20060123 No proof seen Donner clan were cannibals

20060123 No proof seen Donner clan were cannibals

By Kevin Dayhoff Monday, January 23, 2006 11 PM

For the history buffs: (Hat Tip – Baltimore Sun, January 13, 2006) In a January 13, 2006 Los Angeles Times article by Eric Bailey: “No proof seen Donner clan were cannibals - Pioneers split into 2 camps; it appears only 1 group resorted to eating flesh.”

“SACRAMENTO -- Nudging the history books, archaeologists studying one of two campsites used by the ill-fated Donner Party during a snowbound Sierra winter 160 years ago announced Thursday that a study had unearthed no physical evidence of cannibalism.

The stranded emigrants settled into two camps during the harsh winter of 1846 and '47, and previous scientific studies confirmed cannibalism at the principal encampment, on the east shore of what is now Donner Lake.”

Hmmm, reminds me that in 1967, President Lyndon Johnson was quoted: "Do you know the difference between liberals and cannibals? Cannibals eat only their enemies."

That’s all for now folks. I need some ice cream and a nap.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

E-mail him at: kdayhoff@carr.org

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