Encore: Donner Party | Snow and Blood | 2
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This episode of Against the Odds contains depictions of violence. Please be advised. William Eddy stands on the wooden bench of his family's covered wagon. Whipping his oxen, he urges them forward across the desert terrain. Come on! Come on! Move! Move! The oxen struggle to pull the wagon through the thick, deep sand. The wheels can't get any traction, and the wagon keeps slipping sideways.

Eddie hears pots and pans clanking in back. His oxen are malnourished and weak, but he needs them to keep going. If the wagon stops, it could get stuck in the sand, and he can't risk getting stranded here in the middle of this desolate landscape. It's early in the morning on October 8th, 1846. Eddie is part of the Donner Party, a group of settlers headed to California.

About two months ago, their group of 19 wagons took a shortcut that was supposed to shave weeks off their journey. Instead, the shortcut led them through a merciless desert. Now, they're badly behind schedule. They need to make up time and cross the Sierra Nevada mountains before winter descends, or they'll get trapped in the snow.

Eddie peers ahead down the trail, but sees only more sand, dotted with scrub brush. He got a late start this morning and the other wagons are just distant specks. Beyond them, jagged towers of rock jut up from the horizon. He notices that his wagon is catching up with someone on foot. People often walk to lighten the load on their oxen, which are exhausted after six months of hard travel.

But this man appears to be injured. He's alone and limping badly. As his wagon gets closer, Eddie sees that it's an old immigrant laborer from Belgium named Hardcoop. He's been riding with the brewer, Louis Kesseberg. Eddie calls out to him. Hey, why are you walking? Hardcoop stops and turns. Eddie sees that Hardcoop's boots have been split open and the toes sticking out look swollen and black.

Where's Keseberg? When he abandoned one of his wagons, he said there was no room for me and that I had to fend for myself. I've been walking for six hours.

Eddie feels a flash of anger. Kesseberg's cruelty is well known among the other settlers. Now he's forcing a famished 60-year-old man to walk miles through the barren desert with broken boots? As the wagon passes him, Hard Coop looks up at Eddie with pleading eyes. Will you stop and let me ride with you? I can't stop. You'll have to climb aboard. I can hardly walk, much less climb. You have to stop.

Eddie flinches. "The sand is too soft. If I stop, I'll never be able to start again." Hardcoop nods, looking resigned. Eddie calls after him as his wagon trundles past. "I'm sorry. I'll wait for you up ahead. As soon as we can safely stop. Just keep pushing." A moment later, Eddie glances behind him into his wagon and sees his wife and children sleeping.

All three are thin and pale with hunger. As much as Eddie wants to help Hardcoop, his family is the priority. He's got to keep moving. The stop would be certain death. The thought makes him whip his oxen even harder. If this awful sand ends soon, maybe he can pull over and wait for Hardcoop. Otherwise, he's not sure that poor man will survive.

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In 1846, a group of 87 settlers took a shortcut that they thought would hasten their journey to California. Instead, they found themselves running dangerously behind schedule. Slogging through miles of seemingly endless desert, they would become known as the Donner Party. As the party's progress slowed to a crawl, tensions ran high. Then, one of the group's leaders, James Reed, stabbed and killed another settler who attacked his wife.

Reed was banished, but agreed to ride ahead and find food for the group. Meanwhile, the rest of the party struggled on. Looming ahead of them were the high, harsh peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Unless the settlers made it through the mountains before the snow came, they could be trapped there all winter. They were now in a race against time for their own survival. This is Episode 2, Snow and Blood.

William Eddy warms his hands at the campfire, then stares back down the trail. It's 3 a.m., but he refuses to turn in. Not until the limping hardcoop arrives. Eddy leaves the fire and starts wandering back down the trail, clutching his coat against the wind. It's already October, and the desert seems to get colder each night. Hello? Hardcoop? If you can hear me, yell! Hello?

The only answer is the wind. Eddie kept looking for firmer ground where he could stop his wagon safely and wait for Heart Coop. But the sand continued all day. Well past nightfall, Eddie pulled into camp, exhausted. Now he can't sleep, imagining poor Heart Coop. At least once an hour, Eddie wanders down the trail and yells, there's never any answer.

Eddie sees the first rays of dawn and hears the camp begin to stir to life. He sets off to find Louis Keseberg, the man who agreed to get Hardcoop to California. He finds him putting the yoke on his scrawny oxen. "We need to go back and find Hardcoop. I have my own family to keep safe." He knew the risks of making this journey. "That doesn't mean we can abandon him!"

