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(DISCLAIMER. This story is fiction, loosely based on the events of the Donner/Reed party. The Desert Hermit and teamsters Spitz and Mullins, the bank robbery and the treasure of gold coins exist only in the imagination of the writer of this story. The addition of the Hermit's visions is a device to create cache finds for the coin quest game. However, the writer has attempted to stick to known facts in telling the rest of the story. Editor)
INTRODUCTION: The 1840s was a remarkable period in the history of the United States. The days when the wild west of the North American continent was dominated by mountain men, trappers, traders and Indians was coming to an end. One of the largest migrations in the history of humanity was just beginning, and the world was focused on Independence, Missouri. The territories of Oregon and California beckoned with promise of rich, fertile lands, new towns and a chance for a more prosperous life. Soon the trickle of wagon trains would turn into a torrent with the discovery of gold in California in 1848. Hundreds of thousands would make their way across the plains and mountains.
It was a difficult, dangerous journey with all sorts of opportunity for mayhem and mishap. Most left in the early spring as soon as there was enough grass growing to sustain their oxen, horses, mules and cattle.
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They fought mud, extreme heat and cold, the crossing of endless plains, rivers, mountains and deserts. Any delay could be deadly, for at the end of the trek was the lofty Sierra Madre mountain range where winter snows often blocked passage by the end of September. Most made it in time. One particular wagon train didn't.
This is the story of that unfortunate party, as seen through the eyes of an old reclusive fur trapper who headed west with the train to retire in California. Those who survived the Donner/Reed fiasco gave conflicting accounts of their ordeals and no one even mentions an old desert hermit. A journal supposedly written by the hermit recently surfaced, and historians are attempting to determine its validity. Many pages are damaged and unreadable. Make what you want of the hermit's account that begins at the jumping off place for the wagon trains-Independence, Missouri, in the year 1846. His mention of hidden treasure has historians and treasure hunters alike scrutinizing all the old diaries and newspapers once again.)
April 15, 1846
Old Jim Bridger give me this journal book long time ago… said I should keep track of me adventures and them strange thangs I see sometimes thet nobody else kin see. Jim thinks theys prophecies of the future. So I'm agonna start. People calls me Desert Hermit from me early days guiding trading parties along the Sante Fe trail.
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