Anya Taylor-Joy Remember that wacky wagon train known to history as the Donner Party? Eighty-seven souls stranded during a particularly nasty winter while making the trek from Missouri to California in 1846. Party members starved, froze, and some resorted to cannibalism. Of the 87 who began the journey, only 48 finished it. But if there was a consolation prize for the survivors, it’s that they ended up really liking California. One of those survivors, Virginia Reed, wrote a letter back home to relatives in Illinois, telling them how great things were in Cali. In fact, she tried to persuade her female relatives to join her! Now, that wasn’t an easy sell. The journey had led to a mass-casualty event. And here was Virginia writing to her cousin Mary, barely two months after the hellish ordeal, saying, “Make the same trip!”