Keseberg doesn't answer. He just finishes yoking his oxen, climbs into his wagon, and begins to pull away. Eddie has half a mind to jump aboard the wagon and have things out with Keseberg, but he knows there's no point. Instead, he goes from family to family, begging every man with a horse to go back and look for Hardcoop.

But each man refuses. They all say they have their own families to worry about, and Hardcoop isn't their problem. Before long, Eddie's wagon is the last one left in camp. He scans the horizon, desperate for any sign of Hardcoop. It's only been a few days since James Reid was banished, but the party's attitude has already taken a dark turn. His optimism, even if it was misplaced,

Held them together, now it's every man for himself, and Eddie has to admit he's no different. No matter how ashamed he feels, he can't risk his family for hard coup. So he climbs back onto his wagon and lashes the oxen with his whip. They need to catch up with the others. There's no time to lose.

James Reed digs his walking stick into the ground, dragging himself and his scraggly horse up the last few feet of a hill. Alongside him is a wagon driver named Walter Heron. Heron volunteered to accompany Reed when he was banished. Reed's glad to have some company, but he's not sure how much longer either one of them will hold out. But when Reed crests the hill, he stands awestruck.

Spread before him is a fort, the first sign of civilization he's seen in a month. He worries for a moment that it's a hallucination from hunger, but then he sees that Heron is grinning as well. They hug each other in joy, then begin a slow, stiff-legged walk down the hill.

The place is called Sutter's Fort. It's a famous landmark in California for settlers nearing the end of their journey. Unlike the crude frontier forts they passed on their journey before, this one has handsome whitewashed walls and red tile roofs. To Reid, it looks like paradise. Reid and Heron have been traveling together for about a month, crossing west over the Sierra Nevada mountains.

For food, they were reduced to picking squashed beans out of wagon ruts and licking rancid beef fat out of buckets discarded by earlier settlers. A sentinel at the fort spies them and raises a cry. Soon, a dozen men ride out to meet them. Lord Almighty, is that James Reed?

Reed squints at one of the men. It's Edwin Bryant, a newspaper editor who was part of the larger party that crossed most of the country with Reed and the Donners. But Bryant refused to take the shortcut. In fact, as Reed looks around, he sees that everyone coming out to greet him is from the original wagon train.

When they parted ways at the shortcut, Reed told Bryant and the others that they were being foolish. But it's Reed who feels foolish now. "Hello, Edwin. Do you have anything to eat?" Bryant hops down and pulls some salt pork from his saddle sack, handing chunks to Reed and Heron. They tear into it. Reed finishes in two bites, barely tasting it. "More. There's more inside. But where's the rest of your party?"

Reed tells Bryant about the main party, how they're running low on food and behind schedule. As soon as I get my strength back, I'm going to round up a relief party and go back for them. Unfortunately, that might be difficult.

Bryant explains that while Reed was out in the wilderness, a war broke out between the US and Mexico. California is Mexican territory, but full of American settlers, most of whom have now volunteered for military service. Outfitting a relief party of anyone, much less men with experience in the Sierras, will be impossible. I'm sorry, James. I'd go with you myself, but I'm just about to head south with these men and join the fighting.

Reed nods. It's bad news, but he can't let that stop him. Somehow, he's got to find a way to get his wife and children to safety. Virginia Reed pulls up the bandanas covering the faces of her younger siblings. The dust is bad today. She doesn't want them inhaling grit and getting sick.

Up ahead, Virginia can see the sharp gray Sierra Nevada mountains looming. Dark clouds are massed above the peaks. After six months on the trail, crossing the mountains will be their most strenuous challenge yet. Virginia is especially concerned about her eight-year-old sister. Twice yesterday, little Patty faltered and needed help standing.

Virginia worries that the lack of food is getting to her. And Patty is not alone. Some families have nothing left to eat but sugar. The Reeds still have oxen to slaughter, but then how will they travel? Virginia just hopes her stepfather returns soon with supplies. She doesn't want to think what will happen if he doesn't. Is that a mule train? Up ahead, mule train. What's that up there?

Virginia hears shouting from up ahead. She tells her siblings to stay by the wagon, then hurries ahead. The wagons are spread out as the caravan stretches longer each day. Everyone is racing to get through the Sierras before first snowfall, so no one is waiting for anyone else anymore. Finally, Virginia reaches the front and her heart leaps in joy.

