The similarities and situations between the Donner Party and the colonial Pilgrims is both appalling, frightening, and incomplete.
In both cases you'll find, one, a fairly large group of ill-prepared greenhorns pitting themselves against nature and each other,
two, an insufficient willingness to endure the very real hardships of frontiering and,
three, coinsidential misfortune at every turn.
Number three, coinsidential misfortune at every turn.
Disasters at both camps were initially brought about by departure,
delay, and desert inertia;
which caused our heroes to begin their journeys at absolutely retarded times weatherwise.
If fantasy is the refuge of a frightened man, and a castle in the air is a safe harbor for a foolish few,
just imagine living in a hut buried twelve feet below the snow, with the sight and smell of the scattered carcasses of loved ones at your feet;
it is the lay of the land, just another day.
I would like to propose that cannibalism was indeed rampant among America's earliest settlers:
The Pilgrims. - Uhn? - The Pilgrims.
For what does settler imply, if not the willingness to settle?
To settle for a meal of human flesh if my thoughts on the subject are to be believed.
In conclusion, spread the word of this.
Look to the night sky, and hark back to our forefathers' shortcomings, and your own,
as you cut your meat and lay the groundwork for a new tomorrow.