For some reason this is making me think about the terrible plane wreck up in the Andes mountains back in the 1970's. I'm sure you all are familiar with this. The survivors of the wreck were forced to eat the dead. Remember that? This is another one of those "could I do it?" scenarios.
I don't think I could. But I suppose one never really knows for certain until they are faced with something like this. It's a chilling thought.
This very same thing happened to the Donner party in the 1800's. I think it happened in Colorado.
Donner Pass in California, east side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. They were actually only about 100 miles from their destination in Sacramento but the snows set in and they were trapped.
From Wikipedia
When they reached the Sierra Nevada at the end of October, a snowstorm blocked their way over what is now known as Donner Pass. Demoralized and low on supplies, about two thirds of the emigrants camped at a lake (now called Donner Lake), while the Donner families and a few others camped about six miles (ten kilometers) away, at Alder Creek.[2]
The emigrants slaughtered their oxen, but there was not enough meat to feed so many for long. In mid-December, fifteen of the trapped emigrants, later known as the Forlorn Hope, set out on crudely fashioned snowshoes for Sutter's Fort, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away, to seek help. This group consisted of 10 men and five women. When one man gave out and had to be left behind, the others continued, but soon became lost and ran out of food. Caught without shelter in a raging blizzard, four of the party died. The survivors resorted to cannibalism, then continued on their journey; three more died and were also cannibalized. Close to death, the seven surviving snowshoers--two men and all five of the women--finally reached safety on the western side of the mountains on January 18, 1847.[2]
Donner Pass in the 1870s.Californians rallied to save the Donner Party and equipped a total of four rescue parties, or "reliefs." When the First Relief arrived, 14 emigrants had died at the camps and the rest were extremely weak. Most had been surviving on boiled ox hide, but there had been no cannibalism. The First Relief set out with 21 refugees on February 22.
When the Second Relief arrived a week later, they found that some of the 31 emigrants left behind at the camps had begun to eat the dead. The Second Relief took 17 emigrants with them, the Third Relief four. By the time the Fourth Relief had reached the camp, only one man was alive. The last member of the Donner Party arrived at Sutter's Fort on April 29.[2]
Of the original 87 pioneers, 39 died and 48 survived.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Party
