WLBAGLEY@xmission.com wrote:

> I can't find my copy of Ingersoll, so I can't remember what he says about
> the Donner camps, but Blackburn indicates not all the bones were buried or
> the graves had been disturbed. My guess is wolves and coyotes got to them
> during the summer.

Alas, Ingersoll doesn't say anything about the Donner camps (by an interesting coincidence his daughter Flavilla married William H. Eddy of the Donner Party). When Kearny went through there was still a lot of snow on the ground and his men might have missed some of the disjecta membra; as you say, animals are probably to blame for some of the disturbance; and there's also evidence that a number of people went up to the mountains during the summer of 1847 to check out the camps. In 1848 Rufus Burrows' party stopped to bury human remains; in 1849 Alexander Love said the grave had been disturbed; and several passersby recorded taking bones and artifacts as souvenirs. Obviously the site has been greatly disturbed over the years and we'll probably never know what really happened to the remains, but any additional information is welcome. The Powers That Be at Donner Memorial State Park are not at all interested in any further archaeological investigation but they intend to expand the museum and revamp the park and in the process something might turn up.

FYI: The results of the 2003 and 2004 digs at Alder Creek are going to be presented at the Society for Historical Archaeology Conference to be held in Sacramento January 11-15.

Kristin Johnson