December 16, 1846, and you’re standing in deep snow at Truckee Lake (now Donner Lake) in the Sierra Nevada mountains, watching 17 desperate souls strap on crude snowshoes made from oxbow wood and rawhide. These aren’t recreational hikers but members of the stranded Donner Party β emigrants who have been trapped in the mountains for months, slowly starving as winter deepens around them. The 17 volunteers, including five women, are embarking on what they call the “Forlorn Hope” β a desperate attempt to cross 100 miles of snow-covered mountains to reach California and bring back rescue for the 64 people left behind, including dozens of children.
Over the next 33 days, this will become one of the most harrowing survival stories in American history. Ten of the 17 will die in the mountains, and the survivors will be forced to resort to cannibalism to live. But their sacrifice will ultimately save the lives of most of the Donner Party, making the Forlorn Hope both a tragedy and one of the most heroic rescue missions in frontier history.
To understand the desperation that drove 17 people to attempt an almost impossible winter crossing of the Sierra Nevada, we must first understand how the Donner Party came to be trapped in the mountains. The group of about 90 emigrants had left Independence, Missouri, in the spring of 1846, bound for California with dreams of new opportunities and prosperity in the West.
The party was led by George Donner and James Reed, prosperous families who had organized the wagon train and recruited other emigrants to join them. The group included families with children, single men seeking adventure, and hired teamsters β a typical collection of westward migrants during the height of American expansion. They were well-equipped and optimistic about their journey, expecting to reach California before winter.
However, the Donner Party made a fateful decision to take the Hastings Cutoff, a supposed shortcut that promised to save 350 miles on the journey to California. Lansford Hastings, the promoter of this route, had claimed it would be faster and easier than the established Oregon-California Trail. In reality, the Hastings Cutoff proved to be longer, more difficult, and more dangerous than the traditional route.
The cutoff led the party through the Wasatch Mountains and across the Great Salt Lake Desert, where they lost valuable time and equipment. Wagons broke down in the harsh terrain, oxen died from exhaustion and thirst, and the party began to fragment as tensions rose over the delays. By the time they reached the Sierra Nevada in October 1846, they were dangerously behind schedule and winter was approaching.
The final disaster came when the party was trapped by early snows near Truckee Lake, just miles from the summit that would have taken them to safety in California. Several attempts were made to cross the pass, but the snow was too deep and the conditions too severe. The emigrants were forced to build rough shelters and settle in for what they hoped would be a short wait for better weather.
As weeks turned to months, the situation became desperate. Food supplies, which were already running low, were quickly exhausted. The emigrants slaughtered their oxen and horses, but even this meat was soon consumed. They tried to survive on bark, leather, and anything else that might provide nutrition, but starvation began to take its toll.
By December 1846, it was clear that without outside help, the entire party would die in the mountains. Someone would have to attempt the dangerous crossing to California to bring back a rescue party. The volunteers for this mission knew they were embarking on what was likely a suicide mission, hence the name “Forlorn Hope” β a military term for a dangerous assault with little chance of success.
The 17 members of the Forlorn Hope included both men and women, ranging in age from the early twenties to middle age. Among them were Mary Ann Graves, Sarah Fosdick, Amanda McCutchen, Harriet Pike, and Lemuel Murphy, along with 12 men including Charles Stanton, a bachelor who had already proven his courage by making previous trips for supplies.
The snowshoes they used were crude affairs made from oxbow wood bent into oval shapes and laced with rawhide strips. These primitive snowshoes were heavy and difficult to use, especially for people weakened by months of near-starvation. The expedition members wore whatever warm clothing they could find, but most were inadequately dressed for a winter crossing of the mountains.
The Forlorn Hope left the lake camps on December 16, 1846, carrying minimal supplies β enough food for six days on a journey they hoped would take no more than a week. They had no guide except for the general knowledge that California lay to the west, and they would have to navigate by dead reckoning through unfamiliar mountain terrain covered by deep snow.
