The Romance of the Colorado River Part 12

writes Stanton, "and the debris forms a talus equal to a mountain slope.

Here the bottoms widen into little farms covered with green gra.s.s and groves of mesquite, making a most charming summer picture, in strong contrast with the dismal narrow canyons above." They then pa.s.sed the Little Colorado and entered the Grand Canyon proper, meeting with a lone prospector in the wide portion just below the Little Colorado, the only person they had seen in any of the canyons traversed.

Arriving at the First Granite Gorge (Archaean formation), they were at the beginning of the wildest stretch of river of all, perhaps the wildest to be found anywhere, the fall in the first ten miles averaging twenty-one feet to the mile, the greatest average except in Lodore and a portion of Cataract, and as this descent is not spread over the ten miles, but occurs in a series of falls with comparatively calm water between, it is not hard to picture the conditions. Stanton also p.r.o.nounces these rapids of the First Granite Gorge the most powerful he saw, except two in the Second Granite Gorge. On January 29th they had cautiously advanced till they were before the great descent some of our party had called the Sockdologer, the heaviest fall on the river, about eighty feet in a third of a mile. They proceeded all along in much the same careful fas.h.i.+on as we had done, and as everyone who hopes to make this pa.s.sage alive must proceed. The water being low, they were able to let their boats by line over the upper end of the Sockdologer with safety, but, in attempting to continue, the Marie was caught by a cross-current and thrown against the rocks, turned half over, filled with water, and jammed tightly between two boulders lying just beneath the surface. In winter, the air in the canyon is not very cold, but the river coming so swiftly from the far north is, and the men with lines about their waists who tried to go through the rus.h.i.+ng waist-deep water found it icy. Taking turns, they succeeded with a grappling-hook in getting out the cargo, losing only two sacks of provisions, but though they laboured till dark they were not able to move the boat. Giving her up for lost, they tried to secure a night's rest on the sharp rocks. Had a great rise in the river occurred now the party would have been in a terrible predicament, but though it rose a few days later it spared them on this occasion. It came up only two feet, and this was a kindness, for it lifted the Marie so that they were able to pull her out of the vise.

When they saw her condition, however, they were dismayed for one side was half gone, and the other was smashed in. The keel remained whole. By cutting four feet out of the centre and drawing the ends together, five days' hard work made practically another boat. They were then able to proceed, and, going past Bright Angel Creek, arrived on February 6th at what Stanton describes as "the most powerful and unmanageable rapid"

on the river. This, I believe, was the place where we were capsized.

Thompson at that time, before we ran it, declared it looked to him like the worst rapid we had encountered but at the stage of water then prevailing we could not get near it. Stanton wisely made a portage, of the supplies and let the boats down by lines. His boat, the Bonnie Jean, played all sorts of pranks, rus.h.i.+ng out into the current, ducking and diving under water, and finally floating down sideways. Then they thought they would try what Stanton calls Powell's plan of shooting a boat through and catching it below. Such a harum-scarum method was never used on our expedition, and I never heard Powell suggest that it was on the first. Stanton cites as authority one of Powell's statements in the Report. At any rate in this instance it was as disastrous as might have been expected. The poor Marie was again the sufferer, and came out below "in pieces about the size of toothpicks." The Lillie was then carried down and reached the river beyond in safety. A day or two after this McDonald decided to leave the party, and started up a little creek coming in from the north, to climb out to the plateau, and make his way to Kanab. This he succeeded in doing after several days of hard work and tramping through the heavy snow on the plateau. The other ten men concluded to remain with Stanton and they all went on in the two boats.

Several days later they pa.s.sed the mouth of the Kanab. The terrible First Granite Gorge was well behind them. But now the river began to rise. Before reaching the Kanab it rose four feet and continued to rise for two days and nights, altogether some ten or twelve feet. A little below the Kanab, where the canyon is very narrow, they came upon a peculiar phenomenon. They heard a loud roar and saw breakers ahead.

