"IMPATIENT WITH DESIRE," by Gabrielle Burton, Voice, 248 pages, $22.99 (f)
Cannibalism usually comes to mind when the Donner Party is mentioned.
The story of these pioneers is one of the best known — and most speculated upon — in the history of 19th century westward migration.
In "Impatient With Desire," author Gabrielle Burton focuses on the way these pioneers dealt with adversity, asking why some maintained hope while others did not. And Burton does it from the direct viewpoint of Tamsen Donner, the wife of George Donner, the party's leader.
In the summer of 1846, Tamsen, George and their five daughters left Springfield, Ill., and headed West for California. With them were the families of George's brother, Jacob, and James Reed. Along the way they joined with several overland parties forming a new wagon train that, at its height, numbered 87 emigrants with 23 wagons.
At the end of August the group set off from Fort Bridger on a new route, the Hastings Cutoff. The group suffered from a number of mishaps crossing the Wasatch mountains and the Great Salt Lake desert, and by the time it rejoined the California Trail at the end of September, this "shortcut" had added three additional weeks to the normal travel time.
The group reached the Sierra Nevada mountains at the end of October — very late in the travel season. As the party pressed on toward California, early snowstorms hit, trapping more than 80 people in the mountains.
Low on supplies, the pioneers set up two settlements — at Donner Pass and Donner Lake — and slaughtered what was left of their oxen, which did not last long. For more than four months, the majority of the group lived on boiled oxen hides.
It is known that one group of survivors who snowshoed out of the mountains resorted to cannibalism, though there are conflicting reports as to whether the rest of the party did.
By the time rescuers reached the party, there was little hope and a lot of death. Of the 87 men, women and children in the Donner Party, 46 survived: two-thirds of the women and children but only one-third of the men.
Among those who did not survive were Tamsen and her husband, though all five of their daughters went on to live long lives.
Though it was never found, historical records prove that Tamsen kept a journal. Drawn from years of historical research, "Impatient With Desire" is Burton's imagining of what that journal contained.
Here, Burton has drawn on known instances to build upon the unknown. She takes words from the mouths of others in the party because she believes it's likely the Donners said and did the same things.
"Impatient With Desire" is beautiful and heartbreaking, but it's also a little bit like watching a train wreck. Knowing the history behind the story, one cannot but anticipate when and where cannibalism will enter the narrative.
To Burton's credit, the subject is carefully approached, with little detail except that of the trepidation and emotional pain faced by the characters. Tamsen's words, "We are already in hell" convey the situation far better than any description could.
Poetically written, "Impatient With Desire" is engrossing and emotional. One feels as if she is there, sitting with Tamsen and her family as they suffer through the hardships and brief pleasures associated with this ill-fated group.
e-mail: jharrison@desnews.com