April 19.  This morning Foster, Rhodes, and J. Foster started, with small packs, for the first cabins, intending from thence to follow the trail of the person that had left the morning previous.  The other three remained behind to cache and secure the goods necessarily left there.  Knowing the Donners had a considerable sum of money we searched diligently but were unsuccessful.  The party for the cabins were unable to keep the trail of the mysterious personage, owing to the rapid melting of the snow; they therefore went directly to the cabins and upon entering discovered Keseberg lying down amid the human bones, and beside him a large pan full of fresh liver and lights.  They asked him what had become of his companions; whether they were alive, and what had become of Mrs. Donner.  He answered them by stating that they were all dead.  Mrs. Donner, he said, had, in attempting to cross from one cabin to another, missed the trail and slept out one night; that she came to his camp the next night very much fatigued.  He made her a cup of coffee, placed her in bed, and rolled her well in the blankets; but next morning she was dead.  He ate her body and found her flesh the best he had ever tasted.  He further stated that he obtained from her body at least four pounds of fat.  No trace of her body was found, nor of the body of Mrs. Murphy either.  When the last company left the camp, three weeks previous, Mrs. Donner was in perfect health, though unwilling to leave her husband there, and offered $500.00 to any person or persons who would come out and bring them in, saying this in the presence of Keseberg, and that she had plenty of tea and coffee.  We suspected that it was she who had taken the piece from the shoulder of beef on the chair before mentioned.  In the cabin with Keseberg were found two kettles of human blood, in all, supposed to be over two gallons.  Rhodes asked him where he had got the blood.  He answered, “There is blood in dead bodies.”  They asked him numerous questions, but he appeared embarrassed, and equivocated a great deal; and in reply to their asking him where Mrs. Donner’s money was, he evinced confusion, and answered that he knew nothing about it, that she must have cached it before she died.  “I haven’t it,” said he, “nor money nor property of any person, living or dead.”  They then examined his bundle, and found silks and jewellery, which had been taken from the camp of Donners, amounting in value to about $200.00.  On his person they discovered a brace of pistols recognized to be those of George Donner; and while taking them from him, discovered something concealed in his waistcoat, which on being opened was found to be $225.00 in gold.

Before leaving the settlement, the wife of Keseberg had told us that we would find but little money about him; the men therefore said to him that they knew he was lying to them, and that he was well aware of the place of concealment of the Donners’ money.  He declared before