Daria Doering

Ordeal by Hunger is an incredible story about the depths of human tribulation and suffering.  It’s also a fascinating character study of how people responded during the ordeal.  Some were heroic, self-sacrificing, had an incredible will to live and endure, and the ability to be resourceful.  Others did unfortunate things, albeit in a state of being half-crazed from hunger or thirst.

William Bennett said in the Book of Virtues that accounts of the Donner party are stories he comes back to again and again, as a wellspring of inspiration.  I feel the same way.  They’re not like stories of people in war, which have the depressing element of man’s cruelty to man.

In this tale, there are few “bad guys.”  Mistakes were made which contributed to their predicament, though nothing overtly stupid; nothing one couldn’t easily image doing oneself.  The travelers were intelligent, successful, and kind people.   They primarily had an unfortunate confluence of circumstances, including a very early winter.  They did take a calculated risk, following an irresponsible promoter who promised a “shorter route to California,” which proved to be disastrous.

Some people claim the travelers had various flaws in character that led to their ordeal.  In my view, to the contrary, they worked tirelessly, and showed unbelievable self-discipline.  For example, they would save a tablespoonful of flour, while starving themselves, and only use it to revive someone on the brink of death.

It’s also simply an amazing tale, especially that of James Reed.  Reed started out being disliked by the others for his aristocratic heritage and somewhat haughty bearing.  Midway through the trip, he was banished from the party for murder, though many would call it self-defense.  He made it to California before the others, and although in a pitiable state himself, was desperate to rescue the rest of the party, which included his wife and children.  The problem was that all the able-bodied men in California were fighting in the war against the Mexican Californians, or Californios.

Reed attempted a rescue anyway, which was unsuccessful due to ten-foot snowdrifts that couldn’t be traversed in any manner.  At that point he realized his only chance was to fight in the war, and then hope that the Californians would return the favor by organizing a rescue party.  So he had an interlude of being a military officer in the midst of the greater horror of the snowbound travelers!  Reed did ultimately rescue his wife and children, who were the only members of the party that did not resort to cannibalism.

What I ended up telling my children was that we all need to think about how we would respond in extreme circumstances.  It’s something that everyone should mentally prepare for.  We live in very easy times, very cushie times.  You never know when and how the party might end.