The Donner Party was a group of pioneers who set out for California in a wagon train, only to be delayed by a series of mishaps, and forced to spend the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The group constructed rudimentary cabins in order to survive. Some of the party resorted to cannibalism to survive, eating those who had succumbed to starvation and sickness. Offered here is a 1.75" tall glass vial w/flat sides and round neck, sealed w/aged red wax. Inside the vial are wooden fragments retrieved from the site of the Donner Party's Winter Camp, from a single foundation log from the "Murphy Cabin" found in 1892 by C.F. McGlashan. Vial has tags w/statement of authenticity, original issue price of $1, and pledge that the proceeds of the sale would go towards a monument to the Donner Party, as the California legislature had deemed such a project too expensive to be done with state funds. McGlashan assembled witnesses, removed the log and part of it was cut into fragments which were used to fill small glass vials; the authenticity of these were then sworn to in front of a justice of the peace. 5,000 vials were readied, to be sold for $1 each. After the initial rush, sales languished. McGlashan kept most of the unsold bottles in his museum. Eventually the money was raised, and the Native Sons and Daughters of the Golden West dedicated the monument in 1918 amid great fanfare. Tags and wax seal are aged but VF/Exc. Contents remain as sealed. Interesting historical relic of the Old West.