A mule train has indeed arrived, led by a short man with a big nose named Charles Stanton.

Before they sent Virginia's stepfather ahead for supplies, Stanton and another man went on a similar mission over six weeks ago. They were gone for so long, the settlers had given them up for dead. But here Stanton is with mules, food, and other provisions. With him are two Indian guides whom he introduces as Luis and Salvador. They're from the Miwok tribe.

Virginias heard of the Miwok before. They live on the other side of the Sierras in Northern California. Several adults are already tearing open the mules' saddlebags, desperate for food. Stanton yells at them to stop, then starts handing out packs in an orderly way.

Virginia gets in line for her family. When it's her turn, Stanton smiles and hands her a small sack of flour and a few pounds of bacon. Virginia thanks him, then points to the Sierras with their ominous crown of black storm clouds. "Are you sure we'll be able to get through?"

I've been through the past twice now, and it's fairly easygoing. As long as the weather holds, we'll be fine. Virginia nods, then races back to her mother and siblings. She's overjoyed, and when her stepfather returns with more supplies, things will be even better.

Tamsin Donner scans the shaded trail ahead. The only sound she hears is the wheezing of the oxen as they struggle uphill. They're entering a land of pine forests and rocky foothills. The Sierras loom larger before them with each mile. The Donner's six wagons are badly lagging behind the main party and scrambling to catch up. But they're making good time now and should reach the main group tomorrow.

And not a moment too soon. It's October 31st, and they still have to pass the steep Sierra Nevadas. But today's uphill push proves too much of the exhausted oxen. On the wagon ahead of hers, Tamsin sees one lurch and fall. Several others trip over it. Then, the wagon's axle snaps, and the wagon teeters and crashes onto its side. Tamsin screams, Georgia! Eliza!

Two of her little girls are inside. Her husband George and his brother Jacob come running. They begin yanking trunks and clothes out, digging for their children. Fortunately, Georgia and Eliza are unharmed. While Tamsen cares for them, George and Jacob start dismantling the wagon to replace the axle.

They chop down a nearby tree and begin to plane it down to make a new axle. Suddenly, Tamsin hears a cry of pain. She looks up and sees her husband clutching his hand. "What happened?" There's a chisel lying on the ground and blood coursing down George's arm. "Jacob's chisel slipped while I was holding the timber. Can you move your fingers? It's just a scratch."

I'll be fine. But Tamsin can tell he's lying. He's grimacing, and the blood is flowing fast. She hurries off to tear some clothing into bandages.

Based on the severity of the wound, she fears her husband might need weeks to recover. He can't even help Jacob finish the axle, which means they'll be delayed at least another day here. They'll never catch up to the main party now. And with each passing day, these foothills are getting colder.

Virginia Reed trudges back to her family's camp, exhausted. She spent all afternoon trying to help other families consolidate their belongings so they could travel faster over the Sierras. But it seems like no one can agree on what to take and what to leave behind. Ever since her stepfather James was sent away, no one's in charge anymore. It's frustrating.

Like everyone else, the reeds have lightened their load. But as Virginia approaches camp, she sees her little sister Patty digging through a trunk they'd already agreed to abandon. Patty, what are you doing? Patty jumps up and darts her hands behind her back. She's obviously hiding something. Put your hands out. Let me see.

Patty's face drops, and she slowly shows her hands. She's holding a few items that belong to their grandmother, a red pin cushion and a lock of hair. Virginia's first instinct is to tell Patty to put them back,

The adults keep saying that the exhausted oxen can't pull a single ounce of extra weight. But Virginia can see Patty's lip trembling. She's already been struggling to keep up each day. Maybe the pincushion and lock will boost her spirits. This is our secret. Just keep these hidden, okay? A moment later, Virginia looks up to see Charles Stanton arrive on horseback.

He and the two Miwok guides, Luis and Salvador, scouted ahead earlier to investigate the pass. Stanton raises his hands for quiet and everyone gathers around. The pass leading beyond the summit is still open, but if any more snow falls, we're in trouble. So, despite the late hour, we should leave now. It's just three miles away.

But when Stanton tries to rally people, Virginia is surprised to see most of the adults refuse. Some aren't done packing. Others say they're exhausted and need to rest. Stanton shakes his head. "I could see the snow clouds forming. We cannot wait." But it's no use. The majority votes to wait until morning. Virginia is suddenly nervous. More snow coming?

