All the Mistakes That Doomed the Donner Party 

Doesn't seem like much of a party to me

The old man being left behind was always sad to me. I mean it was probably better for him in the end considering what happened to the Donner Party, but imagine not being able to keep up with the group and slowly watching them fading into the distance, leaving you behind to die, then being all alone in the wilderness.

Banishing James Reed like thy did saved the survivors. He did make it to Sutter’s Fort and when the party didn’t arrive, he raised the rescue parties. He was relentless in his efforts to save everyone possible.

Reed didn't just stab a guy for beating his ox. Two wagons in the remaining group became tangled, and John Snyder angrily beat the ox of Reed's hired teamster Milt Elliott. When Reed intervened, Snyder proceeded to rain blows down onto his head with a whip handle - when Reed's wife attempted to intervene she too was struck. Reed retaliated by fatally plunging a knife under Snyder's collarbone. Reed acted in self defense and tried to plead his case before the other travelers but they were already stressed out and had no time for a trial. One man offered to throw a rope over his wagon to hang Reed with it, but Reed's wife begged for his banishment instead. Reed would eventually come back with a recuse party.

Hey, I played Oregon Trail when I was a kid and sometimes I died of starvation. I don't recall "eating cousin Jacob" as an option.

It’s like they purposely chose the worst scenario possible

"fun" fact: one of the surviving children died the night he was rescued, because he was so hungry he broke into the rescuers' food stores and ate until his starvation-shrunken stomach ruptured.

So we’re not gonna talk about how reed came back as a part of one of the many rescue parties and saved the people that exiled him and talked about killing him??”

I learned more about the Donner Party in 13mins than I did watching an entire 2hr documentary. Thanks, Weird History!

Imagine being the surviving families and party members that broke off and decided to go the decent route, amd then you find out all this after? It's gotta be natural selection.

Where they died is now “the Donner picnic area” 💀

By the way, James Reed was a certified legend! What did he do after getting the boot from the Donner Party, you ask? ✅ survived a 22-day trek from the wagon train to a fort, narrowly escaping starvation throughout ✅ gathered supplies and then set back out to bring them to the same group who totally just finished banishing his ass like a second ago ✅ got blocked by the same snow which trapped the others, avoided the urge to eat himself, successfully retreated ✅ got sucked into a war, survived the Battle of Santa Clara, ended up with his own land as a result ✅ helped lead yet another rescue attempt, actually found his wife and two of his kids! ("yeah, Honey, I'm headed into the mountains. Just meet me by the tree, OK?") ✅ made it all the way back to the Donner-Reed camp, rescued his remaining relatives and left the rest o' them suckers behind ✅ was a sheriff, farmer and commodities trader all in the same year ✅ fackin NAILED the California gold rush, built a 500-acre boss AF ranch, re-invested in mining and real estate companies ✅ was chief of police for the San Jose Police Department ✅ had a street in San Jose named after every one of his children ❌ took more than two years to do ALL of the shit I just listed Mahfugger died at 73 years old. Adjusted for inflation, that's 292 years old! #TheyShouldHaveIgnoredTheStabbingYo

When you beat Oregon Trail on the normal difficulty and then decide to do it on Hard mode.

Looks like I picked the wrong morning to eat my 'Donner's Frozen Breakfast Sausages' .

Fun fact: In Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 there is a loose easter egg based on this tragic situation, Lake Donner is named after this and there is also a wagon and left over human bones next to a mummified corpse in a over hang like cave. Still sad for anyone involved.

At this point, this family must be in the afterlife going, "Ok, Ok! We get it! We fucked up! Enough already!" Problem is, we can't get enough of this story.

Everybody gangsta till the snow starts fallin

Even when the food runs out, we'll still have each other.

I've definitely seen Donner packed in snow, so difficult to see others in front of you while driving. My heart goes out to these people. Such a sad situation.

"They picked up people along the way to beef up their numbers" 😄

My favourite thing about these episodes is how the narrator talks like a cynical god reliving the past

Surprised that The Donner Party hasn't been adapted into American Horror Story series yet but this is still a dark and macabre part of history

“Boy, did this guy suck” HAHAHAH I love that line

That is only half the story! It is really interesting when you read about the whole trip. James Reed the one who was made to go off on his own was the one who saved the party! He made it through and sent help, after all his family was still with the party. It really is a fascinating story from start to finish. I've read several books on the story and man is it good reading. Truth is stranger than fiction!

The "banished" James Reed actually went ahead to Sutter's Fort. In February he returned with a rescue party and brought his family back alive. The supplies he left for the rest helped them survive until another rescue party could get to them.