The first few days of the journey were incredibly difficult as the group struggled to make progress through deep snow and rough terrain. The snowshoes were exhausting to use, and several members of the party began to weaken rapidly. The cold was severe, with temperatures dropping well below freezing at night, and the group had inadequate shelter and bedding.
Charles Stanton, who had volunteered to guide the party, began to fail early in the journey. Weakened by previous exertions and suffering from snow blindness, he fell behind the group and was eventually left behind to die. His sacrifice was typical of the difficult decisions the survivors would be forced to make as the expedition continued.
By the sixth day, the Forlorn Hope had exhausted their meager food supplies, but they were still far from California. The group faced the grim choice between turning back to the lake camps and certain death, or continuing forward with no food and little hope of survival. They chose to continue, knowing that the lives of the people they had left behind depended on their success.
The first death from starvation occurred on December 25, 1846 β Christmas Day. Antonio, one of the Mexican teamsters who had joined the expedition, died during the night. The survivors faced their first terrible decision: whether to consume the flesh of their dead companion to stay alive. After much agonizing debate, they decided that cannibalism was their only hope for survival.
The decision to resort to cannibalism was not made lightly. The survivors were civilized people with strong moral and religious convictions, and eating human flesh violated everything they had been taught about right and wrong. However, they rationalized that using the flesh of the dead to sustain the living was preferable to everyone dying, and that their deceased companions would have wanted their bodies to help save the others.
Over the following days, more members of the Forlorn Hope died and were consumed by the survivors. The deaths included Franklin Graves, Patrick Dolan, Lemuel Murphy, and Jay Fosdick. Each death reduced the group’s numbers while providing temporary sustenance for those who remained. The survivors carefully avoided eating members of their own families and maintained some semblance of civilization even in their desperate circumstances.
The psychological toll of cannibalism was enormous. Survivors later described the horror and revulsion they felt at consuming human flesh, but also their desperate need to survive for the sake of their families and the people they had left behind. The experience traumatized them for life and created guilt and shame that many never overcame.
The weather during the expedition was particularly severe, with multiple snowstorms and extreme cold that made travel almost impossible. The survivors were forced to huddle together for warmth during blizzards, and several nearly died from exposure. The combination of starvation, exhaustion, and harsh weather created conditions that tested the absolute limits of human endurance.
Navigation became increasingly difficult as the expedition continued. Without landmarks visible through the snow and with compasses affected by the mountainous terrain, the survivors often became lost and had to backtrack. The delay and extra exertion caused by getting lost further weakened the group and consumed precious energy they could not afford to waste.
The gender dynamics of the expedition were notable for the period. The five women who joined the Forlorn Hope showed remarkable courage and endurance, and several proved to be among the strongest members of the group. Mary Ann Graves and Sarah Fosdick were among the seven survivors who eventually reached California, demonstrating that women could endure extreme hardship as well as men.
As the expedition continued into January 1847, the survivors became increasingly desperate and began to discuss the possibility of killing weaker members of the group to provide food for the stronger ones. This proposal was rejected, but the fact that it was seriously considered shows how completely the normal rules of civilization had broken down under extreme conditions.
The turning point came when the survivors encountered a group of Native Americans who provided them with acorn bread and guidance toward California. This assistance probably saved the lives of the remaining members of the Forlorn Hope, as they were near complete collapse and would likely have died without help. The kindness of the Native Americans contrasted sharply with the horror the survivors had endured.
On January 17, 1847, after 33 days in the mountains, seven survivors of the Forlorn Hope finally reached a ranch in the Sacramento Valley. They were barely alive β emaciated, frostbitten, and traumatized by their ordeal. Five were women and two were men, a ratio that challenged contemporary assumptions about male and female survival capabilities.
The arrival of the Forlorn Hope survivors immediately triggered rescue efforts for the people still trapped at the lake camps. The California authorities organized multiple relief expeditions that would eventually save most of the remaining members of the Donner Party. The sacrifice of the Forlorn Hope had achieved its purpose, though at a terrible cost.
