Desperate times call for desperate measures. This advice has been used as a way to justify questionable actions in times of despair for many years. Following the advice, the Donner Party did whatever they could to survive. Stuck in a snowstorm, the group is believed to have reverted back to animalistic ways, and devoured each other to survive. While no one knows the truth of that fateful winter, many agree that cannibalism was their main form of survival. Though the Donner Party’s travels were not well documented and many details remain controversial, it is evident that they resorted to cannibalism to survive.
During their western voyage, the group notoriously known as the “Donner Party” inevitably became trapped in a snowstorm in the winter of 1846 and 1847. Originally, the group set out for California in search of new opportunities. Figure 1 shows the path that the party followed to arrive in their set destination. After departing from Springfield, Illinois, the Donner’s first stop was in Independence, Missouri where they joined the rest of their traveling companions. The party had then planned on arriving at Fort Bridger to join another expedition, but they were too late and the expedition left without them (Johnson, 1). They left from Fort Bridger on July 31, 1846 using their own navigation skills in hopes of landing at their destination (Diamond, 2). When an unfortunate snowstorm hit, the group was left stranded. To make matters worse, they were split up between Truckee Lake and Alder Creek. They struggled during this time for they had few supplies and a limited food source. Of the 81 person party, only 45 survived the horrendous conditions (Johnson, 1). That number of casualties may seem fairly typical based on the condit...
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... alone is irrational let alone poor reasoning to enforce the disagreement. They did most likely consume wild animals but were in no way dependent on them. Out of desperation, the Donner Party had to have resorted to cannibalism.
The Donner Party experienced harsh measures and had to come to extremely important decisions regarding survival. Many still deny the possibility that the party resorted to cannibalism in spite of a serious lack of proof and virtually no records of the events stating otherwise. On the other hand, many just “want to tell the story of their life over those final months, not just of cannibalism. [They] wasn’t to restore the humanity to the members of that party – and to their descendants” (Bailey, 1). Despite such controversy, the party has ultimately been linked to cannibalism, and based on the events, that is most obviously what occurred.
against slavery , it refused to attempt to stamp it out of the regions it was
To start with, McCandless was not someone who gave up. Despite others trying to scare him out of continuing with his journey into the Alaskan wilderness, nothing deterred McCandless. He anxiously awaited to experience life off the land. The people McCandless encountered on his way to Alaska often commented on his determination. Jim Gallien, a man who drove McCandless into the Alaska interior, described McCandless as “real gung-ho”. McCandless's attempt to undertake such a risky endeavour is something to admire in itself. To travel two years, mostly on foot, is certainly not an easy task. However, McCandless still persevered through the hardships he faced throughout his journey. McCandles...
In the spring of 1805 the Lewis and Clark expedition decides to take off. But on there way a sudden storm approaches and n...
When I finished this article I started to realize that the life of pioneers was not just one big adventure, but they had to face some really difficult problems like dangerous river crossing, bad weather, different kinds of accidents and diseases along the way without any chance for medical treatment.
The Fragmentation of the Political Party System in the 1860s A majority of Americans thought that the election of 1860 would determine the future of the Union. A compromise could not be reached on the slavery issue between the North and the South. Northerners wanted to abolish slavery altogether and Southerners wanted the expansion of slavery into the territories. There were four presidential candidates for the election, and only one of them was pro-slavery.
January 12, 1888, a blizzard covered the northwest part of North America that claimed many lives. This blizzard was considered to be the worst blizzard of all time, and was dubbed the “the Schoolchildren’s Blizzard”, for claiming the lives of so many school children on their way home. The death toll of this murderous blizzard rose, because of lack of preparation and being uninformed. During this time, many farmers and families were unprepared to survive a blizzard of this magnitude, by the lack of clothing they wore. Forecasters were not as accurate enough to inform people on the weather conditions. Also, shelter was a major factor in protecting themselves from the winter storms, but the shelter was not stable
Cannibalism is a long-standing taboo in our society; the thought of humans preying on other humans for a food source disgusts and astounds us. Though the practice is not common amongst modern day humans there is some evidence to suggest that ancient humans resorted to such measures, and a recent discovery in Madagascar attests to the possibility that some carnivorous dinosaurs fed on their own species (Perkins, 2003).
