"The Indifferent Stars Above" by Daniel James Brown

Above: "The Indifferent Stars Above" - Daniel James Brown - 384 Pages. I completed reading this book today, 30 June 2023.

Brown's account of this thirty-two-day snowshoe trek, abbreviated in most Donner Party accounts, is riveting.

Another book on the Donner Party?

The story of the Donner Party is well rehearsed in numerous books. In 1846, a party of eighty-nine pioneers led by George Donner, buys into shady promoter Lanford Hastings' claim that three hundred miles and three weeks' time can be saved in the trek from Independence Missouri to central California by taking an unproven cutoff route over the Wasatch Mountains and across the Great Salt Lake Desert. The certified, easier, longer route was via Fort Hall, Idaho later veering southwest to join up with the Humboldt River at Wells, Nevada.

The "Hastings Cutoff" turned out to be a disaster for the Donner Party. Delayed by unforeseen circumstances in the Wasatch Range and on the Great Salt Lake Desert, the Donner Party spent the winter of 1846-1847 snowbound in the Sierra Mountain range. Some of the migrants resorted to cannibalism to survive, primarily eating the bodies of those who had succumbed to starvation, sickness, or extreme cold, but in one case two Native American guides were deliberately killed for this purpose.

Brown's book takes a different tack than conventional narratives of the Donner Party. Author Brown's ("Boys in the Boat") focus is on twenty-one-year-old Sarah Graves who sets out west from Illinois with her new husband, her parents, and eight siblings. Sarah was one of fifteen members of the Donner Party who set out for California on jury rigged snowshoes and for thirty-two days, endured almost immeasurable hardships. Only seven, including Sarah, survived the trek to reach civilization. Brown's account of this thirty-two-day snowshoe trek, abbreviated in most Donner Party accounts, is riveting.

Upon learning of the fate of the Donner Party from Sarah and other survivors, Californians rallied to mount three rescue efforts for the surviving members of the group, out of food and ensconced in rickety shelters on the east side of what is now known as Donner Pass.

The book details Sarah's life after reaching California, again, an account not found in other Donner Party accounts. Sarah's husband, Jay Fosdick, did not survive the expedition. Sarah settled in the upper Napa Valley, where she taught the area's first school under a brush shelter. In 1848 Sarah married William Dill Ritchie who had assisted with the Donner relief. Six years later, Ritchie was caught in possession of stolen mules and lynched near Sonoma, despite his protestations of innocence. Sarah was left as a widow for the second time, this time with two little boys to care for. Her third marriage, to Samuel Spires, was happy, but relatively brief. Sarah died suddenly of heart disease at age forty-six leaving six children.

The book is highly informative written excellent storytelling narrative. Despite the focus on Sarah Graves, all of the important elements of the story are covered. Over the last twenty years I have crossed the Donner Pass, usually by motorcycle, at least once a year. When I am there, I try to imagine in my mind's eye the presence of the beleaguered Donner party members. I contrast this musing with the ease of my own transit over the high Sierra and feel gratitude for living in times less harsh. Recommend the book.