On February 19, 1847, the first rescuers reach surviving members
of the Donner Party, a group of California-bound emigrants stranded
by snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

In the summer of 1846, in the midst of a Western-bound fever
sweeping the United States, 89 people—including 31 members
of the Donner and Reed families—set out in a wagon train from Springfield, Illinois.

After arriving at Fort Bridger, Wyoming, the emigrants decided to
avoid the usual route and try a new trail recently blazed by
California promoter Lansford Hastings, the so-called “Hastings
Cutoff.” 

After electing George Donner as their captain, the party departed
Fort Bridger in mid-July. 

The shortcut was nothing of the sort: It set the Donner Party back
nearly three weeks and cost them much-needed supplies. After
suffering great hardships in the Wasatch Mountains, the Great Salt
Lake Desert and along the Humboldt River, they finally reached the
Sierra Nevada Mountains in early October.

Donner Party Monument at Donner Memorial State Park
Truckee, California.

Jessica McClure Morales (37) today.

On February 19, 1847, the first rescuers reach surviving members
of the Donner Party, a group of California-bound emigrants
stranded by snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

In the summer of 1846, in the midst of a Western-bound fever
sweeping the United States, 89 people—including 31 members
of the Donner and Reed families—set out in a wagon train from Springfield, Illinois. After arriving at Fort Bridger, Wyoming, the emigrants decided to avoid the usual route and try a new trail
recently blazed by California promoter Lansford Hastings, the
so-called “Hastings Cutoff.” After electing George Donner
(below) as  their captain, the party departed Fort Bridger in
mid-July.

The shortcut was nothing of the sort: It set the Donner Party back
nearly three weeks and cost them much-needed supplies. After
suffering great hardships in the Wasatch Mountains, the Great
Salt Lake Desert and along the Humboldt River, they finally
reached the Sierra Nevada Mountains in early October.

Overnight,  an early winter storm blanketed the ground with
snow, blocking the mountain pass and trapping the Donner
Party.     
       

George Donner (1836 – 1874)
        

James F. Reed and his wife, Margret W. Keyes Reed, seen
in this file photo taken in the 1850s, were survivors of the
tragic Donner Party.

Map of the route taken by the Donner Party, showing the Hastings Cutoff—which added 150 miles (240 km) to
their travels—in orange.

Jessica McClure Morales (born March 26, 1986; widely
known as "Baby Jessica" in 1987) fell into a well in her
aunt’s backyard in Midland, Texas, on October 14, 1987,
at the age of 18 months.

Jessica Morales, now age 36, lives with her husband,
Danny, and two kids, Simon and Sheyenne three miles
from the well that made her famous.

On February 19, 1847, the first rescuers reached surviving members
of the Donner Party, a group of 89 California-bound emigrants led
by the Donner and Reed families, stranded by snow in the Sierra
Nevada Mountains. Three additional rescue parties arrived later.

The trip back to Sutter’s Fort was also brutally hard. Only 45 of the original 89 members of the Donner Party survived.