In the summer of 1846, 89 emigrants left Springfield, Illinois and set out overland for California. They reached Fort Bridger, Wyoming on schedule, in August, but then made the fatal mistake of taking a shortcut recommended by a California promoter named Lanford Hastings.
Hastings touted his shortcut in a book called The Emigrants' Guide to Oregon and California. He claimed it would cut three weeks off the journey, compared to the Fort Hall route that most emigrants took. The Donner party arranged for Hastings to meet them at Fort Bridger, and guide them across the Salt Desert of Utah, but Hastings left before they did, so they pushed on without him.
Had the Donner party had any understanding of the ordeal that lay before them, they would doubtless have taken the road more traveled. Because they did not have Hastings as a guide, they got off course almost immediately, and it took them 18 days to cross the Wasatch Mountains, a distance of only 39 miles. On the other side lay the Salt Desert. It is 65 miles from the spring on the eastern side of the desert to the spring at the base of Pilot Peak, and the Salt Desert itself is a mixture of clay, salt and mud, which sucks at wagon wheels and the legs of both humans and animals. On the other side lie the Ruby Mountains, where the party followed streams which Hastings had claimed would join the Humboldt River. They did not. Instead, they flowed into Franklin Lake. This detour cost the party more precious time, and they did not reach the High Sierra until October.
On October 28, the party camped beside what is now Donner Lake, planning to make the final push over the pass in the morning. That night, however, a storm moved in. The party had no choice but to settle in, hoping that a thaw would come so that they could move on. James Reed, who had been banished from the party after a knife fight, reached Sutter's Fort at about the same time. His wife and children had stayed with the main group, and he knew that they were still in the mountains. John Sutter gave him supplies to mount a rescue attempt, but was no use. The weather was simply too bad.
In mid-December, as the party's food ran alarmingly low, 10 men and five women set out to cross the pass on foot, hoping to send back a rescue party. Three weeks later, the five women and two of the men made it to a Native American village. They had become lost when their guide developed snow blindness, and ate their own dead to survive, but they were able to send a dispatch to Sutter's Fort. A rescue party of seven left the Fort on January 31. They reached the Donner Party's camp 20 days later, and found an unbroken blanket of snow and ice. They called out, and a woman's voice answered. "Are you men from California or are you from Heaven?" she asked. More survivors began to straggle out of the snow-covered shelters, gaunt with hunger, weeping and laughing.
Other rescue parties followed, and the Donner Party slowly came down the mountain to safety. Forty-five members had survived, eating the last scraps of their dead oxen, and finally eating each other. The rescue parties, too, resorted to cannibalism in the icy mountain passes. The last surviving member of the party was not brought down the mountain until April, a year after the party left Illinois.
Compliments of News of the Odd
Colonists Scalp Native Americans (February 20, 1725)
Today in Odd History, a group of American colonists attacked a Native American encampment in New Hampshire, taking 10 scalps, for which the British government paid a bounty of £100 each.
The colonists, led by Captain John Lovewell, had been authorized to conduct revenge attacks for raids by the Indians against British settlements. They had had some success, killing and scalping an Indian man and taking a boy prisoner in December, 1724. On February 20, 1725, they came across an encampment, and hid in the woods until 2 AM. Once they were sure that the enemy was asleep, they fired volleys into the camp, killing 9 Indians and wounding one more. He tried to flee, but was chased down by a dog and killed. The dead were scalped, and in early March, Lovewell marched into Boston, wearing a wig constructed from several scalps, and carrying the plunder from the raid — blankets, moccasins, snowshoes and rifles.
Lovewell’s raids were the first recorded instances of Europeans scalping Native Americans. The practice is traditionally associated with North American Indian tribes. Episodes such as this one, however, have led some people to believe that the Europeans actually introduced scalping to America. In 1820, an Allegheny Seneca chieftain named Cornplanter claimed that the Indians were peaceful until Europeans came. There is also some evidence that if they did not invent scalping, European settlers did help to spread the practice westward as they emigrated across the continent.
The archaeological evidence, however, suggests that scalping did in fact originate in the Americas, and that it was widespread long before European contact. Skulls bearing evidence of scalping have been found throughout the Americas, many of them dating to hundreds of years before European contact. What the Europeans did introduce was the practice of paying bounties for scalps. These bounties led to an increase in scalping by white settlers, male and female; a woman named Hanna Duston was actually known as "The Hatchet Lady" for her scalping practices. It seems likely that as scalping by whites became more common, Native Americans may also have begun taking more scalps, and that tribes which had not previously practiced scalping may have begun to do so in revenge for the scalping carried out against their people. If this is the case, then Native Americans and European settlers may actually have taught each other to scalp.
