Death Valley '49ers facts for kids
The Death Valley '49ers were a group of brave pioneers from the eastern United States. They made a very tough journey in the late 1840s during the California Gold Rush. Their goal was to find gold in the Sutter's Fort area of California. Their long route from Utah took them through the Great Basin Desert in Nevada, and then through Death Valley and the Mojave Desert in Southern California. They faced many challenges trying to reach the gold fields.
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The Exciting Gold Rush Begins
On January 24, 1848, a man named James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. This amazing discovery made tens of thousands of people from all over the world want to come to California. People quickly packed their belongings. They began traveling by covered wagon, hoping for a new and better life. Since many of these pioneers arrived in 1849, they became known as the '49ers.
However, there was a sad story that many remembered: the Donner Party. These pioneers had started their trip to California too late in 1846. They got stuck in the Sierra Nevada mountains by a big storm. This led to a terrible disaster.
Choosing a New Path
The stories of the Donner Party were still fresh in everyone's minds. In the fall of 1849, a group of wagons arrived in Salt Lake City. It was too late in the year to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains safely. It looked like the group would have to wait in Salt Lake City for winter to end.
Then, they heard about the Old Spanish Trail. This route went around the southern end of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was considered safe to travel in winter. No one was sure if wagons could use this trail. But some groups had recently tried it. So, the main group found a guide named Jefferson Hunt. He had traveled the route before in 1847. Hunt agreed to lead them. These travelers would soon become part of a difficult story in a place they would name Death Valley.
Starting the Journey with Hunt
About 107 wagons were ready to start the journey. They were spread out around Salt Lake City. Hunt suggested that the wagon train should be organized into seven smaller groups, each with a captain. Hunt would be in charge of everyone. Each group would take turns leading the way for a day. They would break the road and prepare the path for the others. Then, they would move to the back the next day. With seven groups, each would lead once a week.
Hunt also told the group to wait a few more days before leaving. He knew that cooler weather would be better for their trip through the desert. The group agreed on their rules on September 30, 1849.
The first few days of travel went well. They started from Hobble Creek, near what is now Provo, Utah. The southern route followed the path of today's Interstate 15. It reached the Spanish Trail near Parowan. On October 9, the group reached the Sevier River. They kept going but were often delayed by illness.
A Risky Shortcut and a Split
On October 18, they reached the Beaver River. This was about 30 miles north of Parowan. Here, Hunt tried a route he had never personally traveled. He had heard it might be a shortcut. Hunt led the group west down the Beaver River to what is now Minersville, Utah. They camped there for two nights to rest. Then, they turned south and traveled 12 miles, making a dry camp without water. Hunt hoped to find Coal Creek (near Cedar City) where they could rest.
But Hunt kept going southwest across the Escalante Desert without finding water. The group had to drive their animals back to the river for water. Hunt almost died of thirst trying to find water. In the end, the group had to turn back.
This failed shortcut made the group lose trust in Hunt. While they were recovering, a smaller group of travelers arrived. They were led by Orson K. Smith and Charles C. Rich. Smith showed a map made by Elijah Barney Ward. This map showed a route west across the Escalante Desert to Walker Pass. Some thought this route would cut off 500 miles from their journey.
After going back to the main trail, the group camped near Little Salt Lake on October 27. The shortcut attempt had cost them seven days. This meant they had less food and water for the rest of the trip. Also, having so many wagons would make it hard to find enough water and grass for their animals in the desert.
Most of the 107 wagons decided to follow Smith's shortcut. Only a few wagons stayed with Hunt. The group reached a point near what is now Enterprise, Utah in early November. Most wagons went west, while only seven wagons followed Hunt south on the Spanish Trail. A monument now stands there to remember this historic split.
Those who went west on Ward's route soon faced a huge problem: Beaver Dam Wash. This was a deep canyon on the Utah–Nevada border with 1,000-foot-high cliffs. Smith's smaller group could walk through it, but the wagons could not. This difficult place was nicknamed "Mount Misery."
Most people became discouraged and went back to join Jefferson Hunt. But 27 wagons decided to keep going through the wash. This smaller group didn't have a good map. But they believed they just had to keep going west to find the pass. They elected a new leader, Jim Martin. The group went north to find a way around the canyon. Lee Manly, who was scouting ahead, found they were going back north towards Salt Lake City. He convinced Martin to turn west.
