Trapped in the Sierra Nevadas during the bitter winter of 1846, an untried shortcut became a death warrant for half of the Donner and Reed families as they became victims of madness, death and cannibalism.
EPISODE 1
The Donner Party: A Film by Ric Burns
Trapped in the Sierra Nevadas during the bitter winter of 1846, nearly 90 members of the Donner and Reed families longed for California's "Promised Land." But an untried shortcut became a death warrant for half of them as they became victims of madness, death and cannibalism.