Thinking it a bad rapid, they landed immediately on some rocks, and, going along these to examine the place, the breakers had disappeared, but as they stood in amazement there suddenly arose at their feet the same huge waves, twelve or fifteen feet high and one hundred and fifty feet long, across the river, "rolling down-stream like great sea waves, and breaking in white foam with a terrible noise." These waves, as was later ascertained, were the result of a cloudburst on the headwaters of the Little Colorado, and indicate what might be expected in here in the event of a combination of such waves with the highest stage of water.

The next day they were diminished, and the river fell somewhat, but it was still so powerful they could barely control the boats and had a wild and tumultuous ride, sometimes being almost bodily thrown out of the boats. By this time their rations were getting low, but by pus.h.i.+ng on as fast as possible they reached Diamond Creek on March 1st, where supplies were planned to meet them. Remaining there ten days to recuperate they went on with only eight men, three concluding to leave at this place.

The Second Granite Gorge begins about eighteen miles above Diamond Creek, and is about thirty miles long. It is much like the First Granite Gorge, being the same formation, excepting that it is shorter and that the declivity of the river is not so great. From Diamond Creek down to the end of the canyon is about fifty miles. It is a bad stretch, and contains some heavy falls which, as the river was still somewhat high, were often impossible to get around, and they were obliged to run them.

The stage of water in both these Granite Gorges makes a great difference in the character of the falls. For example, in the Second Gorge, when Wheeler made his precarious journey in 1871, he was able, coming from below, to surmount the rapids along the sides with two of his boats, because the water happened to be at a stage that permitted this, whereas Stanton found it impossible to pa.s.s some of them without running, and Powell found the one that split his party the same way. So it appears that one day finds these gorges easier or harder than another; but at their easiest they are truly fearful places. At one of the worst falls Stanton's boat suddenly crashed upon a rock that projected from the sh.o.r.e, and there she hung, all the men being thrown forward. The boat filled and stuck fast, while the great waves rolled over her and her crew. Stanton tried to straighten himself up, and was taken in the back by a breaker and washed out of the craft altogether into a whirlpool, and finally shot to the surface fifty feet farther down. He had on his cork jacket and was saved, though he was ducked again and carried along swiftly by the tremendous current. The second boat had better luck and came through in time to pick Stanton up. The damaged boat was gotten off with a hole in her side ten by eighteen inches, which was closed by a copper patch, at the first chance, the air chambers having kept the craft afloat. After this the bad rapids were soon ended, and on the morning of March 17th (1890) the party emerged into an open country and upon a peaceful, quiet river. Continuing down through Black and the other canyons, and through the intervening valleys, they reached, on the 26th of April, the salt tide where Alarcon, three and a half centuries earlier, had first put a keel upon these turbulent waters, the only party thus far to make the entire pa.s.sage from the Junction to the sea.

And as yet no one has made the complete descent from Green River Valley to the counter-current of the Tidal Bore, so if there is any reader who desires to distinguish himself here is a feat still open to him. Stanton deserves much praise for his pluck and determination and good judgment in carrying this railway survey to a successful issue, especially after the discouraging disasters of the first attempt. He holds the data and believes the project will some day be carried out. From the foregoing pages the reader may judge the probabilities in the case.

Since the Stanton party several descents successful and unsuccessful have been made. The first was the "Best party," representing the Colorado Grand Canyon Mining and Improvement Company, with eight men and two boats similar to those used by Stanton. The expedition left Green River, Utah, July 10, 1891. The members were James S. Best, Harry McDonald, John Hislop, William H. Edwards, Elmer Kane, L. H. Jewell, J.

H. Jacobs, A. J. Gregory, and J. A. McCormick. Four of these, Hislop, McDonald, Kane, and Edwards had been with Mr. Stanton, to whom I am indebted for this information. The men had cork life-jackets. In Cataract Canyon one boat was wrecked but no one was lost, and they made their way to Lee Ferry with the remaining boat and there abandoned the expedition.

