DONNER PASS
“California or Bust!” That’s what some of the early pioneers shouted as
they traveled westward in wagon trains. The pioneers had to find a pass
through a range of mountains called the Sierra Nevada in order to reach
California. They found the pass and many crossed the mountains with few
hardships. But one group— the Donner Party—was not so fortunate.
The Donner Party reached the mountains just as a snowstorm started. It
snowed so much that they could not get their wagons through the mountain
pass. So they camped there. When the snow stopped, they tried again, but
they could not make it. The pioneers did not have much food, but they
had some cattle. And between snowstorms, they thought they could hunt.
The cattle wandered away and froze in the snow, and there were no
animals to hunt. So they killed many pets for food. Every day small
groups tried to make it over the pass, but they had to turn back.
Finally, one group made it to California. They sent back rescue parties
with supplies.
Many people in the Donner Party died that winter trying to cross the
mountain pass. The pass was named Donner Pass in their honor.
Years later, the first transcontinental railroad crossed the Sierra
Nevada through the Donner Pass. And now a highway runs along the pioneer
trail.
Today, people can travel through Donner Pass on the Donner Pass Highway.
