No Proof Donner Clan Were Cannibals

From a report in the Los Angeles Times:

Nudging the history books, archeologists studying one of two campsites used by the ill-fated Donner Party during a snowbound Sierra winter 160 years ago announced Thursday that a study had unearthed no physical evidence of cannibalism.

The stranded emigrants settled into two camps during the harsh winter of 1846 and ’47, and previous scientific studies confirmed cannibalism at the principal encampment, on the east shore of what is now Donner Lake.

The new findings do not conclusively prove that human flesh was ever consumed at the smaller camp — where the families of George and Jacob Donner sought refuge — but they do provide insights into their efforts to survive during four months beside Alder Creek.

“It’s possible no cannibalism took place at Alder Creek, and it’s also possible that proof simply can’t be found,” said Julie Schablitsky, a University of Oregon anthropologist. “No body doesn’t necessarily mean no crime.”

Cannibalism has long been the central focus of the Donner Party tragedy, which achieved mythic proportions as a tale of suffering and stoicism set in America’s westward expansion.

The wagon train of more than 80 emigrants was trapped in the teeth of the Sierra by winter, and half died amid starvation. Gory witness accounts by rescuers told of survivors resorting to eating human flesh.

There’s more. Bottom line, it seems the new lack of evidence is inconclusive.