In 1891, a steam launch, the Major Powell, thirty-five feet long, with two six-horsepower engines driving twin screws was brought out in the summer from Chicago by way of the Rio Grande Western Railway to the crossing of Green River, and there launched in September of that year.

A screw was soon broken, and the attempt to go down the river abandoned.

In 1892 another effort was made, but this also was given up after a few miles. But in 1893, W. H. Edwards, who had been with the Stanton party, together with L. H. Johnson and some others, took the Major Powell down to the Junction and back, making a second trip in April. The round trip took fourteen days. They also went up the Grand some distance. Entering the jaws of Cataract Canyon they went to the head of the first rapid. On trying to return the current proved almost too much for the power. With block and tackle to help the engines they finally got above the swift water, and had no further serious trouble. Mr. Johnson says the launch came near being wrecked. Several other steam craft were later put on the river, the Undine being the most pretentious (see cut, page 390). She was wrecked trying to run up a rapid on Grand River above Moab. In 1894 Lieut. C. L. Potter made an unsuccessful attempt to go from Diamond Creek to the mouth of the Virgin, September 20th, 1895, N. Galloway and William Richmond started from Green River, Wyoming, and went down in flat, bottomed boats to Lee Ferry. September, 1896, they started again from Henry's Fork, Wyoming, and went to the Needles reaching there February 10, 1897. Since that time Galloway has made several successful descents. In August, 1896, George F. Flavell and a companion left Green River, Wyoming, and successfully descended to Yuma in flat-bottomed boats, reaching there December, 1896.

In 1907, three miners, Charles Russell, E. R. Monett, and Albert Loper, with three steel boats each sixteen feet long, left Green River, Utah, September 20th, to make the descent. Loper and one damaged boat were left at Hite near the mouth of Fremont river, while Russell and Monett proceeded. In the beginning of the Grand Canyon they lost a boat, but with the remaining one after various disasters, they finally made their exit from the Grand Canyon, January 31, 1908. Their boats of steel were about the most unsuitable of any ever put on the river. They carried a copy of this volume all the way through and found it of value.

A view of the Grand Canyon may now be had without risk or discomfort of any kind, as the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway runs trains direct to Hotel Tovar at the very edge of the gorge at one of the grandest portions, opposite Bright Angel Creek. There are several trails in this region leading down to the river besides the one from the hotel.

It is always a hard climb for those unaccustomed to mountaineering. From the north, for any who are fond of camping, an interesting trip may be made from Modena on the Salt Lake to Los Angeles Railway via St. George to the Toroweap and the Kaibab country, though this is a matter of several weeks, and necessitates an outfit.

The Grand Canyon may be crossed at two points, Bright Angel Trail and Ba.s.s's Trail, and the heights of the north rim gained in that manner though it is not an easy trip.

In a general way we have now traced the whole history of the discovery and exploration of this wonderful river, which after nearly four centuries still flings defiance at the puny efforts of man to cope with it, while its furious waters dash on through the long, lonely gorges, as untrammelled to-day as they were in the forgotten ages. Those who approach it respectfully and reverently are treated not unkindly, but woe and disaster await all others. The lesson of these pages is plain, and the author commends it to all who hereafter may be inspired to add their story to this Romance of the Colorado River.

Agreement made by Major Powell with men of his first expedition. From a copy in the handwriting of one of the party.

