I was a deputy sheriff and my Sheriff was a Donner, he would always chuckle when he would tell his “claim to fame “, being a direct descendant to the Donner party. Just a little tidbit. Thank you for the recount of the story, I’m excited to hear the rest.

@Return_of_the_Dude

Жыл бұрын

As a direct descendant of Hastings😂

Another great video. The emigrant Trail is filled with stories of one disaster after another. The Donner party is probably the most famous, but only one of the many. I enjoyed the way you were telling the story and such a casual manner. I cannot wait to hear the ending.

It's good to hear the prelude to the most famous part of the story.

I love this channel. Hopefully it grows exponentially.

Better than the almost inevitable Netflix documentary one day.

Great storyteller, I’m intrigued!

@TheStoryOutWest

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Manny!

It is terrific to see a channel dedicated to detailed Western history.

I've hiked to the top of independence rock,, those old carvings are amazing ..and west of reno,, what a sight...

Our modern generations can’t even imagine the hardships of early settlers. They were hard people.

I think that all of the actions by James Reed after he is banished make the argument that Snyder's death was a "homicide" is a real push. The fact that the accounts are mixed, combined with Reed's incredible efforts to rescue not only his family, but all the emigrants that were stranded, would suggest that Reed, in historical accounts, deserves the benefit of the doubt. In fact, I have found that the legacy of the Donner/Reed party (obviously, that of cannibalism,) while understandable, is unfortunate. In my mind, the real legacy should be the contrast between those who acted selflessly (Tamzene Donner, most notably) and those who acted egregiously in their own self interest (Keseberg and Foster, for example.)

@TheStoryOutWest

Ай бұрын

Well said. If you like selfless Donner Party stories stay tuned, I’m working on something that will be released in the very near future

KZread algorithm brought your channel to my attention. Have watched a couple of your videos and are very interesting! Thank you for your efforts and sharing. Your voice and description are excellent. No brainer to subscribe. 👍

Your video is the only I’ve found that puts the Donner story in perspective.

I love the Oregon Trail game scenes!

Loved this, please do more!

Just found your channel. Love it already. I love history and I love The West.

Fantastic video. loved hearing the day to day trials and tribulations they went thru all the while knowing that what they were going thru was going to be the "easy part".

Great Job! Many thanks.

Thanks. Stimulates more individual study. Much appreciated.

Great video👍

Great videos , look forward to part 2 and hopefully more 😀 Will you be covering the ACW ??

@TheStoryOutWest

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you. Many Civil War veterans played a large part in the American West. I’ve got a few other projects lined up in the short term, but I wouldn’t rule out ACW content.

Thank you for this and part 2. I’ve just finished reading C F McGlashan’s book, which brought me here. A good follow up to the book.

I don't think there's ever been a time,that I wasn't fascinated by the Donner Party story,I've seen a lot of documentaries,read several books But I like the narration you are doing here.

Much obliged.

Love this channel.

Just what I wanted to know - just who were these ordinary people taking such gigantic risks, and why? These were mature adults, with children. It's just not a time of your life that you are reckless with. The young and footloose, sure. I know some of the stories of the Oregon Trail, but I can never get my head around how willingly they put themselves in such a position of vulnerability. Thank you for your video.

I’ve been to the California Interpretative Center outside of Elko. It’s across from where the Hastings Cutoff comes out of the mountains. They have a very creepy and unsettling presentation about the Donners. Highly recommend!!

excellent content

Some extra details to this The "desert" isn't just a plain desert, its the Salt Flats. People to this day die on there when they wander off and their vehicle gets stuck, it gets ridiculously hot in the day and freezing at night. Ive been there plenty of times. Hastings cut off added about 30 days to their trip. The 2 indians "guides" Luis and Salvador were "given" to the party, Sutters Fort had been described as being in a complete state of slavery as the peoples homes were also burned as a means to make them work harder. Mr.Wolfinger was murdered by Renhart and Spitzer for his valuables and they blamed the indians. Luis and Salvador were also murdered and Cannibalized. The Donner party also decided to take a week to rest right before they tried to go through the Sierras, if memory serves right they were told not to because it looked like it was going to snow

These are excellent videos! It seems these people would have done better dropping altitude and wintering in Nevada.

Decided to play Oregon Trail again because of this video lol

Interesting I never knew all these details

Hey ??? 19:20 and it stops mid-story. Dang. Hoping there’s a second part to this. . . . . . .

@TheStoryOutWest

2 жыл бұрын

There absolutely will be.

@joyceleadbetter2600

Жыл бұрын

Read the book Desperate Passage by Ethan Rarick. Read it three times.

Thanks for the bit about Hastings' book! Every history of the event I read puts the responsibility squarely on Hastings for giving out bad advice. Most make him out to be as bad as a snake oil salesman. Turns out, his "advice" was only one line in the entire book. Sounds like an opinion got repeated and magnified so many times it became "truth".

