amily consisted of James Reed, his wife Margaret, 42, his mother-in-law, Sarah Keyes, 73, daughters Virginia and Martha (Patty), 12 and 9, and sons Thomas and James Jr., 3 and 1.
             The three families got to Independence Rock, Missouri in late May. There, more families joined them including the Keseberg, Breen, Eddy, Graves, Foster, McCutchen, and Murphy families. These families came from all over the East Coast. When they left Independence Rock, there was a total of sixty-three wagons, one hundred nineteen fighting men, fifty-nine women, one hundred ten children, 58,484 pounds of flour, 38,080 pounds of bacon, 1,065 pounds of gunpowder, 2,557 pounds of lead bullets, one hundred forty-four rifles, ninety-four pistols, seven hundred fifty head of cattle, and one hundred fifty horses.
             The Donner Party encountered groups of Indians on their travel to Fort Bridger. It is told that Lewis Keseberg stole an Indian robe from a Sioux burial ground. The party not only met Sioux Indians, but also the Caws. They encountered both of these tribes in Kansas.
             The party celebrated the Forth of July at Fort Laramie. Reed brought out expensive wine, and the men stayed up late. Along the trail, the travelers mostly ate buffalo meat, but antelope was favored. On July 14, 1846, the party
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