She wonders if her family should go anyway, but her mother is ill with another headache, and she can't drive the wagons herself. She wishes her stepfather was here. She gets her siblings settled into their wagon, huddling together with their dog Cash for warmth. Soon, they're fast asleep. Virginia opens her eyes. She slept surprisingly well, but she senses something is wrong.

The top of the wagon is sagging and the daylight filtering through the canvas is dim and weak. Virginia pulls back the canvas flap to peek outside and is confronted with a solid wall of snow. The entire wagon is buried. She'll have to dig her way out. Trying not to panic, she starts burrowing upward. Her hands are soon numb with cold.

After what feels like an eternity, she breaches the surface and peeks out. The entire world is blindingly white. The only other thing she can see is the tips of some pine trees. Soon, heads emerge from other wagons, like gophers popping out of holes. The look on everyone's face is one of confusion followed by fear. Virginia guesses they're all thinking the same thing as her.

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Tamsen Donner hacks at the densely packed snow outside her family's shelter, chopping out a staircase with a hatchet. Her family is trapped near a frozen creek in the Sierra Nevada mountains, several miles back from the main group. It's now mid-November and it's been snowing for eight days. During the first 24 hours of heavy snow, they manage to slap together a shelter from some logs, which

which they propped against a tree and covered with canvas like a teepee. The shelter is supposed to be temporary, but the snow keeps coming and coming. If Tamsin doesn't continually chop stairs up to the surface, her family will be trapped inside.

She chops off the tops of nearby pine trees for firewood. It's exhausting in the deep snow. After she drags the sticky branches back to the shelter, she sits down on the ice steps to rest. Then she trudges downstairs to make food. The shelter is dim inside, and she finds her family sleeping, except for her husband George. He's sitting next to the hearth fire in the center of their crude tent.

George's appearance frightens her. In the two weeks since the accident with the chisel, his hand has puffed up dangerously. It's bright red and clearly infected. He's in constant pain and can't do any work. But what chills her now isn't his hand. It's his eyes. Usually there's a mischievous twinkle in them.

But today, they look lifeless. He just stares into the fire. George, are you okay? George blinks and smiles weakly. I'm fine. How's Jacob? Tamsin hesitates. Her brother-in-law's family erected a sheltered tent of their own some 300 yards away.

Tamsin visited yesterday and found Jacob weak with some kind of chest illness and a racking cough. He's now bedridden, but George has enough on his mind right now. He's about the same. I'm glad. Come here. He reaches out his good arm and she snuggles next to him. It feels warm there, almost normal. But Tamsin still can't shake the image of George's dead eyes. She's worried.

that he's giving up hope. James Reed tosses and turns on the cold ground. He's having a vivid dream about reuniting with his family, but every time he hugs them, they turn into statues of ice. Reed cries out, waking himself up. He blinks several times and realizes it's dawn. It's mid-November, and he's lying in a pine forest covered in fresh snow.

The nearby campfire has gone cold, reduced to damp, smoldering embers. After reaching Sutter's fort, Reed rested for a few weeks and gathered supplies to haul back into the mountains. He also begged for volunteers to help him rescue his family. Only one man, William McCutcheon, agreed to join him.

Reed also hired two Miwok Indian guides who know the Sierras intimately. They're all lugging sacks stuffed with pork, beef, and flour. Thirty horses laden with even more supplies trail behind them. As Reed shakes off his nightmare, he sits up and hears the quiet rustling of branches in the snow-covered forest. His heart skips a beat. The forest is too quiet.

He jumps up and looks around. Several of their horses are missing, and the Indian guides have disappeared too, along with much of their food. Reed shakes McCutcheon awake. Did you send the guides anywhere? No. Why? God damn it! They abandoned us. Let's go. Both men start following the guides' faint footprints in the snow.

But the tracks soon lead to a creek where the trail disappears. Reed racks his brain, trying to think of what to do next. But he realizes it's no use. Without that food, not to mention the guides, their rescue mission is over before it's even started. They have no choice but to turn back.

Virginia Reed takes a pine pole down from the wall and eases open the door of the rough-hewn log cabin where her family is sheltering. Several of the men constructed the cabin last month, and she feels lucky to be in here, rather than a tent like some of the other families. She climbs the ice stairs to the surface of the freshly fallen snow. Several more feet fell last night.

