Although The Donner Party of 1846-1847 is the most famous of the immigrant parties to cross the Sierra Nevada along the “Truckee Route,” they were not the first. Where the Stephens Party succeeded in crossing, in a very severe winter in 1844-1845, the Donner Party became stranded and met only tragedy two years later. The Stephens Party was led by experienced mountain men and included a physician among its members; the Donner Party was composed of farmers and a high proportion of women, elderly, and children. The Donner brothers, Jacob and George, along with James Reed, all from Illinois, organized the party. They set out on their journey in April of 1846 and in a reasonable amount of time had reached South Pass, a landmark on the trail west, where they inadvertently made their first fatal error. A trail guide or promoter named Lansford Hastings had produced a leaflet claiming he had found a shor....

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Number Of Words: 387

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