Nehaveigur

In 1846, the Donner Party, a group of 87 men, women and children migrating to California, got surprised by a snowstorm while crossing a Sierra Nevada mountain pass. They had to stop and spend the winter in tents. 39 of them starved or froze to death and some were eaten by the survivors.

At the same time, back in Europe, a 25 year old dancer who called herself Lola Montez became the mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. Ludwig was one of the more interesting European kings, but even so, his life was mundane compared to that of his mistress. Before she had met the king, Montez had had affairs with men who are still well known today, including Franz Liszt and Alexandre Dumas. As the king’s mistress, her political influence became so great that she caused riots.

Neither her affair nor her influence lasted, and when the king abdicated during the revolution of 1848, she moved to America, where she continued her career as a dancer and performer. She started on the East Coast, but eventually moved west. Only seven years after the Donner Party, she settled in the Sierra Nevada foothills, which at the time must’ve been rough and were overrun by men with shovels digging for gold. There, she continued to make her mark. A mountain was named after her, and she named a lake. Eventually California got too small for her as well, and she moved on to Australia.

Lola Montez’ life has all the ingredients a feature film or TV series needs: A strong woman defying convention, European nobility, the Old West, and sex. Get typing, screenwriters!