Very nice. But a couple of items to note. It was Wales Bonney who Hastings hired to take his letter through the South Pass and on east to Fort Laramie and beyond - not James Clyman. Clyman was with Hastings when they cut of at Secret Pass on the Humboldt River and came east through the Great Salt Desert and through the Wasatch Mountains. They parted ways at Fort Bridger, with Hastings believed to have headed as far east as the South Pass. Neither Clyman's diary or Reed's diary make reference to them having a discussion about the cutoff at Fort Laramie. Clyman mentions the meeting in 1872 when he's dictating his memoirs to Richard Tremaine Montgomery for H. H. Bancroft. But it is commonly believed that he was probably embellishing the story at the point. As far as Edwin Bryant's letter(s), there's no mention of the contents, nor is there any mention of Tamsen Donner in Bryant's journal with respect to the letter(s). He simply states that he left them at Fort Bridger. He didn't send them back up the trail. He does not say who he left them with. He does indicate that he met Joseph Walker (who was driving cattle east) while they were camped outside of Fort Bridger on July 17. Walker had guided Fremont's 3rd expedition south of Salt Lake and across the Great Salt Desert in 1845, so he was very familiar with the route. Bryant then indicates on July 18 he wrote the letter(s) and left them at Fort Bridger. Reed would later accuse Vasquez of withholding the letter. Reed was pretty clueless about what was going on. In a letter he wrote on July 31 that was published in the Sangamo Journal on November 5, 1846, he stated that the cutoff would save 350-400 miles, and that they were only 250 miles from California, while Fort Hall was 650-700 miles. He does acknowledge in the letter that Bridger and Vasquez were at the Fort, and spoke highly of them. So it is possible that either one or both of them withheld the letter(s). Or maybe they did give Reed the letter(s) and he was just doing a CYA... Anyway - very nice video and great to see the artifacts. I hope to get there and visit the museum!
I believe Hastings actually traveled the route with the group Clyman led. But The party was mounted on horses and mules going east and travelling fast. How much culpability Hastings had has to be weighed against his lack of experience.
I don’t think they have regular operating hours. Pretty sure it’s by appointment or if you’re lucky enough to show up when someone is there to let you in.
It seemed to happen once a week, once they hit Wyoming. From their starting point, people told them they were starting way too late and would get snowed in. They kept taking breaks that lasted days too long, burying one of their dead probably under this museum and spending a week there. The mountain men they met told them to just go to the regular route. They considered turning back after finding a note from Hastings that said “for the love of God, go back!” But when one of the women Donners said that they thought it was a good idea, they laughed and continued to their deaths.
@@johnposey1455 … The story of the Donner Party has legs! I heard about it as a child. As in probably 1964 as a seven year old. It’s a tragic history which gets retold.
