November 7, 1850
Dearest Family,
I hope everyone is well in Boston. Oh how I miss the bright flowers and busy bees in the summer and the cold crisp morning air that takes my breath away each winter morning. You would not believe where I am while I write this. I sit among my fellow travelers West, and my new family finally in California. The travelers we have met along the difficult way have shared that they hope to find god in California much like my family and I.
I remember months ago, when we were all resting, a story of a hunter named Jedediah Smith that had been attacked by a grizzly bear. People said that he was only twenty four years old and had survived! His head was sliced open and some of his ribs were broken. I remember seeing open prairies that stretched for miles until the earth meets the sky as so many of our Indian friends have told us. Other travelers that we met along the way told us that the prairies were miles wide and that any farmer would have a good life with tons of money. On our travels we saw so many beavers and I remembered the wealthy people in Boston flaunting their pelts around.
As we traveled we heard even more stories, some adapted and some new. The story of the Donner party struck me the most. As we traveled, we heard a few people mumbling about the Donner's and I remember wondering who they were. Upon arriving in California we heard more people talking and telling the story of the Donner party. While crossing the Sierra Nevada in the harsh cold in 1846, the Donner party was stranded in five feet of snow and after three weeks had nothing left to eat. They then started to eat their animals, then charred bones. On Christmas, the Donner party ate their first human. By the time the Donner party was found, their was only one member left. After hearing this story I was glad that nothing extreme like that had happened to us on our journey to California.
Well dearest family, we will not meet again. I hope you will not miss me too much. Remember that I still love you and I regret leaving although not nearly as much as I should. I have made it to the West safely and I will try to send money. Maybe we will move to the prairies to farm and make more money. The future is unclear but I will always write.
Farewell my family,
Kate
I remember months ago, when we were all resting, a story of a hunter named Jedediah Smith that had been attacked by a grizzly bear. People said that he was only twenty four years old and had survived! His head was sliced open and some of his ribs were broken. I remember seeing open prairies that stretched for miles until the earth meets the sky as so many of our Indian friends have told us. Other travelers that we met along the way told us that the prairies were miles wide and that any farmer would have a good life with tons of money. On our travels we saw so many beavers and I remembered the wealthy people in Boston flaunting their pelts around.
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| Prairie plants that we saw on the journey to the West. |
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| Jedediah Smith and the grizzly bear that attacked him. |
As we traveled we heard even more stories, some adapted and some new. The story of the Donner party struck me the most. As we traveled, we heard a few people mumbling about the Donner's and I remember wondering who they were. Upon arriving in California we heard more people talking and telling the story of the Donner party. While crossing the Sierra Nevada in the harsh cold in 1846, the Donner party was stranded in five feet of snow and after three weeks had nothing left to eat. They then started to eat their animals, then charred bones. On Christmas, the Donner party ate their first human. By the time the Donner party was found, their was only one member left. After hearing this story I was glad that nothing extreme like that had happened to us on our journey to California.
 |
| The Donner party in a blizzard. |
Well dearest family, we will not meet again. I hope you will not miss me too much. Remember that I still love you and I regret leaving although not nearly as much as I should. I have made it to the West safely and I will try to send money. Maybe we will move to the prairies to farm and make more money. The future is unclear but I will always write.
Farewell my family,
Kate
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| Map of the Donner Pass. |
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