Speaking of cannibalism, you should do a video on the Andes mountains plane crash.

See the short version video: "What Went Right With the Donner Party"

Are used to live in Roseville California and every time I would drive to Reno I would pass “Donners pass” and it would always give me the creeps.

I don’t like saying things like “they did this to themselves” but Jesus Christ they really did do this to themselves. Still such a tragedy but my god....

“The cattle needed a break and a meal to stay nice and alive”🤣🤣

I live in far Northern California and I’ve been up in the Sierra Nevada’s many times. If you’ve ever been in the high Sierra’s you’ll know why the Donner Party was in such dire circumstances over winter. This past winter 2021-2022, there was a record high of 18 feet of snow fall on Donner Pass.

There's so much more to this story and even afterwards for many years. The rescue takes place over three or four attempts, the second part of the story. They were stranded for so long they built cabins. It snowed so much that when it melted the trees they cut down were still 30 to 40 feet high.

The desert of northern Nevada is no joke. There’s still like a 40 mile stretch with absolutely nothing.

GUIDE: “It won’t snow until November” Me: “How the f*** do you know??”

I love your videos, they are direct, factual and to the point!! I'm a school counselor who does small group counseling. I am thinking of showing some of your child appropriate videos to my students to help them learn and understand about why people think and act the way they do!! How ones upbringing, surroundings, culture, religion, etc affects us socially and emotionally!! Thank you!! Great content..

As someone who lives on the Wasatch Mountains, I couldn't imagine traveling through any trail not deemed safe. It's forested mountains, so it's hard enough to see as is

They should've just fast traveled.

my dyslexic ass read that as “ donor party” turns out i wasn’t that far off from what actually went down

weirdly enough, the guy who they exiled in the end actually went on to save them

I went thru almost the exact same thing as the Donner party when I crossed the country via a Greyhound bus ride. Only, there were a few more murders.....

As a Californian, I've been obsessed with this story since I was a kid. Recently, I met a new hire at work and found out that he is a descendant of Jacob Donner's surviving family members. And how did I discover this? HIS NAME IS DONNER. 😳

“Hastings stupid cutoff” 😂😂

Whenever somebody even mentions the Donner party everybody breaks out the cannibalism jokes. This has always bothered me. I don't think people would be so cavalier about it if they happen to be starving themselves with no other alternative. Read the diaries they left behind.

Your commentary is hilarious. Love your channel, it is my favorite.

I live 40 minutes away from Donner. Even today I wouldn’t drive through the highway that passes the pass in winter. Very dangerous, especially before the snow plows really get the road clean. Save your trips to Tahoe and truckee when the CHP says it’s safe. A lot of people from the Bay Area or other warmer parts of Cali end up crashing and dying a lot because the don’t think it’s going to be that bad. Stupid.

Why did you rush through the ending so fast? That was an important part

I literally rode my bicycle from Lake Tahoe To Missouri in 15 days. Loved it. The day before I tried to ride from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe. Weather kept saying “Light rain hi temp 48.” So I climbed all day in the rain and got to Echo pass and it started snowing. I kept thinking 48 can’t snow ? As my hands froze. I stuck out my thumb and got a ride immediately from a guy in a pick up. I thought how perfect is this. He made me ride in the back because his passenger seat was full of stuff. I’m laying in the back looking straight up at a white out as we pulled into Lake Tahoe city. “Life on the run ain’t no fun.” Bonnie and Clyde

“They were a party of settlers in wagons, they got snowbound one winter, and they had to Resort to Cannibalism in order to stay alive…” - Jack Torrance

Damn... their whole trip was just a comedy of errors. A very black comedy, mind you.

Fun fact: Abraham Lincoln was supposed to join the donnor party, but his wife didn’t want him to go

I love your channel and the narrator!!! 🙃 keep em coming!! 👍

Its been 2months since I subscribed, these days I only get to sleep with your voice playing on my airpods. Whoever you are thank you for helping me with my sleep

This was the first bedtime story that my dad read to me. After we finished that book, he pulled out the Nuremburg Trials, a hefty tome for a 5 year old. Then the Titanic. No wonder my teachers found me both strange and oddly educated in grade school. All true- but it was a different time in the 1960's. I regret nothing in choosing my parents.🙂

They died because they "got cute" and took Hastings cutoff

I’m sending this to my kids old high school! My kids never learned the true tale properly! My husband and I had to teach them...yet another subject to teach the kids!! Cheers for your brilliant channel!

People love to judge those who lived in the past out of context and with a superficial air of superiority, since they are unable to speak and testify on their behalf.

