Disturbing accounts of cannibalism are usually what come to mind with mention of the Donner Party, the ill-fated group of pioneers who set out in 1846 to travel to California but got trapped in the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the winter.

Lesser known may be the ordeal's roots in Springfield, the Donner Party's departure point.

Author Michael Wallis of St. Louis explores those roots and digs into the stories of the nearly 90 pioneers who made the journey in "The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny."

“People from this area who read this book will learn not only about the Donner Party, but about themselves because a lot of spirit still exists here, that same sort of ethic still exists here,” Wallis said Tuesday at an event promoting the book on the Old Capitol Plaza.

In between plaques quoting President Abraham Lincoln at a kiosk on the plaza is a sign noting where the group led by George and Jacob Donner and James Reed set out on April 15, 1846.

According to Wallis, Lincoln had been interested in joining the cross-country trek, but stayed behind because of his toddler son and pregnant wife Mary Todd Lincoln.

According to www.history.com, in the spring of 1846, a group of nearly 90 emigrants left Springfield and headed west. Led by brothers Jacob and George Donner, the group attempted to take a new and supposedly shorter route to California. They soon encountered rough terrain and numerous delays, and they eventually became trapped by heavy snowfall high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Purportedly reduced to cannibalism to survive through the winter, only half of the original group reached California the following year. Their story quickly spread, and before long, the term “Donner Party” became synonymous with one of humanity’s most ingrained taboos.

Mayor Jim Langfelder thanked Wallis for highlighting the city’s connection to the Donner Party at the Tuesday afternoon event. He also planned to do so before Tuesday night's Springfield City Council meeting.

Wallis, who has written books about Route 66 and the famed outlaw Billy the Kid, will give a presentation and sign books at the Wyndham Springfield City Center, 700 E. Adams St., at 6 p.m.

-- Contact Mary Hansen: 788-1528, mary.hansen@sj-r.com, twitter.com/maryfhansen.