In the spring of 1846 a group of American pioneers set off on a fateful journey from Missouri.
In the spring of 1846 a group of American pioneers set off on a fateful journey from Missouri. They were heading west to California but they decided to take a new route that was believed to be a shortcut. This proved to be a costly decision and after several setbacks and the loss of some of their cattle and wagons a snow blizzard forced them to a stop and they ended up wintering in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Freezing and low on food they apparently resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. Read about the Donner Party and the brutal survival story