(COPY) This agreement made this twenty-fifth day of February, eighteen-hundred-and-sixty-nine, between J. W. Powell, party of the first part, and J. C. Sumner, W. H. Dunn, and O. G. Howland, party of the second part, witnesseth, that the said party of the second part agree to do the following work, respectively, for the party of the first part, namely: J. C. Sumner agrees to do all necessary work required with the s.e.xtant; W. H. Dunn to make barometrical observations night and morning of each day, when required, also to make observations when needed for determining alt.i.tude of walls of the Canon, also to make not more than sixty-two hourly series of not more than eight days each, he to have the aid of an a.s.sistant for the last two mentioned cla.s.ses of observations; O. G. Howland to make a topographical drawing of the course of the rivers. The above and foregoing work to be performed during the proposed exploration of the Green River, from Green River City, Wyoming Territory, to the Colorado River, and of the Colorado River from that point to Callville, (blank s.p.a.ce left here evidently for the insertion of the name of the territory in which Callville was situated. F.S.D.) ------; the party of the second part to perform the foregoing work to the best of their ability; the party of the second part also agreeing to do a fair proportion of the work necessary in getting supplies and boats safely through the channels of the aforementioned rivers, for use of the expedition; and also agreeing to save for specimens for stuffing, for the party of the first part, all suitable skins of animals which they may collect while engaged in the above exploration of the Green and Colorado rivers, J. W. Powell, party of the first part, agreeing to allow the party of the second part five days at one time for prospecting for gold and silver, if not too often; also to allow thirty days to the party of the second part for hunting and trapping between the first day of September and the first day of December, eighteen-hundred-and-sixty-nine, and sixty days between the first day of January and the first day of June, eighteen-hundred-and-seventy; the party of the first part also agreeing to pay to the party of the second part, respectively, twenty-five dollars each per month for the time employed in all such service, and also agreeing to pay in addition the annexed prices for all skins procured for him by the party of the second part; J. W. Powell, the party of the first part, to furnish boats, supplies, ammunition, etc., sufficient for the use of the expedition. This agreement to go into effect the first day of June eighteen-hundred-and-sixty-nine, and not to continue over one year.

Should it be necessary to proceed on the journey, without delay on account of disaster to boats or loss of rations, then the time specified for hunting may not be required by either party, nor shall it be deemed a failure of contract to furnish supplies should such supplies be lost in transit.

J. C. Sumner J.W. Powell William H. Dunn In Charge of Col. River Ex.

O. G. Howland

Deer . . $1.25 each Martin .$1.50 each Weasel $.35 each Sheep . 1.25 " Otter 3.50 " Bear (grown grizzly) 10.00 "

Antelope 1.00 " Beaver 1.00 " " cub . . . 1.00 "

Elk . . 2.00 " Wildcat .50 " grown cinnamon 5.00 "

Wolf (grey)1.00 " Porcupine .50 " " cub . . . 1.00 "

" coyote .50 " Squirrel .35 " grown black . . 3.00 "

Fox (cross)1.50 " Rabbit .35 " " cub . . . 1.00 "

" red . . .75 " Woodchuck .35 "

Mink. . 1.50 " Badger .50 "

and all other skins at proportionate rates.

EPILOGUE

Major Powell had kindly consented to write an introduction to this volume wherein I have inadequately presented scenes from the great world-drama connected with the Colorado River of the West, but a prolonged illness prevented his doing any writing whatever, and on September 23, 1902, while, indeed, the compositor was setting the last type of the book, a funeral knell sounded at Haven, Maine, his summer home, and the most conspicuous figure we have seen on this stage, the man whose name is as inseparable from the marvellous canyon-river as that of De Soto from the Mississippi, or Hendrik Hudson from the placid stream which took from him its t.i.tle, started on that final journey whence there is no returning. A distinguished cortege bore the remains across the Potomac, laying them in a soldier's grave in the National Cemetery at Arlington. Thus the brave sleeps with the brave on the banks of the river of roses, a stream in great contrast to that other river far in the West where only might be found a tomb more appropriate within sound of the raging waters he so valiantly conquered.

In the history of the United States the place of John Wesley Powell is clear.* A great explorer, he was also foremost among men of science and probably he did more than any other single individual to direct Governmental scientific research along proper lines. His was a character of strength and fort.i.tude. A man of action, his fame will endure as much by his deeds as by his contributions to scientific literature. Never a seeker for pecuniary rewards his life was an offering to science, and when other paths more remunerative were open to him he turned his back upon them. He believed in sticking to one's vocation and thoroughly disapproved of wandering off in pursuit of common profit. The daring feat of exploring the canyons of the Colorado was undertaken for no spectacular effect or pecuniary reward, but was purely a scientific venture in perfect accord with the spirit of his early promise. As G.

