The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party

by Daniel James Brown

He told of the “vast extent of its valleys and plains,” the “unexhausted and inexhaustible resources,” and “the extraordinary variety and abundance of its productions.” He assured his readers of California’s “salubrity of climate.” And he forestalled concerns about the rights of the Mexican Californians by painting them as little more than savages.

Hate hate hate