affects us socially and emotionally!! Thank you!! Great content..
I’ve camped at Donner before with family. It was during summer and there was still snow on the ground. My parents took a picture of me in my swimsuit building a small snowman.
My daughter and her family went to a family reunion with her husbands side of the family in July of this year (2023) and there was still snow from the record breaking snowfall they had. Her husbands uncle lives in Tahoe and he had 30 FEET of snow at his house near Heavenly Valley
This was the first bedtime story that my dad read to me. After we finished that book, he pulled out the Nuremburg Trials, a hefty tome for a 5 year old. Then the Titanic. No wonder my teachers found me both strange and oddly educated in grade school. All true- but it was a different time in the 1960's. I regret nothing in choosing my parents.🙂
Sounds like your dad is a very interesting human being
I got told bedtime stories about Good laboratory practices by my dad.
@@robertombricen7966 He was. My birthday presents when I turned 12 were a hunting rifle and a saddle, lol. No dolls for me! He said no marriage until I graduated from college and was self sufficient. Never to be reliant on anyone for my survival. It worked out well for me. I married a great guy who respected my abilities. Both dad and husband passed far too young, but as I said before- I regret nothing.🙂 wouldn't change a thing.
@@lps2013 That's awesome! See he got important lifetime skills in your brain, when it was most impressionable.🙂
@@lps2013 I'm interested in knowing how that has shaped you?
my dyslexic ass read that as “ donor party” turns out i wasn’t that far off from what actually went down
Whenever somebody even mentions the Donner party everybody breaks out the cannibalism jokes. This has always bothered me. I don't think people would be so cavalier about it if they happen to be starving themselves with no other alternative. Read the diaries they left behind.
I mean, it’s human nature to feel bad when tragedy strikes, but at the same time, the Donners did this to themselves in the end- being stubborn and not listening to people who have made the trek already, the food situation and leaving too late because a lot of foreigners don’t realize how vastly different the climates in the US depending on the month. Just Nat 1 rolls all around
Yeah it really eats me when people make cannibalism jokes. They’re probably just starving for attention.
@@201hastings kekek
I literally rode my bicycle from Lake Tahoe To Missouri in 15 days. Loved it. The day before I tried to ride from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe. Weather kept saying “Light rain hi temp 48.” So I climbed all day in the rain and got to Echo pass and it started snowing. I kept thinking 48 can’t snow ? As my hands froze. I stuck out my thumb and got a ride immediately from a guy in a pick up. I thought how perfect is this. He made me ride in the back because his passenger seat was full of stuff. I’m laying in the back looking straight up at a white out as we pulled into Lake Tahoe city. “Life on the run ain’t no fun.” Bonnie and Clyde
This like a guide, if you're trying to lose Oregon Trail as quickly as possible.
Don't ever choose the actress to go with you.
I agree. That should be an option in the Oregon Trail Computer game. You are suffering from Starvation, do you: A) Hunt B) Kill a Draft animal for food C) Eat Cousin Jebediah.
@@stevencooper4422 Or close the banker who has the money, but their survival skills suck.
Damn... their whole trip was just a comedy of errors. A very black comedy, mind you.
Sort of a goth "Vacation" Wally World was CLOSED.
Like "White Girls"??
more like a comedy of terrors
What's ironic is the creator's of South Park actually wrote and produced a dark comedy musical called Cannibal! The Musical before they started SP.
weirdly enough, the guy who they exiled in the end actually went on to save them
After all, his family was still with the group!
I lived in Reno Nevada when I'd go to Truckee California I'd drive across Donner Pass all the time! The paranormal energy left by the Donner party is still present today! I would always joke with my husband when we'd travel across Donner pass in winter if we got stranded he could eat me!
I mistakenly read this as the “Dinner Party.” Like, no, that’s exactly what you wouldn’t want to join the Donners for.
it was a dinner party in a way🤔
Lol...I saw dinner party!
Lol! I cant with this comment section 🤣😂
“Hastings stupid cutoff” 😂😂
Its been 2months since I subscribed, these days I only get to sleep with your voice playing on my airpods. Whoever you are thank you for helping me with my sleep
I live next to the Wasatch mountains I can tell you that it would of been impossible for anyone to pass. There's a passage there now of course to get in to Salt lake, but that's bcuz they were blown up to make a highway. Trying to go through with a coveted wagon? Impossible..