The rescue expeditions found horrific conditions at the lake camps. Many of the emigrants had died during the winter, and the survivors had also resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. Families had been torn apart by death and desperation, and the camps were scenes of unimaginable suffering and degradation.
The news of the Donner Party’s ordeal, including the cannibalism that had occurred among both the Forlorn Hope and the lake camps, created a national sensation. Newspapers across the country published sensationalized accounts of the tragedy, often exaggerating the horrors for dramatic effect. The story became a cautionary tale about the dangers of westward migration and the risks of taking untested routes.
The survivors of the Forlorn Hope and the Donner Party faced years of psychological trauma and social stigma. Many struggled with guilt, depression, and what we would now recognize as post-traumatic stress disorder. Some survivors never fully recovered from their ordeal and lived the rest of their lives haunted by memories of the mountains.
The cannibalism aspect of the story overshadowed the remarkable courage and self-sacrifice displayed by members of the Forlorn Hope. These volunteers had risked and often lost their lives to save others, demonstrating extraordinary heroism under impossible conditions. Their willingness to attempt the crossing showed the strength of human bonds and the lengths people will go to save their families and communities.
The Forlorn Hope expedition influenced American attitudes toward western migration and the dangers of frontier life. The tragedy served as a warning about the importance of proper preparation, reliable guides, and conservative decision-making when lives were at stake. Many emigrants became more cautious about choosing routes and timing their journeys after learning about the Donner Party’s fate.
The story also contributed to American folklore and literature about the frontier experience. The Donner Party became a symbol of both the dangers and the heroism of westward expansion, representing the dark side of American manifest destiny while also celebrating the courage and determination of ordinary people facing extraordinary circumstances.
Modern historical research has provided a more nuanced understanding of the Forlorn Hope expedition and the Donner Party tragedy. Scholars have examined the social dynamics, gender roles, and decision-making processes that influenced the disaster, while also recognizing the remarkable survival skills and psychological resilience displayed by the emigrants.
The cannibalism that occurred during the expedition and at the lake camps has been studied by anthropologists and psychologists as an example of how extreme conditions can force people to violate fundamental cultural taboos. The Donner Party experience provides insights into human behavior under stress and the ways that survival instincts can override social conditioning.
Environmental historians have examined the role of weather and climate in the Donner Party disaster, noting how unusual weather patterns and early snows contributed to the tragedy. The expedition also illustrates the dangers of attempting to travel through mountain regions without adequate knowledge of local conditions and seasonal patterns.
Today, the route of the Forlorn Hope expedition can be traced through the Sierra Nevada, and several memorials mark important sites along their journey. Donner Lake and Donner Pass are named after the party, serving as permanent reminders of their ordeal. These locations attract thousands of visitors each year who come to learn about this dramatic chapter in American history.
The Forlorn Hope expedition remains one of the most compelling survival stories in American history, demonstrating both the worst and best aspects of human nature under extreme stress. The expedition members who died in the mountains made the ultimate sacrifice for their families and communities, while the survivors showed remarkable courage and determination in completing their mission.
The story of the Forlorn Hope also illustrates the complex moral and ethical dilemmas that can arise in survival situations. The decisions made by the expedition members β including the choice to resort to cannibalism β challenge simple judgments about right and wrong and force us to consider what we might do under similar circumstances.
The legacy of the Forlorn Hope expedition extends beyond its historical significance to influence how we think about leadership, sacrifice, and community responsibility. The volunteers who joined the expedition knew they were risking their lives for others, and their willingness to take that risk represents one of the highest forms of human courage and altruism.
In remembering the Forlorn Hope expedition, we honor both those who died in the mountains and those who survived to complete their mission. Their story reminds us that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary courage when faced with impossible circumstances, and that the bonds of family and community can inspire acts of heroism that transcend individual survival.
The 17 souls who set out on snowshoes from Truckee Lake on that December morning in 1846 were embarking on one of the most desperate rescue missions in American history. Seven of them would live to see California, but all of them β the living and the dead β played crucial roles in saving the lives of the people they had left behind. Their sacrifice and courage continue to inspire and challenge us more than 175 years later.
