Chapter 4 Summary and Analysis

The Donner Party next had to cross the Great Salt Lake Desert. Hastings, leading another team, was days ahead of them. Hastings left a note at the beginning of the desert for them, indicating that it was only two days' travel across the desert. That was another fraudulent claim on the part of Hastings.

Water weighs so much that the train could only carry enough for two days. The crossing of the desert was instantly brutal. The alkaline dust in the air was a slow poison for the livestock and made human skin burn. Crossing a small mountain only resulted in more endless desert, followed by the "sink", where soft earth gave way to a layer of muck the wagons struggled through.

During this time, the Reed wagon team lagged behind the Donner and the other family's wagons. Reed went ahead...