On this account greater honor is due those who determined
to peril their lives to save the emigrants. Hiram Miller, although weak
and exhausted with the fatigues and starvation he had just undergone in
the second relief party, joined Messrs. Foster and Eddy. These three,
with Wm. Thompson, John Stark, Howard Oakley, and Charles Stone, set out
from Woodworth's camp the next morning after Reed's arrival. It was
agreed that Stark, Oakley, and Stone were to remain with the sufferers
at Starved Camp, supply them with food, and conduct them to Woodworth's
camp. Foster, Eddy, Thompson, and Miller were to press forward to the
relief of those at Donner Lake. The three men, therefore, whose voices
reached Mrs. Breen, were Stark, Oakley, and Stone.
When these members of the third relief party reached the deep, well-like
cavity in which were the seven Breens, the three Graves children, and
Mary Donner, a serious question arose. None of the eleven, except Mrs.
Breen and John Breen, were able to walk. A storm appeared to be
gathering upon the mountains, and the supply of provisions was very
limited. The lonely situation, the weird, desolate surroundings, the
appalling scenes at the camp, and above all, the danger of being
overtaken by a snow-storm, filled the minds of Oakley and Stone with
terror.
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