Another group of all-male pioneers called The Jayhawkers caught up with the Martin group. The Jayhawkers had started with Hunt but split off earlier. They were from Galesburg, Illinois. They decided to travel without women and children. It took several days to find a way for the wagons around the canyon. Then, the group passed through the area of Panaca, Nevada. They crossed over "Bennetts Pass" to Del Mar Valley. Here, they struggled to find water. But they eventually reached Crystal Springs in the Pahranagat Valley.
Their oxen became very weak from lack of food and water. The pioneers began throwing away their belongings in late November. This was about 90 miles west of "Mount Misery." They continued over Hancock Summit into Tikaboo Valley and then to Groom Lake. There, they rested and got water.
The Second Split and Death Valley
At Groom Lake, the group argued again about which way to go. One group, the Bennett-Arcane party, wanted to head south towards the snowy Mount Charleston. They hoped to find good water there, based on Manly's scouting. The other group, the Jayhawkers, wanted to stick to the original plan of going west.
The group eventually split up. The Jayhawkers took 20 wagons, and the Bennett-Arcanes stayed with 7 wagons and Manly. Both groups were saved from dying of thirst by a snowstorm. They both ended up meeting again at Ash Meadows in the Amargosa Desert, east of Death Valley. From there, they followed the Amargosa River bed to what is now Death Valley Junction, California. Then, they followed the same route as today's California State Route 190 past the Funeral Mountains.
On Christmas Eve of 1849, the groups arrived at Travertine Springs. This was in a canyon about a mile from Furnace Creek Wash in Death Valley itself. The lost pioneers had been traveling across the desert for about two months. Their oxen were weak, and their wagons were in bad shape. The pioneers were tired and discouraged. But their biggest problem was not the valley in front of them. It was the huge Panamint Range mountains to the west. They looked like an impossible wall stretching as far as they could see.
The Jayhawkers at Burnt Wagons
At Furnace Creek, the groups split again. The Jayhawkers decided to head northwest towards a difficult pass near Stovepipe Wells. But they found it was impossible for wagons because of many large rocks. So, they decided to leave their wagons and belongings behind and walk the rest of the way. They killed several oxen and used the wood from their wagons to cook the meat and make jerky.
The place where they did this is now called "Burned Wagons Camp." It is near the sand dunes of Death Valley. From here, they started climbing towards Towne Pass. Then, they turned south over Emigrant Pass to Wildrose Canyon in the Panamint Range. After crossing the mountains and going down into Panamint Valley, they turned south. They climbed a small pass into Searles Valley, with Searles Lake. Finally, they made their way into Indian Wells Valley near Ridgecrest.
It was here that they finally saw the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the first time. They turned south, probably following a trail. They traveled across Fremont Valley, close to the same route as today's California State Route 14. It's ironic that they walked right past Walker Pass, the mountain pass they had been looking for almost three months earlier.
Passing Walker Pass, they entered the hardest part of their journey: crossing the Mojave Desert and its Antelope Valley. This area has very few water sources. The only things that saved them from dying of thirst were a few puddles of water and ice from a recent storm. Eventually, they found their way over a pass in the Sierra Pelona Mountains near Palmdale. Following the Santa Clara River, they were finally found and rescued by Mexican cowboys from Rancho Ex-Mission San Fernando. This was near what is now Santa Clarita Valley. The Jayhawkers arrived at Rancho San Francisquito on February 4, 1850. The survivors later held reunions and celebrated this day every year from 1872 to 1918.
The Bennett-Arcane Group at Long Camp
Meanwhile, the Bennett-Arcane group tried to cross the Panamints to the south at Warm Springs Canyon. Manly had reported seeing a lake there. But they failed and had to go back to the valley floor. At the start of 1850, they sent two men, William Lewis Manly and John Haney Rogers, to get help. They had two weeks of supplies and $30 to buy more. They mistakenly thought the Panamints were the Sierra Nevada mountains. They expected a quick return.
Instead, Manly and Rogers walked nearly 300 miles to Mission San Fernando. They bought supplies and rode three horses and a one-eyed mule back to rescue the others. They returned 26 days after they had left. Amazingly, only one person from the Bennett-Arcane group had died during the month-long wait at what is now the Bennett-Arcane Long Camp. Some other survivors had left to find their own way out of Death Valley. It is said that as the last survivors left with Manly and Rogers, someone shouted, "Goodbye, Death Valley!" This is how the area got its famous name.
Remembering the Death Valley '49ers
The Death Valley '49s is a group founded in 1949. They work to remember these brave pioneers, especially the wagon groups of 1849 and 1850. Every November, the group holds their annual Encampment. It's a celebration of the pioneer spirit and the special place called Death Valley.
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