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The Donner Party encountered great hardships crossing the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt Lake Desert in the present state of Utah. By the first of November they were trapped by heavy snow in the Sierra. About two-thirds of the party camped at a small lake (now called Donner Lake), while the Donner families were about six miles away at Alder Creek.

In mid-December fifteen of the trapped emigrants set out for Sutter's Fort, about 100 miles (160 km) away, with only a few days' rations. They soon ran out of food. Caught without shelter in a raging blizzard, four of the company died. Their surviving companions reluctantly resorted to cannibalism. They continued their journey, in the course of which four more died. After a month of hellish travel, seven survivors--two men and five women--reached safety over the mountains on January 19, 1847Events January 4 Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government. January 13 The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican-American War in California. January 16 John C. Fremont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory., nearly naked and close to death.

Californians rallied to save the Donner Party and equipped a total of four rescue parties. On April 29April 29 is the 119th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (120th in leap years). There are 246 days remaining. Events 1400-1799 1429 Hundred Years' War: Joan of Arc relieves Orleans from English siege. 1661 China's Ming Dynasty occupies Taiwan., 1847, the last refugee arrived at Sutter's Fort. Of the original 87 emigrants, 41 died and 46 survived; about half of the survivors had been compelled to resort to cannibalism.

In 20032003 is a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar), and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Summary Perhaps the defining global event of the year 2003 was the Invasion of Iraq launched by the U archaeologists found possible confirmation that cannibalism actually took place at Alder Creek, where the Donner families camped: they recovered from a campfire pit a bone fragment of a "large mammal" bearing butcher marks from an axe. As of this writing ( April 8April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). There are 267 days remaining. Events 1700-1899 1730 Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated. 1742 The first performance of George Frideric Hand, 20042004 is a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 2004 calendar), and has also been designated the: International Year of Rice International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition Elections are to be held in 73 co), the bone has not yet been positively identified as human.

The Donner Camp has been designated a National Historic LandmarkCathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Honolulu, Hawai'i was declared a National Historic Landmark and later listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also the site that Father Damien was ordained to the priesthood. In the United States, Nation.

Cannibalism itself is not a crime, and no legal action was ever taken against the survivors. In another notorious case, the ColoradoThere are also three Colorado Rivers: two in the United States and one in Argentina. Colorado is a state in the western United States. The name of Colorado came from the Spanish word "colorado" which means "reddish color". The name comes from the Colorado cannibal Alferd PackerAlferd Packer ( November 21, 1842 April 23, 1907) is often known as the only American ever convicted of cannibalism, though in reality his conviction was for murder, not cannibalism. Not even the members of the well-known Donner Party were convicted of ca was tried not for cannibalism but for murder.