Definitions for Donner Party
don·ner par·ty

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1. Donner Party

   The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Some of the migrants resorted to cannibalism to survive, eating the bodies of those who had succumbed to starvation, sickness, and extreme cold. The Donner Party originated from Springfield, Illinois, and departed Independence, Missouri, on the Oregon Trail in the spring of 1846, behind many other pioneer families who were attempting to make the same overland trip. The journey west usually took between four and six months, but the Donner Party was slowed after electing to follow a new route called the Hastings Cutoff, which bypassed established trails and instead crossed the Rocky Mountains' Wasatch Range and the Great Salt Lake Desert in present-day Utah. The desolate and rugged terrain, and the difficulties they later encountered while traveling along the Humboldt River in present-day Nevada, resulted in the loss of many cattle and wagons, and divisions soon formed within the group. By early November, the migrants had reached the Sierra Nevada but became trapped by an early, heavy snowfall near Truckee Lake (now Donner Lake) high in the mountains. Their food supplies ran dangerously low, and in mid-December some of the group set out on foot to obtain help. Rescuers from California attempted to reach the migrants, but the first relief party did not arrive until the middle of February 1847, almost four months after the wagon train became trapped. Of the 87 members of the party, 48 survived the ordeal. Historians have described the episode as one of the most fascinating tragedies in California history and in the entire record of American westward migration.

WikidataRate this definition:3.0 / 3 votes

1. Donner Party

   The Donner Party was a California Trail wagon train of eighty-one American pioneers who in 1846 found themselves trapped by snow in the Sierra Nevada. Thirty-six members of the party perished as a result of starvation, exposure, disease, and trauma, and some of the survivors resorted to cannibalism. The wagons left in May 1846. Encouraged to try a new, faster route across Utah and Nevada, they opted to take the Hastings Cutoff proposed by Lansford Hastings, who had never taken the journey with wagons. The Cutoff required the wagons to traverse Utah's Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake Desert, and slowed the party considerably, leading to the loss of wagons, horses, and cattle. It also forced them to engage in heavy labor by clearing the path ahead of them, and created deep divisions between members of the party. They had planned to be in the Sacramento Valley by September, but found themselves trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains by early November. Most of the party took shelter by Truckee Lake, in hastily constructed brush sheds and tents several miles away. Food stores quickly ran out, and a group of fifteen people attempted to reach California on snowshoes in December, but became disoriented in the mountains before succumbing to starvation and cold. The members of the Donner party who survived only did so by eating the remains of the deceased. Meanwhile, the Mexican–American War delayed rescue attempts from California, although family members and authorities in California tried to reach the stranded pioneers but were turned back by harsh weather.

How to pronounce Donner Party?

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Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Donner Party in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Donner Party in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

References

1. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Party
2. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Donner Party