Table of Contents
Author's note xiii
Introduction 1846 xv
Prologue: Donner Lake, June 6, 1918 xix
1 Call of The West
1 A Migrating People 5
2 The Best Land under Heaven 8
3 Gray Gold 16
4 Snake Heads 22
5 California Dreaming 27
6 The Bold Plunge 33
7 Wagons Ho! April 1846 39
8 Farewell, April 14-15, 1846 42
9 Independence Bound, April 15-May to, 1846 48
2 The Journey
10 Queen City of the Trails, May 10-12, 1846 55
11 Indian Country, May 12-18, 1846 60
12 Soldier Creek, May 19, 1846 65
13 The Others, May 20, 1846 70
14 People of the South Wind, May 21-24,1846 75
15 Alcove Spring, May 25-29, 1846 82
16 The Rhetoric of Fear, May 30-June 2, 1846 89
17 Ebb and Flow, June 3-7, 1846 95
18 On the Platte, June 8-10, 1846 100
19 Life Goes On, June 10-15, 1846 103
20 A Letter from Tamzene Donner, June 16, 1846 112
3 The Promised Land
21 Change of Command, June 16-19, 1846 117
22 Chasing Mirages, June 19-25, 1846 122
28 Sage Advice, June 26-27, 1846 126
24 A Sense of Urgency, June 28-July 12, 1846 133
25 Parting of the Ways, July 13-19, 1846 141
26 The Donner Party, July 20-28, 1846 147
27 Betrayed, July 28-31, 1846 150
28 The Hastings Cutoff, August 1-22, 1846 157
29 The Fearful Long Drive, August 23-September 10, 1846 164
30 Race against Time, September 11-October 4, 1846 175
31 Blood Rage, October 5-20, 1846 181
32 Perseverance, October 21-30, 1846 194
4 Out of Time
33 Snowbound, November 1846 205
34 Desperate Times, Desperate Measures, November-December 1846 217
35 The Forlorn Hope, December 1846 230
36 Camp of Death, December 1846 240
37 The Starring Time, January 1847 250
38 In Dire Straits, January-February 1847 262
39 Man on a Mission, January-February 1847 269
40 To the Rescue, February 1847 278
41 The First Relief 282
42 The Second Relief 292
43 The Third Relief 339
44 The Fourth Relief 351
Aftermath 355
Appendix 1 Donner Party Members and Affiliation with Group 359
Appendix 2 Relief Teams and Donner Party Survivors/Deaths 371
Acknowledgments 375
Notes 379
Bibliography 427
Index 437