No one leaves the table until everyone has eaten....each other.
Kkkkk
Skitxez And I heard the woman were on their periods too, if that doesn’t making 10 times worse
@@Bradmhj pricelessss 🤣
That joke is in poor taste! Thankfully that wasn't the case with their companions!
At least one left the table.
Oh that human hubris. Gets us in trouble every time.
And you can't eat hubris. Nor can you salt, dry it and store for winter. Probably the closest action here,would be eating your hat.
Far from “every time”. 🙄
Nor is this really a case of hubris. Hubris is an arrogant, willful defiance of greater powers. This was just arrogant ignorance. We generally call that "stupidity".
It comes down to respect the environment, you are not in control, think what choices you make.
I’m sending this to my kids old high school! My kids never learned the true tale properly! My husband and I had to teach them...yet another subject to teach the kids!! Cheers for your brilliant channel!
Anyone interested in this event should read or listen to The Indifferent Stars Above. I have it on audio book and have listened several times. It’s stellar.
Murphy's Law ran rampant in the Donner Party.
They died because they "got cute" and took Hastings cutoff
Your commentary is hilarious. Love your channel, it is my favorite.
6:25 on for a bit. I just love the sarcasm. It's refreshing considering the topic content.
It was the Donner-Reed party. None of the Reeds ate anyone. All survived.
Sounds like sometimes a Reed would say.
Mickey,my man!!! University of Notre Dame, 1960. Stayed two years,I think. Mad magazine all-time hero. Good call. man!
@@jameseaton4593 u know him?
@@zuki9425, you mean the original Mickster? Do you?
@@pyroparagon8945 I'm actually a Reed and would say it lol
More like “Dahmer” party
😆
Good one! I'll take that pun "ingest" Get it? Ingest.... in jest.... in joke..... its funny.... I'll stop now
@@MahrogG thanks for explaining your joke for our amerikan friends. Now half of them get it. The other half you ll have to read it for them
Nice one. But it s kinda hard to swallow
These jokes are in very bad taste 😂.
Thanks for posting. I need to go to lunch now.
“They were a party of settlers in wagons, they got snowbound one winter, and they had to Resort to Cannibalism in order to stay alive…” - Jack Torrance
Every time I hear this story I thank the lord that I live in today's world. We have it way too easy.
In 100 years people will look back and see vehicles stuck on I-80 as NDOT and Caltrans try to open up the Sierra's and say "Wow they had it hard."
Oh no we don’t Donald Trump single handily is holding every minority down... not easy at all
@@toosweet6046 jesus christ get over it you all are fine no ones taking your rights away and no one ever will
@@1888Wyatt I was being sardonic you idiot...
We have it easy today thanks to people like them... well maybe not *them* specifically but thanks to colonists and people moving looking for a better life.
Traveler: "Hey Donner, this party ain't no fun at all." Donner: "Bite me." Traveler: "Well, if you insist."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *INHALE* HAHAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAA *WHEEEEEEEZE* OH MY GOD THIS FUCKING GUY HAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HOLY SHIT IM DYING DUDE YOU KILLED ME HAAAAA YOU WILD MAN HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Jordan McNeil are you ok?
@@ppstorm_ Take it easy, Boomer.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
💀💀💀🤣🤣
My ancestors were part of the Stevens, Townsend ,Murphy party that previously were the first to cross the Sierra Nevada into California guided by 81 year old Caleb Greenwood who guided the other half of what was the Donner party at the start of the season. Also Greenwood organized the search party that ultimately saved the Donner party when they hadn't arrived. James Clyman is my favorite of the mountain men. He kept a journal that is now a book.
I love your channel and the narrator!!! 🙃 keep em coming!! 👍
Why did you rush through the ending so fast? That was an important part
Or THE MOST KNOWN PART lol
So cool when you learn something so interesting that you literally had no prior knowledge of... Thank you!
