QUESTIONS PEOPLE PONDER TO THIS DAY--ASK YOURSELF:

Could I take a 2,000 mile walk to California?

Could I take all that I own, put it in a 4x10 foot wagon and strike out across vast wilderness?

Could I overcome all obstacles and actually get to California?

Would I have become crazed by starvation?

Would I have been able to quickly readjust to normal life in California--becoming an integral part of the developing state--as all but Keseberg were able to do?

Would my intense feelings toward others have changed and mellowed with passage of time?

What would I have done if I were a member of the Donner - Reed Party?

HOW DID THE 42 DEATHS OCCUR?

30 starved to death.

5 were murdered for food.

1 was stabbed to death--self defense.

1 was killed for greed.

1 was accidentally shot.

1 was abandoned to die on the trail--manslaughter.

1 after almost starving, ate too much too fast.

1 succumbed to illness.

1 wasted away after being saved.

Of the 42 dead:

23 were eaten in whole or in part.

9 were possibly eaten.

10 were definitely not eaten.

NOTE:
One non-party death occurred--
A Washoe Indian, caught shooting arrows into oxen, was shot to death.