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Thomas Carlyle's "Revolution" Goes Up in Flames (March 6, 1835)
Today in Odd History, John Stuart Mill arrived at Thomas Carlyle's house with all that was left of the only copy of Volume I of Carlyle's French Revolution — a single burned scrap of paper that Carlyle would keep in his study for the rest of his life.
Mill had fostered Carlyle's interest in the Revolution, so it was natural that Carlyle should ask Mill to review the first volume of his history. Mill took it home to read it, and although he recognized it as a work of genius, his maid mistook it for garbage, and lit the fire with it.
Mill was devastated. He rushed to Carlyle's house and offered to pay him for the damage, but Carlyle merely soothed him, saying that he could begin the work anew, although he had already destroyed his notes. He was so successful in his effort to comfort his friend, who was of a nervous and unstable disposition, that Mill felt comfortable enough to stay awhile, making small talk. After he had gone, Carlyle, in a rare, sympathetic mood, said to his wife, "Mill, poor fellow, is terribly cut up. We must endeavor to hide from him how very serious this business is for us."
Although he had not wanted to cause Mill further pain by admitting to it, Carlyle was appalled by the loss of his work. He was, in fact, on the verge of giving the project up entirely. That night, however, he had a dream, in which his father and brother rose from the grave and begged him not to give up writing. He awoke with a new determination. He went to Mill, and told him that he would take the money after all. He used it to buy paper, and within a few months, he had recreated his masterpiece.
Carlyle completed the French Revolution in 1837. It was published in three volumes, and received great critical acclaim. Mill, of course, was his most enthusiastic reviewer. The fate of the maid is unknown, although she has occasionally been confused with Betsy Baker, who lined the bottoms of a number of pies with her employer's collection of first edition plays by William Shakespeare.
Compliments of News of the Odd
Dead Jockey Rides to Victory (May 8, 1936)
Today in Odd History, Ralph Neves' life was cut tragically short at Bay Meadows Racecourse, near San Francisco, California. The 19-year-old jockey was coming into the final stretch of the third race of the day when his horse, Fannikins, tripped. She and her rider crashed through the wooden fence. Fannikins was unharmed, but Neves, who had not only broken his own mount's fall, but had also been trampled by four other horses, was dead. The track physician, assisted by two doctors who had come down from the stands when they saw Neves fall, loaded the body into an ambulance, and the race announcer called for a moment of silence. But the shocked, grieving spectators had underestimated Neves.
Doctors at the hospital did everything they could think of to revive Neves, but to no avail. By the time his friend Dr. Horace Stevens arrived, he had already been toe-tagged and sent to the morgue. Stevens, though, was not quite ready to give up. He administered a shot of adrenaline directly into Neves' heart. It had no effect. Sadly, he replaced the white sheet that covered his friend's lifeless body, and left him there. Had he waited just a few more minutes, he would have witnessed a miracle. The dead jockey arose from the chilly slab, shirtless, bloodied, shrouded in the morgue sheet and wearing a single boot. He staggered out of the hospital and hailed a cab to take him back to the racetrack.
Pandemonium broke out as Neves sprinted past the grandstand, half-dressed and still trailing his toe tag. "At one point," he said later, "I think everyone on the damn track was chasing me." He fought free of the crowd and burst into the jockeys' room, where his colleagues were conducting a collection for his widow. She fainted when she saw her newly resurrected husband standing in the doorway, demanding to be allowed to ride. He insisted that he didn't feel dead, but the stewards still refused to let him compete again that day. The following day, though, he rode five winners and claimed the meet's top prize — a $500 watch donated by Bing Crosby.
Neves' dramatic recovery was typical of "The Portuguese Pepperpot," a man whom fellow jockey Charlie Whittington once described as "wilder than a peach orchard boar." Neves rode for 28 more years, racking up nearly 4,000 wins on more than 25,000 horses. In 1960, he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame. He died in his sleep in 1995, at the age of 79. He did not rise again.
Compliments of News of the Odd
The King of Kong
At twenty-four feet in height he was one of the biggest leading men, or more accurately primates, of all time. Even today most people can't see the Empire State Building without having the image of him, perched on its top, flash into their minds. The motion picture that bares his name is arguably the most well-known monster picture in the world: King Kong.
Released in the spring of 1933 Kong, the story of an over-sized ape captured on a remote island in the Pacific and accidentally released on New York City, was an immediate hit. The quality of special effects exceeded all previous pictures and audiences sat amazed as the giant gorilla chased actress Fay Wray through the jungles of Skull Island, and later the concrete canyons of New York City.
The idea for the picture came from Merian Cooper. It had formed in his mind as he was talking with W. Douglas Burden, a noted naturalist and explorer with the American Museum of Natural History. Burden had just returned from a tiny island in Far East bringing with him the largest living reptiles ever found: the Komodo Dragon. Cooper rewrote the Burden expedition in his mind changing the lizard to an ape. Later, along with his partner Ernest B. Schoedsack, he produced the picture which he referred to as "the ultimate in adventure."