@grumblesa10

2 жыл бұрын

But none the less, he DID advise moving south of the normal route. The point is he didn't scout it, before writing the book. NOR did he admit that he was wrong after getting in contact with the lead element of the party sent out to find him.

My son lived in Reno for a couple of years. I’ve been to both Donner Party camps and hiked the mountains around there. I’ll never understand why they didn’t stop in the Reno area for the winter. Plenty of game, and fish in the river. The snow doesn’t get deep there. They could have preserved enough meat and fish to get through the winter.

@NickB83

7 ай бұрын

Regulations say catch and release with only single barbless hook 🙄

Wonderhussy did a good series about this, trying to follow their route (as far as practical). 😁. I suppose if emigrants had really wanted to help each other they could have planted vegetables beside trails as they passed along, but apart from the well-known tale of Johnny Appleseed, never heard of it.

@grumblesa10

2 жыл бұрын

Well, 1- Any seeds they carried were to get a crop in when they arrived at their homesteaded land. I can feed my family OR some other family that may or may not show up when the crops ripen 2-Most of the West, is fairly arid-hence the extensive use of irrigation. So the seeds probably wouldn't germinate anyway. 3-One can't "just plant" seeds; you have to plant at the proper time of year-which is related to the weather (which they didn't know as this was truly the wilderness) and soil composition (ditto); AND at the proper depth for both factors. 4- EVEN if they knew all that, the best time of year to depart was no earlier than late March. For many grains and vegetables this would mean that for most of the trail, one would be planting in May-June; wayyyy too late to get a crop in and have it fit for harvesting before the first frost rolls in.

@iainsanders4775

2 жыл бұрын

@@grumblesa10 Well I have all that very clear now - Thanks!

@titaniusanglesmith9690

Жыл бұрын

@@grumblesa10 Wouldnt germinate? You could force them to germinate with water and a cloth....Seems like you ought to know that though

@catlover-fp5ig

Жыл бұрын

@@titaniusanglesmith9690 Yeah because using your precious materials to germinate seeds in arid wastelands right before winter sets in is such a practical idea.

Wait… was the Oregon Trail game actually about the Donner Party?

so do you have part 2 yet?

@TheStoryOutWest

2 жыл бұрын

Sure do! The Dying Season: The Donner Party in California kzread.info/dash/bejne/oK5-urdyidiTiso.html

I'm just curious where the rest of this story is. I know the outcome. I live in Truckee, CA and I've studied the Donner Party. I just thought the entire story would be within this video.

@TheStoryOutWest

5 ай бұрын

Here you go: kzread.info/dash/bejne/oK5-urdyidiTiso.html

I feel sorry for all the livestock and the dogs that went with them they suffered more them the people.

@susanvickery2060

Жыл бұрын

I’m sorry for the animals, too...but I doubt they suffered worse than the humans. I don’t know how anyone could know just how horrible their hunger, weakness and worries were . God placed human life above animals. We should too.

@titaniusanglesmith9690

Жыл бұрын

@@susanvickery2060 god dont exist, lady. The animals feel the same damn way starving as we do if not worse because they have far less skills/knowledge to aid them. regardless a just god wouldnt have allowed this to occur so even if a god did exist, I wouldnt worship him

So they had 6 wagons, and 2 teamsters, so who drove the other wagons?

They had 9 wagons (?!) an3 teamsters. So who drove the other 6??

It’s sad how this actually proved how selfish people had to be to survive and how staying in a large group would not always guarantee safety.

@SofaKingShit

Жыл бұрын

It also showed that you had to be well prepared to have a chance of survival and the importance of heeding local folks who have experience of local conditions.

Why in the world would you move every 2-3 years??!!

@chaelmavik

Ай бұрын

Especially with latge families like theirs back then. Thats insane to move a family with lots of children into essentially uncharted territory almost quite literally. I guess it shows how prevalent the idea of Manifest Destiny was and how people held it so closely as a belief.

Wow Margaret Reed is probably the most homly woman I've ever seen .. my god .. lol

@AdamSmith-yn4ch

Жыл бұрын

Indeed. She kind of looks like the Noid from the old Dominos commercials

I only eat a Donner on a Friday night😮

Why would you move every few years??!

@joyceleadbetter2600

Жыл бұрын

Back then, no chemical fertilizer, once the farmland played out, you moved on to new lands. Called slash and burn.

So how did these people think that they could go across a freaking desert?? I don’t understand where they got water for themselves and their cartle anyway, let alone in a desert!! 😆😂

0:58 that doesn’t look right. I think it was over more

Why didn’t they fish

She goes on a months long journey while pregnant ??!

Like now

Nnnnnnno....greed and hubris built America, excuse me, y'all call it merica

THE ONLY THING THAT RESCUED THEM, WAS THAT: THEY had Gold. That's the only reason the rescuers went... G O L D. GOLD COIN....

@grumblesa10

2 жыл бұрын

Except that the rescuers, risked their own lives to cross the pass to find and get them out. Then, they fed and clothed them on their arrival. They also worked to set them up with land.