A group of 87 pioneers made their way by wagon from Missouri to California in May of 1846. Due to several mishaps and snowstorms, the typical four-to-six-month trip took nearly twice as long to complete, and many group members resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. Nearly half of the party died on the trail, and the events are now recognized as "one of the most bizarre and spectacular tragedies in Californian history and Western US migration."