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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How deep was the snow by the time they reached Truckee Lake?
(a) 5 feet
(b) 1 foot deep
(c) There wasn't any snow.
(d) It was up to their thighs.

2. What book did Reed and Donner use for guidance?
(a) California or Bust
(b) The Emigrants' Guide to Oregon and California
(c) Go West, Young Man - Memoirs of Daniel Boone
(d) The Oregon Trail

3. Who possessed the west?
(a) Mexico
(b) England
(c) Californians
(d) Native Americans

4. How did Patrick Breen contribute to the fires at night?
(a) He told tales.
(b) He chopped firewood.
(c) He played the violin.
(d) He shared his coal.

5. Where did the United States end?
(a) New Mexico
(b) California
(c) Texas
(d) Missouri

Short Answer Questions

1. Why didn't the Donner Party see other travelers?

2. What was used to wash the dishes?

3. What happened to Virginia's aunt according to her stories?

4. What happened to James Reed after he killed Snyder?

5. What happened to the letters that Bryant sent Reed?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was the Forty Mile Desert like?

2. How did the Native American treat William Eddy?

3. What was crossing the desert like?

4. What did Clyman talk to Reed about?

5. What did the Donner party find when they emerged from the Cutoff?

6. How did the Reed wagons do on the journey?

7. Why did Virginia's father choose to take his family to California?

8. What happened to Mr. Hardcoop?

9. Why did some of the people in Springfield question James Reed's ideas?

10. What happened to the oxen during the six days it took to get through the desert?

(see the answer keys)

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