The Donner Party

The Donner Party was a group of American emigrants, headed towards California. They were snowbound in the Sierra Nevada in the winter of 1846–1847. Like the Speluncean Explorers, some of them resorted to cannibalism. There were about 33 people in nine wagons when they departed from Illinois in 1846. When a blizzard trapped them, the emigrants slaughtered their remaining oxen, but there was not enough meat to feed so many for long. In mid-December, fifteen of the trapped emigrants set out on a 100 mile trip to seek help. This group consisted of 10 men and five women. When one man gave out and had to be left behind, the others continued, but soon became lost and ran out of food. Caught without shelter in a horrible storm, four of the party died. The survivors resorted to cannibalism, then continued on their journey; three more died and were also cannibalized. Close to death, the seven survivors—two men and all five of the women—finally reached safety on the western side of the mountains on January 18, 1847.

Californians rallied to save the Donner Party and equipped a total of four rescue parties, or "reliefs." When the First Relief arrived, 14 emigrants had died at the camps and the rest were extremely weak. Most had been surviving on boiled ox hide.

When the Second Relief arrived a week later, they found that there had been no more deaths, but some of the 31 emigrants left behind at the camps had begun to eat the dead. The Second Relief took 17 emigrants with them, leaving 14 alive at the camps. When the Third Relief arrived later in March, they found nine left. They rescued four children, but had to leave five people behind. By the time the Fourth Relief reached the camps on April 17, only one man was left alive.

The justified their actions by eating each other family's dead, so they didn't have to eat their own.

Although no one was intentionally murdered (that we know of) there are similar circumstances to the Speluncean Explorers. It just so happened that there was a lot more people in the Donner party and they had more time to die. The Donner party was also traveling with animals that they slaughtered before resorting to canibalism. The Speluncean Explorers didn;t have that luxary.