He was an
invalid during the winter of 1846 and '47. A man of more than ordinary
intelligence, a devout Catholic, a faithful and devoted father, his life
furnishes a rare type of the pioneer Californian. To Mr. Breen we are
indebted for the most faithful and authentic record of the days spent at
the cabins. This record is in the form of a diary, in which the events
of the day were briefly noted in the order of their occurrence. Lewis
Keseberg kept a similar diary, but it was subsequently accidentally
destroyed. Mrs. Tamsen Donner kept a journal, but this, with her
paintings and botanical collections, disappeared at the fatal tent on
Alder Creek. Mr. Breen's diary alone was preserved. He gave it into Col.
McKinstry's possession in the spring of 1847, and on the fourth of
September of that year it was published in the Nashville (Tenn.) Whig. A
copy of the Whig of that date is furnished by Wm. G. Murphy, of
Marysville. Other papers have published garbled extracts from this
diary, but none have been reliable. The future history of the events
which transpired at the cabins will be narrated in connection with this
diary.
It must be remembered that the lake had always been known as "Truckee
Lake," it having been named after an old Indian guide who had rendered
much assistance to the Schallenberger party in 1844.
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