One hundred and sixty-plus years ago this week, the stranded members of the Donner Party were finally getting the help that they so desperately needed.

The first rescue party arrived on February 18 with a limited supply of food and provisions, but there were more rescue efforts in the pipeline.

February, 1847
On February 23 a second rescue party led by James Reed started from Johnson's Ranch for the mountains. They reached the Sierra's snow-covered west slope two days later. This rescue unit was equipped with eleven horses and mules, each lightly packed with about 80 pounds of supplies. It was hard labor for the animals in the snow and the rescuers only made about six miles the first day. They left early in the morning the next day, hoping the frozen snow pack would support the animals' weight. But after only 200 yards the men realized that pack animals were useless in the deep snow; the men were forced to shoulder the heavy loads themselves.

The Struggle Toward Safety
Back at Donner Lake, the first relief party had left the cabins and shacks and was headed for the pass with twenty-three survivors in tow, including fifteen children. Among those trying to escape were John Denton, an Englishman who had been ill for weeks; three of the Graves children; Eliza Williams; 3-year-old Naomi Pike; Philippine Keseberg and her three-year-old daughter Ada; two of the Breen boys; 15-year-old Mary Murphy and her 11-year-old brother William; and Margaret Reed and all four of her children--Virginia, Patty, James and Thomas. They had not traveled far when two of the Reed-family children were returned to the (Donner) lake encampment. Mrs. Reed and her oldest daughter, Virginia, were able to keep up, but 8-year-old Patty and 3-year-old Tommy were too weak to continue. They were carried back to the Breen family cabin.

In a couple of days, the first relief party reached the cache of provisions if had hung in a tree on their way over the mountains. Wild animals had gotten there first and eaten half of the dried meat. The next day, Denton collapsed and was left behind to die. Rhoads wrote:
"On the third day an emigrant named John Denton, exhausted by starvation and totally snow-blind, gave out. He tried to keep up a hopeful and cheerful appearance, but we knew he could not live much longer. We made a platform of saplings, built a fire on it, cut some boughs for him to sit upon and left him. This was imperatively necessary."

A Little Girl Dies
Mrs. Keseberg, who was too exhausted to carry her daughter, Ada, any longer, offered $25 and a gold watch to anyone who would bring her helpless child to safety. There were no takers. The rescuers were already loaded down with supplies or other small children, and none of the other, famished emigrants were strong enough to carry the little girl. Two days later Ada died. After losing her second child to starvation, Philippine Keseberg was inconsolable.

On February 26, Reed and his men, traveling uphill, reached the lower end of Bear Valley and the base camp of the first relief party. The men already there were waiting for the Donner party refugees to be led out of the mountains. Some of the food supplies carried in by the second relief party were left at the base camp to feed the famished emigrants who would soon arrive.

Reed Meets His Wife
Next morning, the second rescue expedition left camp early and traveled quickly on a fine hard snow. Reed's diary entry tells the story of what happened when he met with the vanguard of pioneers being led to safety by the first relief group:
"We proceeded about 4 miles when we met the poor unfortunate starved people. As I met them scattered along the snow trail, I distributed the baked sweetbreads that I had. I gave it in small quantities. Here I met Mrs. Reed and two of my children--two were still in the mountains. 'Bread, Bread, Bread,' was the begging of every child and grown person. I gave to all what I dared and left for the scene of desolation."

At the end of February, Reed wrote: "Now I am camped within 25 miles [of Donner Lake], which I hope to make by tomorrow. We had to camp soon on account of the softness of the snow."

As the men in the first relief party led the survivors west out of the mountains, the eastbound second relief camped on the Yuba River. They had reached the summit region where Reed reported the snow 30 feet deep.

Editor's Note: This installment is #34 in an exclusive, weekly series tracing the actual experiences of the Donner Party as it worked its way into American history. Mark McLaughlin, a weather historian and photographer, who lives on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe, wrote the series for Tahoetopia and the Lake Tahoe Visitor Network. Copies of all the installments can be found by clicking on Donner Party.