(6) The suddenness of the winter storm caught people by surprise. A roar “like an approaching train” was all the warning the storm gave. (130) The roaring wind and snow brought darkness and dropping temperatures. The people who were inside when the blizzard struck faced a dilemma. Staying inside and doing nothing seemed “heartless,” but going into the storm “on a rescue mission was likely to be fatal to the rescuer and useless to the lost.” (143) The people who were unfortunate enough to be away from home, whether they were at school or working with their livestock, had to make a difficult decision. They could either risk trying to make it home or chance it out and stay where they were. Schoolteachers had to decide whether to send the children home or keep them at the school. If anyone ventured outside, he or she risked frostbite, hypothermia, and likely
The New Federalist Party Part I As the sole member of the New Federalist party, it is with great honors that I now present to you the very first New Federalist platform. PREAMBLE The growing dissension between the two major political parties today has drawn them away from the public's views. It has been determined that the citizens of the United States cannot get what they want from the current major parties.
The fabric of history shows the design and spirals the elections of 1860, the rise of the Republican Party, and the bills pushed through congress and the presidency left on our nation. This paper will examine show the indelible marks of the 1860 election and its importance as a prelude to the Civil War. With this examination revealing how the Republican Party was able to rise to power so quickly, and how that rise came to affect the entire nation not only at that moment in time but also forward into the future of the United States of America. To help us look at this specific instance in history we must look at the several aspects including the Republican’s rise to power and the effect of the bills they pushed through Congress. There were several bills during this time period that were opposed by the South. The passage of these bills would most likely not have been possible if the Southern Democrats had still held power in the legislation. Numerous bills could be examined, but to save time we will examine two that in my opinion are most important. They are the Homestead Act and the Morrill Tariff. Examining both the rise of the Republican Party and these two bills it will become clear as to why the election of 1860 was one of the most important and influential elections in American history.
If I was a citizen in the United States of America back in 1790, I would want to be part of the Federalist Party. The Federalist Party was created by Alexander Hamilton, and his party wants a strong central government in America with power given to the wealthy and political leaders. The only other party back then was the justly named Anti-Federalist party. The Anti-Federalist party was started by Thomas Jefferson and this party had completely opposite views to the Federalists. Anti-Federalists focused on power among the individual states, as opposed to having a powerful central government. I would rather be a part of the Federalist Party because I agree with their decisions on the Bank of the United States, future American economy, changes to the Constitution, and their debate on which people should be allowed to participate in government decisions.
It is undisputed that cannibalism did occur within the Donner Party, but in reality, it was only a small portion of the survival of the Donners when they were stranded. Due to the taboo nature of cannibalism, its presence has been overstated to make the story of the Donner Party more macabre and thrilling. The bones dug up in the archeological excavation of Dixon showed no evidence of cannibalism. Since no human bones were found
Young men like Everett Ruess, Gene Roselline, John Waterman, and Carl McGunn go on these severe searches only to perish in the wilderness. The moment death faces them do they realize their purpose for life -- by then it is too late. It is valiant of these young men to go on such an adventurous journey only to perish in the end. People have this idea that the American wilderness is a forgiving and there’s this romantic mythology surrounding the portrayal of the wild. That the wild is adventurous and romantic, but people don’t understand the harsh conditions that the wild
Spencer, Colin. The Heretic's Feast: A History of Vegetarianism. Hanover, NH: U of New England, 1996. Print.
The story begins when the five individuals, all members of the Speluncean Society, are trapped in a limestone cavern as a result of a cave-in. Rescue operations commenced once the individuals did not return from the exploration. On the twentieth day of this debacle, radio communications were established and all five explorers discovered that they would not be able to survive if one individual is not consumed as food. A pair of dice was used to determine who would be consumed. Roger Whitmore, who proposed this cannibalistic idea in the first place, decided to withho...