The Expedition of the Donner Party and its Tragic Fate

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Expedition of the Donner Party and its Tragic Fate, by Eliza Poor Donner Houghton This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: The Expedition of the Donner Party and its Tragic Fate Author: Eliza Poor Donner Houghton Release Date: February 18, 2004 [EBook #11146] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DONNER EXPEDITION *** Produced by Dave Morgan, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team THE EXPEDITION OF THE DONNER PARTY AND ITS TRAGIC FATE BY ELIZA P. DONNER HOUGHTON S. O. Houghton Eliza P. Donner Houghton PREFACE Out of the sunshine and shadows of sixty-eight years come these personal recollections of California—of the period when American civilization first crossed its mountain heights and entered its overland gateways. I seem to hear the tread of many feet, the lowing of many herds, and know they are the re-echoing sounds of the sturdy pioneer home-seekers. Travel- stained and weary, yet triumphant and happy, most of them reach their various destinations, and their trying experiences and valorous deeds are quietly interwoven with the general history of the State. Not so, however, the "Donner Party," of which my father was captain.