A large wagon train left Springfield, Illinois for California in 1846. The Donner Party, following Lansford Hastings' advice, took a previously untested "shortcut" across the Great Basin, arriving at the Sierra Nevada weeks behind schedule and short on food.
American Experience
A group of settlers embarked on a perilous journey from Springfield, Illinois to California in 1846, led by the dubious advice of Lansford Hastings' influential guidebook.
