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Ordeal by Hunger: The Classic Story of the Donner Party
Ordeal by Hunger The Classic Story of the Donner Party Author:George R. Stewart In 1846, eighty-seven people -- men, women and children -- set out overland for California. At the insistence of a foolish guide, the ill-fated Donner Party braved a new route across the desert. As they struggled across the barren waste, they lost many oxen and wagons and nearly died of thirst themselves. Finally they reached the Sierra, only to... more » be trapped there by snow and storms.
What followed is a tale of incredible hardship in which many perished and only a few survived -- through the desperate extremes of cannibalism.
From the diaries of the survivors and other contemporary documents, George Stewart has recreated the story of this tragic band of pioneers. It is an astonishing account of what human beings are capable of perpetrating, enduring and achieving in the final press of circumstance.« less