The Dying Season: The Donner Party's Nightmare in California

You've heard the rumors about the Donner Party. Now discover how a group of ordinary men, women, and children fight for survival in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, no matter the cost.
To see how the Donner Party got to California, check out this video: • California Bound! The ...
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Timestamps/Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:55 November
04:41 December
09:27 January
13:16 February
19:26 March
27:06 April

[@tudyk21]

Something I had heard years ago that stuck with me, and is depicted in this video, are the 20-foot tree "stumps" that were revealed after the snow melted away. The trees were cut where they were accessible, which was 20-odd feet above the ground, because how deep the snow was. 😳

[@pam8962]

Wow

[@SkepticalZack]

Something that always stuck with me is everyone, to the man who cut the trail died. They were the men so they did all the work and didn’t eat enough to be able to allow their families to survive. Heros.

[@1-SmallStep]

A total of 25' of snow fell!

[@karlfonner7589]

Yep. The statue commemorating a Donner party is up high on a pedestal. That pedestal represents how much snow fell during that year. There’s a lady buried up in Lafayette cemetery in California that went over Hastings pass. No problems. She left early and they did not pack a lot.

[@sandidavis820]

I have been to the camp, it was quite an experience. It was summer and there was a light mist that day. I walked around and could feel the sadness and despair those poor people felt and went through.

[@hang3xc1]

Really. You could feel the sadness and despair from something that happened 178 YEARS ago. That's just INCREDIBLE. Have you been to Auschwitz??? Omaha Beach??? Can you do Nagasaki??? Was it the mist? If you go back on a sunny day would you still feel it??? WHAT A FRUITCAKE !!!

[@sandidavis820]

@@hang3xc1 if anyone is a fruit cake, it's you. Yes I could feel the sadness and despair and no I have not been to the other places you mentioned, because I have never left this continent.

[@Tecumseh16]

This two part series is some of the best history content available now. You deserve much more views and praise for your hard work. Thank you and keep up that amazing content.

[@TheStoryOutWest]

Thank you for the very kind words.

[@WyomingTraveler]

An excellent narrative of the Donner party. I read a book about them while in college many years ago, in fact, I still have a book. Your narrative brought back the horrors of their experience. The video was excellent: the graphics, and especially the storytelling. Keep up the excellent work.

[@MANNYREFRESH]

It took awhile to get this one out, but it was truly worth the wait! The details were intriguing and of historic importance. I will never look at the Sierra Nevadas the same knowing what tribulations took place there. Another great tale told by The Story Out West. Thank you very much for sharing!

[@jeffreybaker4399]

The determination and goodness (for lack of a better word) of people like John Stark are hard to overstate in the midst of this horror show. It would be easy for would be rescuers to find themselves unconsciously developing a self-defense mechanism of holding back a bit, rationing their effort and rations, so as to not end up in the same boat. Stark had tremendous confidence in himself (or his God) to determine he was going to save 11 people, none of whom can initially walk. This was not a, "here's something to eat, the helicopter will be here in an hour" situation. Great episode, love your research and presentation.

[@glasair38sr]

Just finished ‘The Indifferent Stars Above’ not long ago. Definitely worth the read / listen.

[@AlyxCoe]

Great book

[@koloagirl]

Grew up at Donner Lake - grew up listening to the history. Great video

[@pierosjourneys]

I been reading The Donner Party tragedy for the last 3 years. Also visiting Donner Lake area including Donner Camp over Elder Creek several times. In Sutter Fort I was able to see the original Patty Reed's Doll. Thanks for sharing your own testimony about this history.

[@grumblesa10]

The myth of the "hardy pioneer" dies hard. But your description on the party is 100% accurate. They were small farmers, and some shopkeepers from Ohio. Even in 1845-46 hardly the Great Plains or "Great Desert" as they would've known it. Also, the refusal to cooperate with each other, glossed over in other more "mythic" accounts is a key issue in their disintegration when the situation became desperate. Well done.

[@maxokream6269]

I haven’t revisited this story since middle school, the horrors stuck with me tho. Sick video, great topic

[@user-ku2oy2df7m]

Wonderful storytelling, easily the best recount I have heard among the many. Thank you

[@facehairteeth]

This is the best KZbin doc on this subject I have found. Good info, thorough but concise, and it wasn't just a flat reading from Wikipedia. Subscribed!

[@michaeldouglas1243]

Top notch series on the Donner party.

[@Unkle_elroy]

Well worth the wait!!! Learned a lot more about the incident than I ever knew.

[@decem_sagittae]

Absolutely brutal. Fantastic video. Thank you. I love your channel and I'm glad I found it. I do hope to see more documentaries on Plains Indians.

[@koloagirl]

I would love to know if Tamsen was murdered by Keseberg or not.

[@nateconley6432]

Wow what an incredible story can't believe the hardships these people went through. I never knew the whole story thank u for telling it. Love ur channel keep it up man

[@p51nion]

Been waiting for it, you certainly put in the effort. Excellent product, the detail surpasses anything I have previously read in one place. You are a skilled teacher - I'm looking forward to your next lesson.

[@t.michaelbodine4341]

Well done video! It must have taken a lot of work to do the maps and visuals. It’s such a dramatic, pathos-filled American pioneer story.

[@KMcKee-qn6bo]

Been waiting for this. Thanks. Finally.

[@andreag7822]

Thank you. A brilliant depiction of events. I’ve just finished reading C F McGlashan’s book and I cannot pass judgement on how some kept alive as who knows what anyone would do in the same predicament 🇬🇧🙏

[@bryannelson6139]

Great history, very well told. Thanks for doing this!

