The story of the
Donner party's disastrous journey was first recorded
in diaries and letters written along the way. After
the trip was completed and rumors about the party's
horrible experiences began to circulate, including shocking
stories about cannibalism, newspaper reporters interviewed
the survivors. These published articles grabbed the
public's interest, and there was a demand for more information
for many years to come.
In 1891, James Reed's stepdaughter, Virginia, who was
by then Mrs. J. M. Murphy, was asked by Century magazine
to write an article about her experiences in the Donner
party. Her story, Across the Plains in the Donner
Party, is the most complete record written by a
member of the party, and it is the foundation for the
text that follows.
Virginia's words in Part One are supplemented by letters
Mr. Reed wrote to relatives in the United States as
he traveled west. He sent these letters home with men
he met on the trail who were returning east. News about
people heading to California was in such demand in the
travelers' hometowns that their letters were given to
local newspapers for publication. Reed's letters appeared
in several issues of the Sangamo Journal in
Springfield, Illinois, in 1846. To distinguish Reed's
accounts from Virginia's story in the following pages,
his letters have been put into separate chapters beneath
his byline.
A chronology, illustrations, charts, and maps have been
added to make the story easier to understand. In addition,
spelling and punctuation have been standardized for
the reader's ease.
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