The Donner Party: When the American Dream Became a Cannibal Nightmare

In April 1846, a group of 87 American pioneers left Illinois heading for California, dreaming of new lives and prosperity. By February 1847, only 48 survived - and they had resorted to cannibalism to live. The Donner Party became the most infamous tragedy of westward expansion and a dark symbol of survival at any cost.

Everything went wrong. They took an untested shortcut that added weeks to their journey. They argued constantly and split into factions. When they reached the Sierra Nevada mountains in late October, an early blizzard trapped them at what's now called Donner Pass. Stranded at 6,000 feet with no food and snow up to 22 feet deep, families huddled in makeshift cabins and watched each other slowly starve.

After the first deaths, the ...