Donner Party

• 300 migrants in 60 wagons
• travelled may 1846-november
• leaders- donner brothers
• why migrated west- stat new lives in california (discovery of gold)

Journey

• rivers crossed
• desert
• rough land

why failed

• july 1846 rocky mountians broke up group
• 80 migrants tried shortcut
• route not marked hard to follow
• half left because they had eaten their dead