The pole has a metal fish hook on the end, which she's going to use to retrieve one of the ox carcasses from where they buried it in the snow. There's still some meat left on the dead oxen, which she's going to thaw out for dinner. But when she reaches the field where they buried the oxen, she stops in her tracks. There's no sign of the branches she's been using to mark their position. They must have gotten buried in last night's snowfall.

With a rising sense of panic, she jabs her pole into the snow, pushing it down as far as it will go, hoping she's at the right spot. Then she pulls it out, searching the hook for any sign of fur or frozen blood. Nothing. Growing frantic now, she jabs the pole into the snow, over and over, but every time she comes up empty. The buried ox carcasses, they're lost.

Exhausted, she collapses into the snow, trying to keep despair from overwhelming her. Without these animals, the only food her family has is a few dried apples, some scoops of beans, and just a few ounces of flour. For five people, she's got to keep looking for the carcasses. But an hour's search turns up nothing. She's exhausted and shivering.

When she realizes how long her shadow has gotten, she glances across the frozen lake to her left, towards the pine trees covering the mountains. Every day, she searches this landscape for her stepfather, hoping that he's still on his way with food to save them. And today, more than ever, she prays he's getting close. William Eddy sits on a snowbank at the lake camp, strapping his boots to two crude snowshoes.

Can you help me?

Graves grew up in Vermont, where he'd learned to make snowshoes as a boy. He taught the others, and now they have half a dozen pairs completed. But not everyone knows how to walk on them yet. Eddie grips Graves' calloused hand. "One, two, up!" Graves hoists Eddie to his feet. As Eddie admires the snowshoes, he feels a surge of hope. Graves waves him forward. "Come on, let's see him in action!" Eddie takes a tentative step.

He's a bit unsteady, but his feet don't sink. He grins. These really work. We'll make good time if... But when Eddie takes another step, he stumbles, landing face first in the snow. He looks up and finds Graves laughing. I'm sorry. You just look so silly. Waving your arms around like a whirligig. Eddie tries to smile too, but he's not feeling mirthful. He needs to figure out how to walk in these snowshoes. And soon...

It's been six weeks since they've been snowed in. By now, most people have given up hope of ever seeing James Reid and his relief party. Some families have run out of food and are eating boiled cow skins or mice they've managed to catch. Before long, the whole camp will be starving.

So Eddie has rounded up a rescue party of the strongest people, some of them women and teenagers. He figures they can reach civilization in a few weeks, then return with supplies. Better that than sitting around waiting to die. Still, they knew that making the trek in boots would be hopeless. They'd fall through the snow every step and waste all their energy. That's why they began making snowshoes.

But walking in them is proving harder than he realized, which means his rescue party could face even longer odds than they already do. Eddie can't let this discourage him though. Graves tries to help him up, but he insists on rising under his own power this time. It takes a few attempts, but he finally manages. He takes a few wobbly steps forward.

However slowly, he's got to get the hang of this. His life, and the lives of everyone else who's stranded, depend on it. As the wind whips around him, George Donner takes a few halting steps, clutching his wife Tamsen for support. Several times, he stops to let the throbbing of his hand subside. It's twice its normal size, and scarlet red.

If he had any food in his stomach, he would surely vomit from the pain. He wants to go back to the shelter and rest, but he wills himself on. This might be his last chance to see his brother alive. It takes an hour to cover the 300 yards. Then he and Tamsen limp down the ice steps to Jacob's buried shelter. George hears Jacob's wet, rattling cough before he even lays eyes on his brother.

He also smells the sickly sweet stench of decay. Despair floods George's heart. He's buried two wives and he knows that smell. Jacob will not recover. Jacob's wife Elizabeth greets them, dabbing away tears. "Thank you for coming, George." "He asked for you." "Can we have a minute alone?" Elizabeth and Tamsin retreat outside.

George steals himself and kneels down next to his brother's crude log bed. Jacob looks awful, thin, his face a deathly gray. But when George whispers his name, Jacob's eyes open and a smile lifts his cheeks. He even tries to speak, but a coughing fit silences him. George pats his shoulder. Just rest, brother.

You need your strength. Then George holds his brother's hand with his good arm. While they sit in silence, George thinks of all the places they've moved together. North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Texas. Every time, it was him, George, dragging his brother along.