[@myfootsitchy]

Awesome video, I really enjoyed it. Very atmospheric

[@bilosdiogee410]

Your channel is really good. I go through new vids of yours every morning before I start working. Keep it up! I Think I like the Indian/settler videos best, learning lots of new information about the great plains of old.

[@joemcelroy2118]

Another video well done. You have found your calling. Thank you for your research and presentation.

[@E180TEKNO]

10:21 But am I the only one who is completely in awe of Mr. 'Reed,' the guy who enlists in the army as a volunteer, risking his life honestly to save and find a reason to bring volunteers into the research and rescue team? Incredible, the determination of this man; the pioneers were clearly badasses. this documentary is great greetings from south of france story fascinate

[@Ashley-by5vs]

You did fantastic

[@thehistoryexplorer]

Brilliant videos! Enjoying the channel

[@CuttingEdgetools]

With the Brutal winter upon them-Why on Earth did the Party not retreat back down to the foothills to the area where little community of Verdi NV now sits!!!! Below the snow line where game winters. What a blunder!

[@KhrissBliss]

nice job! this colors in alot of details

[@johncarroll9986]

Great story 👏🏼

[@noahschmartz2354]

u r very good at this m8, thx.

[@margaretfiester3689]

This was fascinating, I thought. It corrected some misconceptions I had about this incident. Well done presentation. I'm curious about the psychological effect of the ordeal on the survivors.

[@stephengreene1856]

Which one of the surviving men opened a restaurant...after telling stories about the cannibalism that happened? I don't remember if I read that or saw it on another documentary...but apparently the man made little to no effort to discuss the events that happened that winter in the mountains.

[@TheStoryOutWest]

Louis Keseberg operated a boardinghouse in Sacramento that served food. After hearing about him, some people were hesitant to eat there.

[@janetspell1396]

@@TheStoryOutWest Can’t really blame them or anyone at that time to eat the food…lol..(I know, it’s no laughing matter, but you’re reply/comment tickled me ).

[@lllordllloyd]

​@@TheStoryOutWest ... others asked: "Is this pork, or chicken?". (Sorry... great storytelling. I knew nothing of this but it makes a great comparison with some stories from colonial Australia).

[@stubaker2574]

I crossed over the mtn's there during summer(hitch-hiking) and noticed really tall pole's with number's so i asked and told that's how they measure the snow dept and that seemed to deep..more than the mtn's i lived in..

[@roberthenry9319]

Awesome. Thank you. R. Henry, M.D.

[@b.m.2434]

Sadly, none of the party had ever tried fishing....

[@vindix9137]

“Team work is not making the dream work”

[@english_muffinss]

Coming from an avid freshwater fisherman, why didn't they fish? They were near rivers, streams, and lakes?

[@joeblow2659]

Did you film in Coloma, CA?

[@tamarabrunozzi8482]

Why didn’t they fish with being basically on top of the lake?? Nothing I’ve researched has even brought this up or addressed it let alone question it. Please someone share with me if you know ty.

[@TheStoryOutWest]

It’s a simple answer: they didn’t know how to ice fish. The survivor accounts often mention hunting trips, but nobody talks about setting up fishing lines.

[@KidAdams]

This video was more in depth than a documentary I watched, what book are you reading this information from?

[@TheStoryOutWest]

Not a book but my research notes.

[@KidAdams]

Ok cool, thanks for the reply.@@TheStoryOutWest

[@endthedrugwartoday]

Meanwhile some were surviving off of the fish in the lake. Something strange happened there.

[@kije6639]

This is so sad.

[@TheStoryOutWest]

Happy Holidays Kije!

[@kije6639]

@@TheStoryOutWest Merry Christmas!

[@alitlweird]

You gotta do a show about Snowshoe Thompson™️ 😃

[@chicagogyrl4846]

Why didn’t they set up at the lake with the others?! They might have been able to ice fish.

[@cherylronneberg9950]

How many conveniences could they have had?

[@AlyxCoe]

These people were naive, unprepared and misled by Lansford Hastings, and tragically ignored the sage advice of mountain man Jim Clyman to avoid Hastings "Cutoff". They dawdled along the way, and left Ft. Laramie too late. Then came the worst winter yet recorded in the Sierra Nevada. "The Indifferent Stars Above" by Daniel Brown is an excellent account. Great job, thank you.

[@kathyandersen8243]

I feel sorry for the dogs and livestock. That suffered and died .

[@tashuntka]

Woahhhhh.... Vegetarian......

[@karenwinston8911]

I wonder if anyone suggested to Keseberg that given his past, maybe starting a restaurant wasn't the best idea? I can't think of any worse career path for a cannibal than serving food.

[@mah7961]

Not going to lie here, but when this came up on my recommendation videos. I thought it was about a political party. Nonetheless interesting topic.

[@refuge42]

Very good overview information of the Donner party at the lake and their rescue. Hiding your face is very distracting and creepy! Sorry but that's the way it strikes me, so much I need to post it in comments.

[@chicagogyrl4846]

These were mostly all farm families. I’m sure that they knew how to hunt and fish. 😆😂

[@glasair38sr]

First!

[@hector-jesuscampos-desqual434]

"Immigrants?" What "immigrants?" They keep calling the Pioneers "immigrants". Shameful reasons.

[@GlacierSound]

god I love your videos, the best stuff I can find on any of this western history