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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who is the unofficial untarnished hero of the Donner Party?
(a) Charles Stanton
(b) James Reed
(c) William Eddy
(d) Patrick Dolan

2. What did Mary Ann Graves become?
(a) A writer
(b) A shopkeeper
(c) One of the first teachers in San Jose
(d) A lawyer

3. Where did one woman think the rescuers came from?
(a) Hell
(b) Heaven
(c) Illinois
(d) Oregon

4. Who did Mrs. Murphy say they ought to eat?
(a) Charles
(b) Towser
(c) Milt
(d) No-one

5. Why was sitting difficult for them?
(a) They no longer had fat on their bottoms.
(b) There was no furniture.
(c) They got too cold sitting in one spot.
(d) They were used to moving.

6. What did William Graves believe about when the group's troubles began?
(a) He thought it was a punishment from God for leaving Mr. Hardcoop to die. O
(b) He believed they should have been more aware of what was going on.
(c) He believed it was a test to determine their strength as a unit.
(d) He believed it was bad karma.

7. How did Virginia feel about losing the Pioneer Palace Car?
(a) It made her angry.
(b) She thought it was practical.
(c) She was devastated.
(d) It didn't seem to bother her much.

8. What did the rescuers tell the survivors about Forlorn Hope?
(a) They died.
(b) They were lost.
(c) They were all fine with no problems.
(d) They were detained due to badly frostbitten feet.

9. What did Aunt Betsy cook in the morning?
(a) Shoemaker's arm
(b) Soup
(c) A heart
(d) Venison

10. What kind of soup did they eat daily?
(a) Bear
(b) Venison
(c) Ox hide
(d) Stone soup

11. What happened to the Breen's dog, Towser?
(a) The Native Americans stole it.
(b) They had to eat it.
(c) They traded it to the Native Americans for food.
(d) It ran away.

12. What was completed in 1857, making traveling to California easier?
(a) A cleared trail over the pass
(b) A highway
(c) The Central Pacific Railroad
(d) A stagecoach pass

13. How close were the dwellings to each other?
(a) They attached their dwellings to each other.
(b) They had room enough for campfires between the buildings.
(c) They deliberately built their dwellings a fair distance apart from each other.
(d) They put several miles between buildings.

14. Who went off to find help nine days before Christmas?
(a) The snowshoers
(b) Virginia's mother
(c) Virginia Reed
(d) James Reed

15. What did emigrants do once they realize that they were trapped?
(a) They cried.
(b) They turned around.
(c) They began to make dwellings.
(d) They hunted for food.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is cannibalism?

2. What was the weather like as the snowshoers traveled?

3. What happened to George Donner's hand?

4. Hw many other people died the night Dolan died?

5. Why did they consider drawing lots?

(see the answer keys)

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