Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-140) and index.
Contents
The Stevens Party -- A vision looking west -- Wagons to California -- The first "Donner Party" -- Progress on the trail -- A badly advised road -- Tragedy at every turn -- The taboo -- "Do you come from heaven?" -- Nightmare's end -- Lives of the survivors.
Summary
Recounts the journey of the Donner Party which, in 1846, sought to travel from Independence, Missouri, to California but took an untried shortcut that trapped them in the Sierra Nevada mountains during a terrible winter.