Annette Ranald's Blog: Annette's History Reads - Posts Tagged "wagon-train"
Why the Donner Party?
Under an Evil Star is a first-person account of the Donner Party, as told from the perspective of Louis Keseberg. Wasn't the Donner Party a bunch of crazies who got snowbound in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and turned into cannibals? Eeewww! Why them?
Well, first off, the Donner Party (1846-1847), was a wagon train of emigrants attempting to reach California. They did become snowbound in the mountains. Over half of them, 43 out of 84 people, perished, and some of those who survived did use the flesh of their companions. However, they were not skin walkers, vampires, zombies, or psychopaths waiting a chance to spring on helpless victims. They were people, human beings driven to desperation to survive.
Louis Keseberg, a German immigrant traveling with his wife and children, is often cast as the villain of the piece. Because he was the last person to survive, he is viewed with suspicion as having possibly murdered some of the others. As I researched his story, though, the defense attorney's instincts kicked in and I realized the strong possibility that he might be innocent. True, he was no angel, but he was no murderer with a supernatural fetish for women's body parts either.
Well, first off, the Donner Party (1846-1847), was a wagon train of emigrants attempting to reach California. They did become snowbound in the mountains. Over half of them, 43 out of 84 people, perished, and some of those who survived did use the flesh of their companions. However, they were not skin walkers, vampires, zombies, or psychopaths waiting a chance to spring on helpless victims. They were people, human beings driven to desperation to survive.
Louis Keseberg, a German immigrant traveling with his wife and children, is often cast as the villain of the piece. Because he was the last person to survive, he is viewed with suspicion as having possibly murdered some of the others. As I researched his story, though, the defense attorney's instincts kicked in and I realized the strong possibility that he might be innocent. True, he was no angel, but he was no murderer with a supernatural fetish for women's body parts either.
Annette's History Reads
I enjoy reading and writing about history. I've loved history all my life and read a ton of books. Now, I'll share a few of them with you. I also want to take you along with me in this new and strange
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