Spanish conquistador Cabeza de Vaca would be among the first Europeans to see and travel through the regions that would one day become the American southwest and northern Mexico. This however was not a purposeful journey but instead the result a series of disastrous mishaps. Starting with an expedition to conquer the lands of the Gulf Coast region starting in Florida.

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With the arrival of the survivors of the Forlorn Hope expedition word was finally out about the desperate situation the Donner party was in. Yet even these rescue efforts could not save them from their terrible fate.

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Now trapped in the mountains without enough food to get through the winter the members of the Donner party attempt to go and get help. This expedition designed to bring back aid however would come to be known as the Forlorn Hope as it becomes one of the main reasons why this story gets passed down through history.

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While much of the mainstream white press has nothing but praise for the relief efforts being led by presidential hopeful Herbert Hoover there is an ugly reality just underneath the surface. Nowhere is that reality uglier than in Greenville Mississippi. Yet before we get into the virtual return of slavery in the city we first look at the history of Greenville and why what happens there is both surprising and inevitable.

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With Hastings supposed short cut proving to be anything but the Donner Party desperately try to make it across the Sierra Nevadas before winter sets in. Luck however is not on their side and the soon become trapped in the mountains.

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During their journey to California the various families that would make up the Donner Party make a fateful choice to leave behind the well traveled and proven trail to take the so called Hastings Cutoff. Doing so because it promised to shave some 200 miles off their journey but somethings are too good to be true.

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We deviate from the main thrust of our narrative to talk about the life and music of blues musician Robert Hicks aka BBQ Bob. Then we look at the curious case of New Orleans the richest city in the south. Where the city's bankers and businessmen in an effort to protect their own wealth and power sought to have a levee destroyed thereby flooding another community.

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The ultimate fate of the Donner party is a well known one but this week we see the beginnings of their fateful journey and the reasons why they left their homes to start over in California. 

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Following the brave act of resistance by William Parker and the others in Christiana Pennsylvania the national press dubs it a riot. Meanwhile even as those directly involved make a run for it others are arrested and put on trial.

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As performer's around the country rally to raise money to aid those affected by the flood the Empress of the Blues Bessie Smith's 'Back Water Blues' become the sound track of this disaster.

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