The Expedition of the Donner Party and its Tragic Fate | Page 3

CREATURES--GEORGIA AND I ARE OFF FOR SACRAMENTO

CHAPTER XXXIII
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF SACRAMENTO--A GLIMPSE OF
GRANDPA--THE RANCHO DE LOS CAZADORES--MY
SWEETEST PRIVILEGE--LETTERS FROM THE BRUNNERS

CHAPTER XXXIV
TRAGEDY IN SONOMA--CHRISTIAN BRUNNER IN A PRISON
CELL--ST. CATHERINE'S CONVENT AT BENICIA--ROMANCE
OF SPANISH CALIFORNIA--THE BEAUTIFUL ANGEL IN
BLACK--THE PRAYER OF DONA CONCEPCION ARGUELLO
REALIZED--MONASTIC RITES

CHAPTER XXXV
THE CHAMBERLAIN FAMILY, COUSINS OF DANIEL
WEBSTER--JEFFERSON GRAMMAR SCHOOL--FURTHER
CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS OF THE DONNER
PARTY--PATERNAL ANCESTRY--S.O. HOUGHTON--DEATH
TAKES ONE OF THE SEVEN SURVIVING DONNERS

CHAPTER XXXVI
NEWS OF THE BRUNNERS--LETTERS FROM GRANDPA

CHAPTER XXXVII
ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST PONY EXPRESS

CHAPTER XXXVIII
WAR AND RUMORS OF WAR--MARRIAGE--SONOMA
REVISITED
APPENDIX
I
ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN _The California Star_--STATISTICS OF
THE PARTY--NOTES OF AGUILLA GLOVER--EXTRACT FROM
THORNTON--RECOLLECTIONS OF JOHN BAPTISTE TRUBODE
II

THE REED-GREENWOOD PARTY, OR SECOND
RELIEF--REMINISCENCES OF WILLIAM G.
MURPHY--CONCERNING NICHOLAS CLARK AND JOHN
BAPTISTE
III
THE REPORT OF THOMAS
FALLON--DEDUCTIONS--STATEMENT OF EDWIN
BRYANT--PECULIAR CIRCUMSTANCES
IV
LEWIS KESEBERG
INDEX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
S.O. Houghton Eliza P. Donner Houghton The Camp Attacked by
Indians Our Stealthy Foes Governor L.W. Boggs Corral Such as was
Formed by Each Section for the Protection of its Cattle Fort Laramie as
it Appeared When Visited by the Donner Party Chimney Rock John
Baptiste Trubode Frances Donner (Mrs. Wm. R. Wilder) Georgia Ann
Donner (Mrs. W.A. Babcock) March of the Caravan United States
Troops Crossing the Desert Pass in the Sierra Nevadas of California
Camp at Donner Lake, November, 1846 Bear Valley, from Emigrant
Gap The Trackless Mountains Sutter's Fort Sam Brannan's Store at
Sutter's Fort Arrival of Relief Party, February 18, 1847 Donner Lake
Arrival of the Caravan at Santa Fé On the Banks of the Sacramento
River Elitha Donner (Mrs. Benjamin Wilder) Leanna Donner (Mrs.
John App) Mary Donner George Donner, Nephew of Capt. Donner
Papooses in Bickooses Sutter's Mill, Where Marshall Discovered Gold,
January 19, 1848 Plaza and Barracks of Sonoma One of the Oldest
Buildings in Sonoma Old Mexican Carreta Residence of Judge A.L.
Rhodes, a Typical California House of the Better Class in 1849 Mission
San Francisco Solano, Last of the Historic Missions of California Ruins
of the Mission at Sonoma Gold Rocker, Washing Pan, and Gold Borer

Scene During the Rush to the Gold Mines from San Francisco, in 1848
Post Office, Corner of Clay and Pike Streets, San Francisco 1849 Old
City Hotel, 1846, Corner of Kearney and Clay Streets, The First Hotel
in San Francisco Mrs. Brunner, Georgia and Eliza Donner S.O.
Houghton, Member of Col. J.D. Stevenson's First Regiment of N.Y.
Volunteers Eliza P. Donner Sacramento City in the Early Fifties Front
Street, Sacramento City, 1850 Pines of the Sierras Col. J.D. Stevenson
General John A. Sutter St. Catherine's Convent at Benicia, California
Chapel, St. Catherine's Convent The Cross at Donner Lake General
Vallejo's Carriage, Built in England in 1832 General Vallejo's Old Jail
Alder Creek Dennison's Exchange and the Parker House, San Francisco
View in the Grounds of the Houghton Home in San Jose The Houghton
Residence in San Jose, California
NOTE
I wish to express my appreciation of the courtesies and assistance
kindly extended me by the following, in the preparation of the
illustrations for this book: Mr. Lynwood Abbott, "Burr-McIntosh
Magazine," Mr. J.A. Munk, donor of the Munk Library of Arizoniana
to the Southwest Museum, Mr. Hector Alliot, Curator of the Southwest
Museum, the officers and attendants of the Los Angeles Public Library,
Miss Meta C. Stofen, City Librarian, Sonoma, Cal., Miss Elizabeth
Benton Frémont, Mr. C.M. Hunt, Editor "Grizzly Bear," the Dominican
Sisters of St. Catherine's Convent at Benicia, Cal., and Mrs. C.C.
Maynard.
E.P.D.H.

THE EXPEDITION OF THE DONNER PARTY

CHAPTER I
THE PACIFIC COAST IN 1845--SPEECHES OF SENATOR
BENTON AND REPORT OF CAPT. FRÉMONT--MY FATHER
AND HIS FAMILY--INTEREST AWAKENED IN THE NEW

TERRITORY--FORMATION OF THE FIRST EMIGRANT PARTY
FROM ILLINOIS TO CALIFORNIA--PREPARATIONS FOR THE
JOURNEY--THE START--ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF
CIVILIZATION.
Prior to the year 1845, that great domain lying west of the Rocky
Mountains and extending to the Pacific Ocean was practically unknown.
About that time, however, the spirit of inquiry was awakening. The
powerful voice of Senator Thomas H. Benton was heard, both in public
address and in the halls of Congress, calling attention to Oregon and
California. Captain John C. Frémont's famous topographical report and
maps had been accepted by Congress, and ten thousand copies ordered
to be printed and distributed to the people throughout the United States.
The commercial world was not slow to appreciate the value of those
distant and hitherto unfrequented harbors. Tales of the equable climate
and the marvellous fertility of the soil spread rapidly, and it followed
that before the close of 1845, pioneers on the western frontier of our
ever expanding republic were preparing to open a wagon route to the
Pacific coast.
After careful