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One hundred and sixty-four years ago last week, on July 19, 1846, members of the Donner Party made a "left-hand turn" off the traditional California Trail and headed southwest towards Fort Bridger on what was then called the Hastings Cutoff.

A week later the party--now officially named the Donner Party after the election of George Donner to be the leader--reached the fort. Fort Bridger was a small trading post established in 1843 by mountain men Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez as an emigrant supply stop.

Other California-bound pioneers in the wagon companies ahead of the Donner party had also chosen the Hastings Cutoff; they believed doing so would save 300 miles of traveling on the way to Sutter's Fort in California.

All but one in the Donner Party were in fine spirits taking the new, yet untried, shortcut. The holdout was Tamsen Donner who was "gloomy and sad" that her husband and the other men had chosen to follow Lansford Hastings, who she considered a reckless, California land promoter. Soon after breaking off the California trail, at least four of the Donner party's oxen died from drinking poisoned water. It was a bad omen.

"No Diseases in California"
In his guidebook, Hastings had discussed Oregon, but his main sales pitch to emigrants was California's mild, healthful climate: "The best evidence that can be adduced, in reference to the superior health of this country, is the fact that disease of any kind has seldom been known."

Hastings implored his readers to "exchange the sterile hills for the deep, rich and productive soil, and uniform, mild and delightful climate, of this unparalleled region."

Hastings had ridden eastward out of Sutter's Fort on horseback earlier in the year (Spring 1846) to explore his shortcut for the first time (well after his book had been published). After he left, John Sutter wrote, "Perhaps nobody will see him here again, as his life will be in danger about his book, making out California a paradise; even some of the emigrants in the valley threatened his life."

The emigrants milling about Fort Bridger, prior to the arrival of the Donner Party, were not worried as they purchased or traded for fresh food supplies, oxen, and provisions. There were an estimated 200 emigrants and 60 wagons waiting for Hastings to lead them west.

One was Dr. T. Pope Long. He wrote: "We arrived here on July 16 and are now waiting for a sufficient number of wagons, in order to take a nearer route crossing the country on the south end of the Great Salt Lake. It is proposed by Mr. Hastings who came through on horseback and reports the route perfectly practicable for wagons."

No Hastings
When the Donner party arrived at Fort Bridger (July 27), Hastings and the others had already left and headed west. Edwin Bryant, a friend of the Donners, had also left, but once he got a chance to see the difficulties on the cutoff, he sent a letter back to the fort addressed to James Reed. In the letter he told Reed to forget the shortcut and return to the traditional California trail.

Lies
When the Donner party entered the fort, Louis Vasquez kept Bryant's letter in his pocket. When asked about the route ahead, Bridger told James Reed and George Donner that the road is level with plenty of water and grass. Bridger was lying because he had lost a lot of business when the "Greenwood Cutoff" was established in 1844; it bypassed his trading post. Hastings' new route would bring back the emigrant traffic that Bridger and Vasquez so desperately wanted.

Reed calculated that they were now 700 miles from Sutter's Fort near today's Sacramento, California. Reed hoped they could reach Sutter's in just seven weeks, i.e., by the end of September. Satisfied that they have made the correct decision, the Donner party spent the next five days resting at Fort Bridger and preparing for the last push.

Bridger Photo: California State Parks, Sutter Fort Archives

Editor's Note: This installment is one in an exclusive series tracing the experiences of the Donner Party week by week as it worked its way into American history. The series was written by Mark McLaughlin, weather historian, who lives on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe. All forty weeks in the series can be found by clicking on Donner Party.

For updates as stories are posted, follow the Donner Party Tracker on Twitter at twitter.com/donnerprty