The first group to try the overland route to California was called the Donner party, led by Jacob and George Donner. The group of 87 decided to try the untested trail at the advice of guide Lansford W. Hastings. However, the route was more treacherous than expected and the inexperienced party lost so much time that they didn’t begin crossing the Sierra Nevada Range until late October. When the snow came, they decided to try to wait it out by Truckee Lake. They built scanty shelters and tried to supplement their low supplies by fishing and hunting. But the fish and the game were scarce. The “Forlorn Hope” group--17 of the party--set out in mid-December in search of help. They took with them a six-day supply of food, enough for two bites each day. Two of them turned back, eight died on the way. The survivors cut up the dead bodies and ate them. After two months, 7 members of the original 17 finally reached help.
When the rescuers returned to Truckee Lake, the 47 members of the Donner party left were barely recognizable as humans. Many had disintegrated into insanity; some were lying in their own filth. The children of Jacob Donner were eating his liver. A kettle full of pieces of George Donner’s body was found; he’d been dead only four days. Ironically, oxen legs discovered frozen in the snow hadn’t been eaten.
Forty of the original 87 died on the trip. Only 47 survived.