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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) Patrick Dolan
(d) William Eddy

2. Where did George and Jacob Donner and their families camp?
(a) At the summit
(b) At Alder Creek
(c) In California
(d) At Tuskegee Lake

3. How did they help Jimmy Reed travel?
(a) They put him on a sled.
(b) They encouraged him by telling him that every step he took was getting closer to Papa.
(c) They carried him.
(d) They threatened him.

4. How did the native Americans help the snow shoers?
(a) They went and got help for them.
(b) They fed them pine nuts and acorn bread.
(c) They carried them back to the camp.
(d) They gave them maps to California.

5. How did Margaret and Elizabeth Graves get along?
(a) They ignored each other.
(b) They tolerated each other.
(c) They hated each other.
(d) They were best friends.

6. What did Louis Keseberg do in California?
(a) He became a law officer.
(b) He ran a hotel and restaurant.
(c) He started lecturing on the Donner Party experience.
(d) He earned a reputation as a thief.

7. How long did the snowshoers think it would take them to get to the first settlement in California?
(a) 6 days
(b) 30 days
(c) 14 days
(d) 2 days

8. What did Virginia write about Lansford Hastings?
(a) Very little
(b) Sh blamed him for their experience.
(c) She said that she finally met him.
(d) She said he took good care of them.

9. What was the problem with Tommy?
(a) His leg wound was infected.
(b) He couldn't breathe right.
(c) He wouldn't stop coughing.
(d) He couldn't walk through the deep snow, and they couldn't carry him.

10. What did the survivors do with the buckskin strings from the rescue party's snowshoes?
(a) They held them reverently.
(b) They stole them and ate them.
(c) They used them to tie up their remaining belongings.
(d) They used them to tie the tent flap together so they wouldn't be cold any longer.

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

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

13. How did they stay warm at night?
(a) They drank whiskey.
(b) They built a huge fire.
(c) They huddled together under a blanket near the fire.
(d) They layered their clothing.

14. How did Tamsen keep the children occupied?
(a) She gave them chores to do.
(b) She had them make up stories.
(c) She told them stories from the Bible.
(d) She made crafts with them out of natural materials.

15. Who led the first rescue party that reached the survivors?
(a) James Reed
(b) Charles Stanton
(c) Nobody reached them
(d) Aquillal Glover

Short Answer Questions

1. Who did Mrs. Murphy say they ought to eat?

2. What is cannibalism?

3. Where are James Reed's pocket watch and Masonic medal displayed?

4. What happened to the dogs that were traveling with the group?

5. What did William Graves believe about when the group's troubles began?

(see the answer keys)

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