Murphy's Law ran rampant in the Donner Party.

This like a guide, if you're trying to lose Oregon Trail as quickly as possible.

Thank you for the video.

Everyone knows what happened with the Donner party in the end. But I am glad you guys focused on the historical unknown details that lead up to it. Makes the story interesting again. Awesome work guys! 👍🏼😉

Traveler: "Hey Donner, this party ain't no fun at all." Donner: "Bite me." Traveler: "Well, if you insist."

It was the Donner-Reed party. None of the Reeds ate anyone. All survived.

This was weird! Now I’m subscribed!

The most bingable channel on youtube. I rewatch over and over cause theres always something I missed

Oh that human hubris. Gets us in trouble every time.

More like “Dahmer” party

OMG! SO FUNNY! CLEVERLY PUT. I WON'T FORGET THIS EXPLANATION 🤣👍

This almost feels like watching a horror movie where the character runs right into the serial killer as if there was no safer routes

I mistakenly read this as the “Dinner Party.” Like, no, that’s exactly what you wouldn’t want to join the Donners for.

11:00 Snider actually whipped Reed's wife, and then they had a fight which lead to Snider's death.

A+ video! LOVE IT! Ain't no party like a Donner Party!

Dating yourself a bit by mentioning Oregon Trail; aren’t you my friend…..?! ;) lol awesome video

I find this story morbidly fascinating. First started reading about after I saw Cannibal: The Musical. Yes I know that was about the Packer expedition but the concept of pioneer cannibalism is interesting

I’ve forever been obsessed by the tragic end of-the Donner party. There’s a great book entitled “The Indifferent Stars Above”. Can’t recall the author just now but it is a really good read if you are fascinated by the DonnerParty. I think I’ve read it three times and I always come across something new or mis- read on one of my previous reads. Hope you enjoy if you decide to read.

Thanks for posting. I need to go to lunch now.

Great video

No one leaves the table until everyone has eaten....each other.

So cool when you learn something so interesting that you literally had no prior knowledge of... Thank you!

6:25 on for a bit. I just love the sarcasm. It's refreshing considering the topic content.

Yeah I heard about this once before in another documentary. It was only briefly mentioned and I was always curious about it. I forgot about it untill it popped up under another video by WH. Thanks Weird History

I always think of Robin Williams in patch Adams Calling his patients and saying "Donner, party of five!" As a kid this went right over my head and now I'm like I see what u did there 😏

Great book about this is called “The Indifferent Stars Above”, collection of diaries and the archeological evidence from the campsites. 8/10 makes appreciate the little things

SUBSCRIBED ; ) I like weird history.

Great videos! Narrative pizzazz makes the videos much more interesting 🤔 Thank you!

The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party is an excellent book. Not boring and absolutely heartbreaking. One of my favorites.

They’re first mistake? Trying to cross the misty mountains. There’s a reason the Fellowship decided to go through Moria.

First Nations Tribes watching them from a distance eating each other’s: “Savages😑”

Im not sure if you have done a video of this sort, but I would like to learn more about the french underground in WW2. I loved this video btw :)

"The Graves Party" that's all the red flag I need

Every time I hear this story I thank the lord that I live in today's world. We have it way too easy.

This video was very informative. I’ve heard references to the Donner party but never knew the actual whole story.

I’ve camped at Donner before with family. It was during summer and there was still snow on the ground. My parents took a picture of me in my swimsuit building a small snowman.

The oxen that ran off originated "nope-ing out of this situation"

"It's always good to leave a note... attached to a wooden stake.... in the wilderness". Idk why but I found this bit hilarious! Loving the content! So sarcastic and funny while being educational. My favourite type of videos 😊

I live next to the Wasatch mountains I can tell you that it would of been impossible for anyone to pass. There's a passage there now of course to get in to Salt lake, but that's bcuz they were blown up to make a highway. Trying to go through with a coveted wagon? Impossible..

I lived in Reno Nevada when I'd go to Truckee California I'd drive across Donner Pass all the time! The paranormal energy left by the Donner party is still present today! I would always joke with my husband when we'd travel across Donner pass in winter if we got stranded he could eat me!

New Oregon Trail DLC looks sick

There was more than one snow storm,quite a few blizzards, didn’t get rescued until spring,even their rescue party got stranded

I love you sir, wow you telling like 👍 it is. Great 👍 👌 👍 video.

Colorado has our own Donner party incident: Alfred Packer. Was a good cautionary tale in "when the Utes tell you to hold off on your journey, maybe listen to them"