31: The California Trail: From the Donner Party to the Gold Rush
History That Doesn't Suck
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The Donner Party Faces Challenges in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
In this chapter, the pioneers who want to take the untested Hastings cut-off separate from other California bound groups and elect George Donner as their leader, officially becoming the Donner party. They encounter their first problem when their guide, Landsford Hastings, leaves a note saying that the narrow, rocky Weber Canyon is impassable by wagon. The men in the group vote to send three riders to find Landsford and get help, but he refuses to guide them and instead instructs James Reed to guide the entire party through the mountains alone.
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