A back projected miniature model of a tyrannosaurus tires to swallow Wray who is perched atop a full-sized dead tree.
Kong was actually an 18 inch high, poseable model, covered with rabbit hair, that was filmed one frame at a time by stop-motion photography artist Willis O'Brien and his crew (Despite some stories no man in an ape suit was ever employed) on miniature sets of the jungle and New York City. While the stop-motion technique had been around for over a decade, O'Brien and other special effect technicians were able to combine it with other techniques, such as rear projection and miniature projection, to place the actors in the shots with Kong in a way not seen before.
In rear projection previously shot footage is projected onto a translucent screen from the rear while additional action is photographed in front of the screen. This allows a model Tyrannosaurus Rex to menace Fay Wray as she sits in a full, sized tree in front of the screen.
Rear projection had been done before, but this was the first time a cellulose-aceate screen was used. Earlier efforts had used sand-blasted glass to achieve the effect, but this limited the size of the surface of the screen. The glass screen also had a noticeable "hot spot" in the center of the projection and was a danger should it break during production. The cellulose screen was flexible and stretched over a frame like canvas. It also reduced the "hot spot" by 50 percent while giving better white highlights and intense blacks. Sidney Saunders, who invented the new screen, earned a special award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the scenes shot in Kong with this process.
Kong terrorizes a miniature projected Cabot hiding in a cave under the cliff's edge.
Miniature projection reversed the rear projection technique allowing full-sized actors to appear on the miniature set. In one memorable sequence Bruce Cabot, the male lead, hides in a cave just below the top of a cliff. The Kong model reaches over the edge of the cliff to grope for him in the cave. Cabot was actually filmed earlier in a full sized cave, then projected from the rear onto a small screen just beyond the mouth of the cave on the miniature set. As the modelers photographed each frame of Kong's actions they moved the film of Cabot ahead one frame also, giving the illusion of a small man hiding from an enormous ape.
In addition, to rear and miniature projection, an improved form of optical processing, using a blue screen behind actors to allow them to be matted into other footage, was used with Kong. Variations on these techniques were used in almost every monster film until the advent of computerized image processing in the 1990's.
Also a number of full-sized props were used including an articulated eight foot long ape hand in which Fay Wray was photographed and a gigantic head and chest which was used to show actors being crunched in Kong's jaws. The latter footage was so graphic that it was removed from the picture before release in 1933 and was only restored recently to video copies.
The success of Kong was not purely based on technique, though. The motion picture's story was just as strong as it's special effects. O'Brien was able to give the mechanical puppet a personality with which audiences were able to identify. The giant ape's gentle fascination with Fay Wray's character provides the centerpiece to the picture: a tragic, at least for Kong, retelling of Beauty and the Beast. As one character at the end of the film relates, as he stands next to the body of the creature which has just been blasted from the top of the Empire State Building, "It wasn't the planes that got him, it was Beauty killed the Beast."
The Doolittle Raid (April 18, 1942)
After the attack on Pearl Harbor American moral was wounded. Continuous Japanese victories only added to the pain. A bold action was needed to remove the image of invincibility that the Japanese had. President Roosevelt supported the idea of bombing Japan. United States and Japanese military planners believed such an attack was impossible. Any orthodox mission wouldn't work. An attack would have to be unlike any previous military action to succeed.
A visionary officer thought of a plan radical enough to succeed. Captain Francis Low, a young Navy submariner and Admiral Ernest King's operations officer, caught up with him after dinner on January 10. Captain Low laid out his own new angle on the idea; a way to bomb mainland Japan. B-25 bombers would take off from carriers, attack Japan, and land in China. The proposal was approved. A leader had to be found for the raid. The person would have to be a very skilled pilot and leader. Lieutenant Colonel James H. ("Jimmy") Doolittle had the necessary requirements.
"Jimmy" was put in charge of the mission. Doolittle started to prepare the crews and aircraft for the attack. After the crews had been assembled the targets had to be chosen. Each crew choose which city it wanted to attack. Then Lt. Commander Jurika helped the crews plan their targets. The aircraft were tested to prepare them for the mission. When it was discovered that B-25s were able to take off within five hundred feet during testing it was obvious that a carrier launch was possible. In order to increase the chances of success the B-25s were specially modified. Each plane received a 225-gallon fuel tank in the bomb bay, a 60-gallon tank in the lower turret, and a 160-gallon tank in the passageway. Broomsticks were placed sticking out of the rear of the planes. When painted black the broomsticks looked like machine guns to enemy fighters. By reducing weight and increasing fuel the range of the bombers was increased.