Now, George curses himself for leading his brother hundreds of miles only to meet his death in this godforsaken wilderness. Worse, George knows that Jacob's death is only the beginning. Death is coming for all of them now. After a few minutes, Jacob's breath grows shallow. George knows he should summon Elizabeth soon, but not yet.

He wants a last few minutes with his dear, sweet little brother.

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A week ago, on December 16th, Eddie, Luis, and 15 others set out in snowshoes on a rescue mission. But they've barely made any progress. They're horribly lost, they have no food, and frustratingly, the snowshoes keep slipping off, plunging their feet into deep, wet snow. Frostbite is running rampant.

Luis has it worse than anyone. Eddie fears that he will lose several of his toes soon, if not his whole foot. With the sun sinking, Eddie halts the party to camp. He trudges off to strip some pine trees for firewood, but he's feeling weak. Thankfully, another member of the party limps up, Franklin Graves. Let me help.

Eddie appreciates Graves' assistance, especially since Graves has been coughing and looking pale lately. They snap the branches off and drag them back to camp. Before long, they get a smoky blaze going. The warmth feels good, and soon, they're all fast asleep.

That night, Eddie has the most vivid dream of his life. He's seated at dinner with several plates of sizzling meat before him. He grabs a fork and his mouth drools with anticipation. But every time he reaches his fork out, a butler whisks away the nearest plate. It happens again and again.

Eddie wakes with a start to find himself covered in falling snow. He brushes it off as best as he can, then rolls over and tries to forget the dream. But he can't, because he soon realizes that he wasn't dreaming the smell of sizzling meat. He sniffs the cold night air, and sure enough, the smell is real. He rises to one elbow and looks around.

To his horror, he sees that one member of his party has rolled partway into the fire. He must not even feel it, his feet are so numb. His name is Antonio, a Mexican laborer they hired back on the wagon trail. Eddie sees now that his boot is burned black and his frostbitten foot is sizzling in the hot embers. Antonio, wake up!

Eddie grabs Antonio's arms. Franklin Graves springs up to help, and they drag the unconscious man back. Eddie starts slapping Antonio awake. He finally comes to, but he's babbling incoherently. Eddie stays up for the rest of the night, trying to keep Antonio awake and alive, but it's no use. By morning, Antonio is dead.

Eddie consoles himself that he did everything he could to save the young man. Still, he feels shame burning inside, because no matter how much he wants to, he cannot forget that delicious smell of cooked human flesh. William Eddie tosses another branch onto the weak fire, then slumps down in exhaustion. His rescue party has been pinned down for three days now by heavy snow.

Some people have taken to praying for deliverance. Eddie is focused on keeping the fire going. It isn't easy with a snowfall, especially because the man who is helping most, Franklin Graves, has declined quickly over the past few days. He's too weak to stand now and has been groaning non-stop. But that evening, with everyone watching, Graves suddenly sits up and looks Eddie in the eye. When I die...

Don't be sentimental about my body. What do you mean? You know damn well. Do what you have to. Think of your family. Then, Graves slumps down. A minute later, his raspy breathing stops. Eddie swallows hard. Before he can say anything, another member of the party speaks up. A hard-eyed man with a thick goatee named William Foster. We should do it.

Do what? Stop pussyfooting around. We should eat him. He said so. We need to discuss this first. Discuss what? We eat him or we die. To Eddie's shock, there's virtually no debate. Everyone except him and the two Miwok guides vote to butcher Graves and roast him over the fire. Foster whips out a knife, and before Eddie can stop him, he plunges it into Graves' body and starts to carve him up.

Eddie cringes, then rises unsteadily to his feet. While the others dine, he retreats to a nearby thicket of pine trees. He's nearly faint with hunger, but no matter how desperate he gets, he refuses to eat a fellow human being.

Virginia leads her siblings in saying a prayer to speed their father's return. It's Christmas morning in the Reed cabin, and while there's not much to celebrate, she's determined to help her brother and sisters keep their spirits up. After the song, they say a prayer to speed their father's return. Then Virginia's mother produces a Christmas miracle. She removes a bundle of cloth from a nook in the wall and unwraps it.

Virginia's eyes go wide to see what's there. Dried apples, beans, a length of tripe,

Virginia's mother smiles. "We're going to have a Christmas feast." The children cheer and start singing again. The family dog, Cash, jumps around. Virginia whispers to her mother, "Where did you find all this?" "I've been squirreling away bits of my own food. I wanted you all to have a nice Christmas." Virginia hugs her mother and they both wipe away tears. Her mother's health hasn't always been the best, but she's a strong woman when it counts.

