On April 16, 1846, a group of settlers which came to be known as the Donner Party set off in nine well - equipped wagons from Illinois to California.

At this time, travel to the Great Plains of the American West was very popular. The pioneers left the original US towns and cities on the Eastern coast because of bad conditions and economic problems. They were looking for a fresh start and more land in the Western states of California and Oregon. To reach these places they had to cross the Great Plains. Conditions were very bad. It was hot and windy, there was little water or trees and the pioneers had many miles to travel. Deaths on the journey were common as they had to face many dangers, such as diseases (Cholera affected many pioneers), loss of animals, and attack from hostile Indians who were afraid of their way of life changing irrevocably.

A man named Landsford W. Hastings wrote a book called "The Emigrant's Guide to California and Oregon." In this, he advised a shortcut across the Great Basin. This shortcut was called Hastings' Cutoff. The Donner Party, named after its leader, George Donner, fatefully took this route on their way to Sutter's Fort in California (now Sacramento).

On June 27, the group met a man named James Clyman at Fort Laramie. Clyman had travelled East, using the Hasting's Cutoff route. He advised them not to travel that way, warning them of the desert, but they ignored him. It took five days to cross the desert, during which time many of the group's animals wandered off or died.

There was a heavy snowstorm on October 31, when the party was still 150 miles from their destination. They were trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains and had to build a camp for the winter. The little food ran out quickly and those who did not die straight away were forced to eat the bodies of their companions in order to survive. They turned to Cannibalism.

A small group set out to try to get help. On their journey, their two Indian guides and several other members of the group died and the others ate them to sustain themselves. They managed to get help, but it took several weeks to set out because of the Mexican War. Even with a rescue party, not everyone could leave at once due to the poor weather and the harsh terrain which had to be traversed.

The final survivors reached Sutter's Fort almost one year after the rescue party set out. Most of the Donner family, as well as two thirds of the men and one third of the women and children, died. This news slowed the emigration to California for a time, but when gold was discovered in 1848, new pioneers set off.

Of the original 87 members of the Donner Party, only 46 survived.