They were taking off their B-25B Mitchell bombers on runways of only 450 feet (137 meters), compared to the normal B-25 runway takeoff of 1,200 to 1,500 feet (360 to 450 meters). The raiders had to get close enough to Japan before they took off to have enough fuel to fly to China.
The sixteen B-25s were loaded onto the deck of the carrier USS Hornet. Hours before the ship sailed General Marshall personally wished good luck to Doolittle. The purpose of the mission was kept secret. The crew of the carrier would not suspect an idea as radical as bombers taking off from a carrier. The carrier would be a home for the raiders until they took off to bomb Japan.
Approaching the launch point the flight crews thought about the mission. The overall sentiment was that it was an impossible mission to survive through. The defenses around Tokyo and the other targeted cities would be tremendous. Even if the bombers could get to their targets escape would be difficult. The distance to the friendly territory meant that capture by the Japanese or death was likely. The crew members embarked on the mission despite the dangers.
On April 17th the battle group consisting of the Hornet and the Enterprise
along with an escort of cruisers began the final sprint to the launching point. On the 18th a scout plane saw a small Japanese vessel. Fearing detection the fleet took evasive maneuvers. The fleet spotted another Japanese ship. Radio messages were detected warning the Japanese of the approach of the fleet.
For the safety of the ships the bombers were launched 170 miles away from the planned launch point. By coincidence Tokyo was having an air raid drill that day. The Japanese were not ready for an actual raid.
The raiders had problems also. The bombers were plagued with poor equipment and weather. Many went off course en-route to their targets. When the raiders did get to their targets they were no longer flying in the same direction. The problems actually helped the raiders. The attacking bombers coming from different directions confused Japanese defenders. Some Japanese that saw the raiders waved. Many believed the American bombers were Japanese. The idea of American bombers flying over Japan seemed impossible. Also at that period of the war the United States symbol had a large red circle, like that of the Japanese rising sun, in the middle of a star. The insignia was later changed to prevent friendly fire incidents.
The majority of the sixteen raiding bombers attacked Tokyo. Three other aircraft attacked Yokohama and Yokosuka. The planned targets were military and industrial sites but mistakes resulted in civilian sites being hit. All of the aircraft except #4 bombed Japan. #4 was severely damaged by Japanese fighter planes and was forced to dump his bomb load in the Bay of Tokyo.
After completing their bombing runs the raiders flew west. The Japanese defenses were not the biggest problem the raiders had on their way to China. Of the eighty raiders only eight were captured. The bigger problem was the lack of enough fuel for any of the bombers to have a successful landing at a planned airfield. While flying into China the bombers kept low over the water to escape bad weather. In order to prevent crashing the raiders climbed before approaching the mountains. Most crews ditched their aircraft or bailed out. One crew was landed in Vladivostok, Russia. Fourteen of the crews ended up lost in China. When they bailed out of their planes the crews were separated. It took a few days for all of the raiders to be found and for the crews to meet up.
Doolittle was ordered to return to Washington immediately. because of the war, transportation was chaotic. The return required several days and many planes. The raiders were told not to reveal details of the mission for security reasons.
The Japanese were surprised by the boldness of the Doolittle Raid. The Japanese government tried to reduce the emotional damage of the raid with propaganda. The remains of the "Bat out of Hell" were displayed for the public. The government claimed to have shot down eight more. Japanese radio stations broadcast the details of the raid. American citizens and military personnel rejoiced.
Since Pearl Harbor United States moral had been low. Finally the United States had a victory that could be celebrated. The raid was too small to physically hurt the Japanese. While the attack on Pearl Harbor was comprised of waves of attacking aircraft and destroyed most of the United States Pacific Fleet other than the carriers the Doolittle Raid consisted of only sixteen bombers. The lasting effect of the raid on the war was the moral damage to the Japanese. American bombers attacking the capitol of Japan was an indication of superiority. By proving that Japan was far from invincible the Doolittle Raid paved the way for the future United States victories in the pacific theater.
Following the raid on Tokyo, Doolittle was promoted to Brigadier General. At a White House ceremony, General Henry "Hap" Arnold, chief of the U.S. Army Air Corps was present, along with Doolittle's wife, Joe, and General George C. Marshall, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt presented Jimmy Doolittle with the Medal of Honor in April 1942. The citation for the award read: "For conspicuous leadership above the call of duty, involving personal valor and intrepidity at an extreme hazard to life. With the apparent certainty of being forced to land in enemy territory or to perish at sea, General Doolittle personally led a squadron of Army bombers, manned by volunteer crews, in a highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland."
General Doolittle died in California on 27 September 1993 and was buried in Section 7-A of Arlington National Cemetery, with his wife of 71 years, Josephine.
For more details, visit Profiles In Courage
Recommended reading: Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo by Ted W. Lawson
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