Donner Party Camp Site - Alcove Spring скачать в хорошем качестве

Donner Party Camp Site - Alcove Spring

“Alcove Spring became a favored camping and resting area of westward bound emigrants beginning early in the 19th century. One of the first known emigrant groups to cross the Blue River at Independence Crossing was the Bidwell-Bartleson Party in 1841. A member of that party, Nancy Kelsey, is believed to be the first white woman to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is believed that famous missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman stopped here on their way to Washington in the 1830’s. In 1842, John Charles Fremont passed through on his second expedition west. Fremont was accompanied by famed frontiersman Kit Carson. Initials “JF” next to an arrow carved in a limestone outcropping, a few hundred yards above the spring may be those of Fremont. In 1843, western migration began to explode, and over the next 25 years, more than 1/4 million people headed west, many along the Oregon-California Trail, and passed through this area. In May of 1846, the famous Donner-Reed party camped here for five days waiting for the flooding on the Big Blue River to subside. While here, Sarah Keyes, leader James Reed’s mother-in-law, passed away and was buried here. While the exact location of the gravesite has been lost over time, it is believed to be a short distance west of the stone marker, placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution in her memory, just across the country road. The Donner-Reed party eventually built a raft to float wagons across the flooding Blue and continue their westward trek. After a number of other delays, they failed to beat a blizzard across the Sierra Nevada Mountains by one day. During the winter that followed, nearly half of the party perished from cold and malnutrition after being stranded near what is now known as Donner Pass. A member of the Donner-Reed party, Edwin Bryant, coined the name Alcove Spring. His description is as follows: “About three-fourths of a mile from our camp, we found a large spring of water, as cold and pure as if it had just been melted from ice. It gushed from a ledge rock, which composes the bank of the stream, and falling some ten feet, its waters are received into a basin fifteen feet in length, ten feet in breadth, and three or four feet in depth. A shelving rock projects over this basin, from which falls a beautiful cascade of water, some ten or twelve feet. The whole is buried in a variety of shrubbery of the richest verdure, and surrounded by small mound-shaped inequalities of the prairie. Altogether, it is one of the most romantic spots I’ve ever seen. So charmed we were with its beauties, that several hours unconsciously glided away in the enjoyment of its refreshing waters and seductive attractions. We named this the “Alcove Spring”, and future travelers will find the name graven on the rocks, and on the trunks of the trees surrounding it.” Another member, George McKinstry, carved the name “Alcove Spring” into the rocks above the spring on May 30, 1846. Several other members of the party also left their names engraved, including James Reed. Some carvings have fallen into the creek bed and others have been lost over time, but a number of names carved by the pioneers remain in the limestone of the spring area. The waterfall next to the spring was named Naomi Pike Falls, after the youngest member of the expedition. The water flows over the falls intermittently, yet the Spring has never been known to have gone dry.” The Donner Party: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donne... Alcove Spring: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcov... Music: Plantation - Audionautix