MapHunter here’s an another interesting fact for ya I heard the woman were on their periods too. I hope that helped fill you with more exciting information:)
IceyYou well obviously. It was a 5 month journey
@@Bradmhj well yeah how could they not be? Genuinely curious
The most bingable channel on youtube. I rewatch over and over cause theres always something I missed
Everyone knows what happened with the Donner party in the end. But I am glad you guys focused on the historical unknown details that lead up to it. Makes the story interesting again. Awesome work guys! 👍🏼😉
I find this story morbidly fascinating. First started reading about after I saw Cannibal: The Musical. Yes I know that was about the Packer expedition but the concept of pioneer cannibalism is interesting
I recently sank m teeth into that topic too. It for sure is something hard to chew on.
Let’s build a snowman!
Spadoinkle! They even have a memorial day Lake City because of "the Colorado Cannibal'
Nad Bash Hah! God bless Trey and Matt. Truly. I shared my sketchy vhs copy with everyone I could back in 2001... I’d like to think I did them all a favor.
Actually if you are forced to eat human flesh to survive it’s not considered cannibalism
They’re first mistake? Trying to cross the misty mountains. There’s a reason the Fellowship decided to go through Moria.
Lmfaooo 💀💀💀
And then Misty Mountians had a blizzard , Frodo still got buried beneath a mound of ❄ Wait don't forget, if you go through Bree Check weather for pouring down rain. Im a JR Tolkien fan.🥰
Sndyer: Animal abuse. Reed: have jackknife, will travel.
👩🏻🍳 heheheh
Mrs. Reed is a distant aunt, as she was a Keyes by birth and her sister married my 7th great grandfather, Daniel Hughes.
Thank you for the video.
New Oregon Trail DLC looks sick
Actually if you play Oregon Trail 2, you can take the same route as the Donner-Reed party. If you travel the same route and year (1846) a blizzard will trap you in the Sierra Nevadas. But the game is more lenient than reality: they will let you go after one month of being snowbound.
I always think of Robin Williams in patch Adams Calling his patients and saying "Donner, party of five!" As a kid this went right over my head and now I'm like I see what u did there 😏
SAME!!😅❤️😊
That's what I've always liked about Dennis Miller's humour. It's educated and funny and while, when I was younger I didn't always get his references, once I was older I did and it made the joke even funnier.
Same!! 😆
Colorado has our own Donner party incident: Alfred Packer. Was a good cautionary tale in "when the Utes tell you to hold off on your journey, maybe listen to them"
I've lived in CA all my life and we recently had "snow." It always brings to mind the Donner party. I think the snow drifts are like 10 ft high there right now.
11:00 Snider actually whipped Reed's wife, and then they had a fight which lead to Snider's death.
Do you know why his wife didn't go with him when he was exiled?
@4eightyvolt: Well, of course not! She had children to take care of and at that point in the ill-fated story, it made more sense to stay with the larger group for the children's sake.
I'd of just chewed him out
I’ve forever been obsessed by the tragic end of-the Donner party. There’s a great book entitled “The Indifferent Stars Above”. Can’t recall the author just now but it is a really good read if you are fascinated by the DonnerParty. I think I’ve read it three times and I always come across something new or mis- read on one of my previous reads. Hope you enjoy if you decide to read.
Fun fact: a couple of mormons rescued the donner party not too far from the mormon emigrant trail in the high sierras. Donner pass, the emigrant trail and other locations all get their names from these events!
Glad I'm not the only one obsessed. Well maybe not obsessed, but interested enough to read the whole Wiki on it. I was looking for videos on it, but there were no decent ones at the time until this one popped up. I live in Nevada, and part of the story involves my state. He went pretty quickly through the problems they had in Nevada which were numerous and where most of their delay came from. And didn't cover that whole winter ordeal in detail. It's pretty extensive with the rescue parties and whatnot. And then the one guy makes it to safety, and then promptly eats himself to death. Tragic all around.
Thanks! I'll be checking it out for sure.
Thanks for the recommendation.
@@jimmym3352 Ask a Mortician has a very thorough account if this event as well!
