Donner Pass

Eighteen hundred and forty-six
A little late in the spring
Migrating toward the setting sun
was a real fashionable thing
You've heard about Lansford Hastings?
He wrote an emigrant's guide
To encourage movement westward
and get folks across the divide

He'd exaggerate this shortcut
that runs through some rugged terrain
It's inaccurate at best
and crippled at least one campaign
There was an agenda at work
and a population to grow
There was this story to conjure
about a party we should know

Brothers George and Jacob Donner
farmers from Springfield, Illinois
Two American pioneers
who rode a wagon train convoy
They'd left from the land of Lincoln
for some place that they would fall short
They were headed to Californy
Sacramento to Sutter's Fort

And then there was the wagon boss
A fella who was named James Reed
He was from the same area
and on the same mission indeed
He actually SERVED with Lincoln
in something called the Black Hawk War
Back in 1831, I'd say
just to add to his folklore

A lavish prairie schooner
This double decker with some heat
The teamsters weren't James' biggest fans
or anyone's from the driver's seat
Comfortable like an RV
but at a lower RPM?
The “Pioneer Palace Car”
was a wagon geared more for THEM

James had a few dollar bills
and a wife that was not well
Margret's mother, dear Sarah Keyes
was suffering her own illness spell
They only packed for four months out
Can you imagine this effort?!
No U Haul van or pickup truck
to move households across the dirt

Just oxen and some bridalry
at a speed one could keep by foot
With each axle revolution
bobbles hard on one's occiput
The trails launched from Independence
Little quicker than a snail's pace
Feeling each inch on wooden tires
might not win any NASCAR race

They were looking to emigrate
9 covered wagons full of goods?
The future I-70 route
was amazon deep in some woods
23 adults and 16 kids
trekking across the universe
They joined this larger Russell group
and the 39 fully immerse

The rains came turning dirt to mud
and the “Palace” into a weight
A hindrance to those behind
and an object so many'd hate
Then there lies the Big Blue river
The water that would flood the plains
They were on the wrong side to start with
to serve the needs of this campaign's

It halted their cross country journey
When they started constructing their boats
Talk about soaked to the stockings
when they would test to see what floats
Sarah succumbed to consumption
which really oughta set the tone
The river proved too difficult
and she'd be the group's first tombstone

Two days later the levels eased
releasing the party to go
Casualties and dysentery
topped lists of concerns you should know
Now... The plan was supposed to save time
crossing the Wasatch mountain range
and through the salt flats of Utah
with an artistic rearrange

The route was mere speculation
and untested by its namesake
James had no inkling either
just how horrible the mistake
What was proposed isn't practical
for a wagon or an ox team
What he proposed spins nightmares
from such an American dream

Fort Laramie in Wyoming
And the party was a week late
James' friend Clyman was present
to set his compatriot straight
"The old route is wretched enough
You oughta not try something cute
Don't follow this work of fiction
in your western seeking pursuit”

Jimmy wouldn't be dissuaded
by all his well meaning warners
He was looking to giddy up
and to cut some major corners
On Independence Rock's approach
a courier would intercept
Lans was eager to tag along
and THEY were eager to accept

“We'll rendezvous in Fort Bridger”
But you'll never guess who didn't show
He left with an earlier team
“Feel free to catch up as we go”
The group was ravaged by infighting
and the party split into two
Some opting to heed the warnings
while the smaller group still played through

George Donner would be their leader
Which rubbed our protagonist raw
James Reed might have had a temper
and might have been loose with his jaw
At a river near a canyon
Back peddling perhaps a bit
A note was posted for them, perhaps
Lansford would finally admit

The trail wasn't as clear as he'd thought
But he shall find a better way
Just kick back and relax a bit
He'll help out should they decide to stay
James and two of his sons broke off
after eight days of no contact
The calendar was running out
for the proper time to react

A side note for your interest
about the group Landsford was with
They were lost and starving to death
Just perpetuating the myth
James managed to find the man
who managed to point out a path
that's input output ratio
does not work when you do the math

The wagon train turned trail blazer
and EVERYONE was mad
From pilot to the group scapegoat
because this route he chose was bad
The sand was hard on their progress
Numbers of oxen were left to die
When the party reached Humboldt Sink
their cattle was pilfered, oh my

A native American tribe
stole right out from under their nose
Have YOU been on a trip like this?
This is how the legend goes
James Reed killed a man in a fight
over his treatment of an ox
and was banished from the party
over hanging him; there were talks

Then they left an elderly man
to die on the side of the road
He grew too weak to continue
and this is a dark episode
Snow even hits a MONTH early
when they reach the Sierra Nevadas
I'VE seen first hand how BAD it gets
and can imagine how it was

This stranded them for many months
and of course they ran out of food
Feasting upon bones of livestock
and leather won't brighten a mood
After eating tree bark and hide
and the roofs of their makeshift tents
They served up their dead comrades
which only makes horrible sense

Remember how James splintered off
Leaving his family behind
He was banished from the party
with great prejudice, I remind
When they never made it across
he tried to go and rescue 'em
The weather hindered his progress
and proved too difficult for some

James Reed did what he had to do
and reenlisted in the army
Went to go fight the Mexicans
and made it out to a degree
After which he gathered a crew
to hunt down the Donner Party
Reunited with family
and the rest is just history