The warm glow of Christmas buoys Virginia's spirits, but after a couple of days, she starts to drag again. It's the hunger. After the Christmas feast, the taste of boiled rawhide makes her ill. Her mother tries making bark stew with pine needles just to fill the children's stomachs.

Virginia finds it nauseating, but not eating is worse. The stab of hunger pangs won't let her sleep. She tries to distract herself by reading to her siblings from a book about Daniel Boone. It's their eighth time through. Before long, her mother stands up. "I'm taking the dog for a walk." Virginia is instantly alert. She doesn't want to let cash out of her sight.

She knows what her mother has in mind. "I can do it." "No, you rest. I need some fresh air anyway." Virginia is too weak to argue. She watches her mother leave. She tries to keep reading, but can barely concentrate on the words. Then she hears Cash yelp. Without thinking, she drops the book and races outside.

What are you doing to Cash?

Virginia turns to see her little sister Patty along with her other siblings. They're staring at Cash, their mouths open. Patty bursts into tears. Virginia hears her mother yell, Get those children inside! Virginia hurries them back indoors, although not easily. They're wailing and moaning for Cash. Once inside again, they won't calm down, and Virginia can't blame them.

All the lingering joy of Christmas has been wiped away, but she knows her mother had no choice. William Eddy lies shivering next to that night's fire. After the snow finally stopped, his rescue party has made good progress over the past few days. There's some real hope at last.

But with nothing in his belly, Eddie is struggling. His legs wobble with each step and his vision is fuzzy. He barely kept up with the group today and doesn't know how much strength he'll have left tomorrow. One thing's for certain, to continue on, he needs to rest. But around the fire tonight, he hears someone babbling. Then he hears fabric ripping.

He rises wearily and sees a painful sight. One member of their party, Patrick Dolan, is ripping his clothes off. God, it's hot. It's so hot. Eddie crawls over to him. You're delirious. It's still freezing. Keep your jacket on. But it's no use. Soon Dolan is stark naked, staggering around the camp. Others are awake now, but to Eddie's horror, no one does anything.

They simply let Dolan exhaust himself until he collapses, dead. A minute later, William Foster starts to drag Dolan's naked corpse toward the fire. "How kind of him to save us the trouble of cutting off his clothes." A few people snicker, but Eddie turns away. A half hour later, when the smell of roasting meat becomes overwhelming, Eddie drags himself away from the camp.

to be alone. Then he hears footsteps. He turns to see William Foster holding four chunks of meat on a wooden spit. Don't be an idiot. Think of your family. He thrusts the food in Eddie's face. Eddie stares down at the steaming brown chunks of human flesh. Then, with a trembling hand, he plucks one off.

It's every bit as delicious as he imagined in that dream. Succulent and juicy. Eddie grabs another bite, and another, shoving them in his mouth. When he's finished all four, Foster laughs. "Not so high and mighty now, are you?" Eddie ducks his eyes. Foster turns and walks back to the fire, leaving Eddie alone.

Eddie suddenly feels ill, on the verge of vomiting, but he swallows the nausea down. He needs his food inside of him for tomorrow's march. He distracts himself by studying the stars. He figures it's right around midnight. Midnight on December 31st. 1846 is ending. It's the start of a new year. Above him, Eddie sees a shooting star.

He makes a wish for God to grant him the strength to keep going. He wants to survive now more than ever, not only to save his wife and children back at the camps, but to make sure that the horrendous moral sacrifice he just made is worth it. This is the second episode of our three-part series, The Donner Party.

A quick note about our scenes. In most cases, we can't exactly know what was said, but everything is based on historical research. If you'd like to learn more about these events, we highly recommend the books The Best Land Under Heaven by Michael Wallace and The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown.

I'm your host, Mike Corey. Sam Keen wrote this episode. Our editor is Steve Fennessy. Our audio engineer is Sergio Enriquez. Sound design is by Joe Richardson. Produced by Matt Almos, Emily Frost, and Alita Rosansky. Our managing producers are Tonja Thigpen and Matt Gant. Our senior producer is Andy Herman. Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer-Beckman, Stephanie Jens, and Marshall Louis for Wondery. Wondery.

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