K. Gilbert remarks in a recent number of Science** it was "of phenomenal boldness and its successful accomplishment a dramatic triumph. It produced a strong impression on the public mind and gave Powell a national reputation which was afterwards of great service, although based on an adventurous episode by no means essential to his career as an investigator." The qualities which enabled him so splendidly to perform his many self-imposed tasks were an inheritance from his parents, who possessed more than ordinary intelligence. Joseph Powell, his father, had a strong will, deep earnestness, and indomitable courage, while his mother, Mary Dean, with similar traits possessed also remarkable tact and practicality. Both were English born, the mother well educated, and were always leaders in the social and educational life of every community where they dwelt. Especially were they prominent in religious circles, the father being a licensed exhorter in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Both were intensely American in their love and admiration of the civil inst.i.tutions of the United States and both were strenuously opposed to slavery, which was flouris.h.i.+ng in America when they arrived in 1830. For a time they remained in New York City and then removed to the village of Palmyra whence they went to Mount Morris, Livingston County, New York, where, on March 24, 1834, the fourth of their nine children, John Wesley, was born. Because of the slavery question Joseph Powell left the Methodist Episcopal Church on the organisation of the Wesleyan Methodist Church and became a regularly ordained preacher in the latter. It was in this atmosphere of social, educational, political, and religious fervor that the future explorer grew up. When he was four or five years old the family moved to Jackson, Ohio, and then, in 1846, went on westward to South Grove, Walworth County, Wisconsin, where a farm was purchased. They were in prosperous circ.u.mstances, and the boy was active in the management of affairs, early exhibiting his trait for doing things well. His ploughing, stack-building, and business ability in disposing advantageously of the farm products and in purchasing supplies at the lake ports received the commendation of the countryside.

*I am indebted to Major Powell's brother-in-law, Prof. A. H.

Thompson, for many of the facts herein stated, and for revision of dates to his brother Prof. W. B. Powell.

** October 10, 1902.

His early education was such as the country schools provided. He later studied at Janesville, Wisconsin, earning his board by working nights and mornings. His parents ever held before him the importance of achieving the highest education possible. Thus he continually turned to books, and while his oxen were eating or resting, he was absorbed in some illuminating volume. In 1851 his family removed to Bonus Prairie, Boone County, Illinois, where a larger farm had been purchased. About 1853 the Wesleyan College was established at Wheaton, Illinois, and the family removed there in order to take advantage of the opportunities afforded. The father became one of the trustees and Powell entered the preparatory cla.s.ses. With intervals of teaching and business pursuits, he continued here till 1855, when, largely through the influence of the late Hon. John Davis, of Kansas, he entered the preparatory department of Illinois College at Jacksonville, Illinois. Thus far he had shown no special apt.i.tude for the natural sciences, though he was always a close observer of natural phenomena. His ambition at this period, which was also in accord with the dearest wishes of his parents, was to complete his college course and enter the ministry. Illinois College not possessing a theological atmosphere after a year spent there he departed, and in 1857 began a course of study at Oberlin College, Ohio.

Among his studies there was botany, and in this cla.s.s Powell at last discovered himself and his true vocation--the investigation of natural science. He became an enthusiastic botanist and searched the woods and swamps around Oberlin with the same zeal and thoroughness which always characterised his work. He made an almost complete herbarium of the flora of the county, organising the cla.s.s into a club to a.s.sist in its collection. In the summer of 1858, having returned to Wheaton, Illinois, where the family had settled in 1854, he joined the Illinois State Natural History Society, then engaged in conducting a natural history survey of the State through the voluntary labour of its members. To Powell was a.s.signed the department of conchology. This work he entered upon with his usual application and made the most complete collection of the mollusca of Illinois ever brought together by one man. Incidentally, botany, zoology, and mineralogy received attention, and in these lines he secured notable collections. With the broad mental grasp which was a p.r.o.nounced trait, he perceived that these studies were but parts of the greater science of geology, which he then announced, to at least one of his intimate friends, was to be the science to which he intended to devote his life. The next year was given to study, teaching, and lecturing, usually on some topic connected with geology.