I grew up in Northern Utah literally about 40 miles from the cutoff, and the ruts are still visible. One thing that gets obscured is the fact these families had zero "frontier" experience. They were small business and farm owners from Ohio. They had no real idea of the terrain, weather (the Weather Channel did an outstanding documentary about this). So, not properly caring for their livestock, and over packing their wagons is completely understandable. As is what we see as gullibility in listening to the cutoff author, and NOT to the repeated urgings by men who HAD been on the route to go the long way.
Recently watched another video about TDP and it showed parts of the trail that even wore down paths or grooves straight into the granite they were traveling over, that was cool, the fact that you v can still see most of the ruts from the California/Oregon trail was immensely cool. They'd taken a drone up and there it was, a trail consisting of two ruts, wavering and winding off into the distance
It wasn’t family members eating each other. It was criminals intentionally causing a death & then taking advantage of others. I’ve spent time in the area of Donner Lake, the Donner Museum & Tahoe, so this info is from one of the museum books.
Great book about this is called “The Indifferent Stars Above”, collection of diaries and the archeological evidence from the campsites. 8/10 makes appreciate the little things
The oxen that ran off originated "nope-ing out of this situation"
Clever animals..
Yeah I heard about this once before in another documentary. It was only briefly mentioned and I was always curious about it. I forgot about it untill it popped up under another video by WH. Thanks Weird History
First Nations Tribes watching them from a distance eating each other’s: “Savages😑”
Never happened
Lol
@@robott6696 Actually did...🤷🏽♀️ "Numerous times, according to the oral histories, Washoe scouts brought the stranded migrants food - including a deer carcass, fish, and wild potatoes - but were met with hostility. On one occasion, an offering of fish was refused. On at least three others, the Washoe approached the Donner camps with food only to be met by gunshots, leaving one man dead. When a scout saw the white people cannibalizing their dead, the tribe was said to retreat, afraid they too might be killed and eaten. From then on, the Washoe referred to the migrants as “not people.”
@@lisalisa4182 "Y'all want some food?" "No, we've already told Bill here that he's gonna be dinner tonight" "Bill never agreed to this!" "this is why we're eating you, Bill. You refer to yourself in the 3rd person and honestly, it's pretty weird" Watching a bunch of white people eat each other must have freaked the first nations people out. What with the taboo of Wendigos and all that.
@@blobbertmcblob4888 Can you imagine what what going through their heads😬😰😱
"The Graves Party" that's all the red flag I need
The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party is an excellent book. Not boring and absolutely heartbreaking. One of my favorites.
I dont consider it heart breaking, but rather stupidity,and arrogance. If many people are telling you not go up the path that's almost impassable, you should listen, and take the longer safer route
This was weird! Now I’m subscribed!
I had a book called The place wagon family. I think it was a bout a family that rode with the donner party . my great aunt wrote it
When you do more research on the men in this party, you realize they weren't victims but rather barbaric and cold. I feel bad for the women and children but the more you learn of these guys the less sympathetic you feel. They brutalized their animals, left people stranded and went at each others' throats when times got stressful. With such lack of integrity in the group i'm surprised they went as far as they did. Modern films love glorifying early settlers but an honest historian will be quick to expose their cruelty.
I have also found this to be true.
Times were tough then (obviously).
@Questioning Everything You're either an idiot or have an axe to grind against a demographic you are prejudiced against. It sounds like you base your argument on the ONE incident of ONE man whipping the oxen of the stuck wagons. When you actually "do more research" by watching or reading more in depth documentaries & written accounts, you find many instances of men risking their lives and going through tremendous hardships to help and rescue the stranded people who were mostly women & children!
@@mikecranapple8878i think she's talking specifically about the individuals in charge of THIS trip.
What book or documentary could I research this story ? I think this is fascinating and would enjoy hearing the other not so pretty side because we do tend to sugar coat certain situations. Their journals would be interesting especially . Thank u
Someone should do a Christmas special. A DONNER FAMILY CHRISTMAS. we may not have much , but we've always got each other. .😋
They say, right before they start eating eachother
That's funny
I so NEED this to happen!!! On Comedy Central cause they got the budget!
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Sounds like a segment of Stay Tuned with the late great John Ritter
The Oregon Trail floppy disc's from my youth taught me alot.
This video was very informative. I’ve heard references to the Donner party but never knew the actual whole story.