Collection: Books and Periodicals > Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins

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Title: Volume 075-2 - April 2021 Collection Type: Books and Periodicals Collection Name: Nevada County Historical Society Bulletins # of Pages: 8 Download PDF: User Login Required Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Date Scanned: 2023-12-30 11:48:26 OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.4.1 Item Sourced From: PDF First Created: 2025-03-17 04:06:34 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 04:06:34

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

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The Forlorn Hope Expedition By William Oudegeest On January 17, 1847 William Eddy, supported by two Native Americans, knocked on the door of a small cabin at Johnson’s Ranch. Seventeen-year-old Harriet Ritchie opened the door and burst into tears at the sight of him. He was emaciated, exhausted, and barely alive. The trail of his bloody footprints would enable people to find Eddy’s six companions on the trail behind him. Those seven were all who had survived the thirty-three-day horrific trek across the Sierra in the middle of winter. Eight others had died or been killed and most of the dead had been partially consumed by the survivors. The Forlorn Hope expedition, as historian Charles McGlashan later named it, had left Donner Lake on December 16, 1846 heading for California and help. Even before they were trapped at Donner Lake the Donner Party had many troubles. There was the fateful left-hand turn onto the Hastings Cut-Off. There was accident, death, banishment, and maybe murder. Food ran out. There was dissension in the group. Some were destitute having lost everything in the desert. It was getting worse. And worse was yet to come. Then they saw the Sierra. It was terrifying. Would the journey never end? Imagine their frustration as they looked up at the steep granite walls around Donner Lake. There appeared to be no route up. It was snowing. More was coming. What was going through the minds of the members of the people trapped at the lake? Were there recriminations? If only we’d gone faster. If only (name the person) had not been so slow. If only we had not taken the short cut. What’1l we do to Lansford Hastings when we get hold of him?! If only the snow would melt — we'd get over the Sierra quickly we won’t dawdle, we promise. Will it ever stop snowing? Will there be enough food? Will we have to stay here all winter? Can we survive? ‘Nevada County Historical society Bulletin eee 75 NUMBER 2 APRIL 202 i, Was there anger at the family that appropriated the little cabin Moses Schallenberger and his friends had built two years before, leaving everyone else to scramble to build something? For the Reed Family, having lost their wagons, cattle and father they must have wondered additionally, where was Papa? (James Reed had been banished from the party weeks earlier). Could they survive on the kindness of others? For Charles Stanton and the two Indians Sutter had sent back with him to bring food and hope to the party, they must have thought, why’d we come back? Maybe too, they thought, these people are worthless. We’ll never get out of here. If you put your mind to it, you can come up with any number of thoughts or conversations. They must have been depressed at their prospects. They must have been frightened. They must have been uncomfortable crammed together without privacy into shelters hurriedly thrown together. Those shelters must have offered little protection against the storms, the cold and the accumulating snow. As the winds howled before the snow fell and almost buried the shelters, the sides must have shaken. All the people inside could do was bury themselves in filthy blankets and pray. Little could any of them know that in a few weeks they’d be trying to eat the cow hides they’d thrown over their shelters. More snow began to fall. Panic and despair set in. Life was clearly untenable at Donner Lake. There was hardly any food and they’d be reduced to boiling and eating ox hides. They were not working together. Three attempts by small groups to escape and get help in California had failed. It snowed and snowed. It was cold. They lived in filth, miserable. In that context seventeen people decided again to head for California, this time on snowshoes.