Donner Party Essay

During the winter of 1846 and 1847, the Donner Party, a large group of settlers headed to California, became trapped in the Sierra Nevada for months with few supplies. As food became scarce and tempers shortened under the brutal winter weather, the settlers resorted to cannibalism to soothe their aching stomachs. Modern renditions of the Donner Party’s plight, such as the movie Donner Pass (Donner Pass, 2011), emphasize the occurrences of cannibalism within the Donner camp. Firsthand accounts from survivors and relief party members depict horrific scenes of body mutilation and moral ambiguity, yet many accounts were exaggerated or the information muddled due to informal accounts given by witnesses. Furthermore, archeological and forensic evidence suggests that little or no cannibalism occurred at …show more content…
It is undisputed that cannibalism did occur within the Donner Party, the Forlorn Hope party being the best example, however the absence of physical proof of cannibalism suggests that it was only a part of the story of the Donner Party and not its defining aspect. The Donner Party …show more content…
Bones found in the archeological dig belonged to cattle, oxen, mule, and a bear (Hardesty). The larger bones showed signs of impact (fractures) and looked like they were sawed, indicating marrow extraction for consumption. The smaller pieces of bone were burnt and calcined (oxidized or reduced) due to low oxygen burning (which occurs at the bottom of a fire) (Hardesty). Larger bone fragments were submitted to a radioimmunoassay (a method to determine proteins in bones and then match them to a certain species (Lowenstein)). Many of the bones were identified as human from the test (Hardesty). Patrick Breen wrote in his diary that Mrs. Murphy was contemplating cannibalism, so it is likely it actually occurred due to the physical evidence matching the