In the spring of 1860, on a lecturing tour, he visited some of the Southern States, and while there closely observed the sentiment of the people on the subject of slavery, with the result that he expressed the conviction that nothing short of war could settle the matter. In the summer of 1860 he became princ.i.p.al of the public schools of Hennepin, Illinois. These he organised, graded, and taught with a vigour which was characteristic, yet never forgetting his geological investigations in the neighbouring country, where, on Sat.u.r.days and at other times when the schools were not in session, he made botanical and zoological collections.

Convinced that war was inevitable, the winter of 1860-61 found him studying military tactics and engineering. When the call came for troops, he was the first man to enroll, and largely through his efforts Company H of the 20th Regiment, Illinois Infantry, was raised in Putnam County. When the regiment was organised at Joliet, Illinois, he was appointed sergeant-major, and in this capacity went to the front.

When the force was sent to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, his prescience in studying military engineering made him invaluable. He was practically given charge of planning and laying out and constructing the fortifications at that place, a work he executed so well that it received the unqualified commendation of General Fremont. The second lieutenant of Company H resigning, Powell was elected to fill the vacancy. After a service of a few weeks with his company he was put in charge of the fortifications he had constructed, being retained in this post after the departure of his regiment. In the early winter of 1861-62 he recruited a company of artillery, largely from loyal Missourians.

This company was mustered into service as Battery F, 2d Illinois Artillery, John Wesley Powell, Captain. After drilling a few weeks he was ordered to proceed with his battery to Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, where he arrived the latter part of March, 1862. The battery took part in the battle of s.h.i.+loh, April 6th of that year, and during the engagement, as Powell raised his arm, a signal to fire, a rifle ball struck his hand at the wrist glancing toward the elbow. The necessary surgery was done so hastily that later a second operation was imperative, which left him with a mere stump below the elbow-joint.

Never for long at a time afterward was he free from pain and only a few years ago a third operation was performed which brought relief.

As soon as the original wound was healed he went back to his command, a.s.sisting as Division Chief of Artillery in the siege of Vicksburg.

After the fall of this place he took part in the Meridian Raid. Then he served on detached operations at Vicksburg, Natchez, and New Orleans until the summer of 1864, when he was re-a.s.signed to the former command in the Army of the Tennessee. In all the operations after the fall of Atlanta he bore an active part, and when Sherman commenced the march to the sea, Powell was sent back to General Thomas at Nashville, in command of twenty batteries of artillery. At the battle of Nashville he served on the staff of Thomas and continued with this command till mustered out in the early summer of 1865. As a soldier his career was marked by a thorough study and mastery not only of the details of military life, but of military science. Especially was he apt in utilising material at hand to accomplish his ends--a trait that was also prominent in his civil life. Bridges he built from cotton-gin houses, mantelets for his guns from gunny bags and old rope, and s.h.i.+elds for his sharpshooters from the mould-boards of old ploughs found on the abandoned plantations. All this time wherever possible he continued his studies in natural science. He made a collection of fossils unearthed in the trenches around Vicksburg, land and river sh.e.l.ls from the Mississippi swamps, and a large collection of mosses while on detached duty in Illinois. He also familiarised himself with the geology of regions through which the armies pa.s.sed to which he was attached. Time and again he was commended for his services and declined promotion to higher rank in other arms of the service. "He loved the scarlet facings of the artillery, and there was something in the ranking of batteries and the power of cannon,"

writes Thompson, "that was akin to the workings of his own mind."

In 1862 he was married to his cousin, Miss Emma Dean, of Detroit, who still lives in Was.h.i.+ngton with their daughter, an only child. Mrs.

Powell was often his companion in the army and early Western journeys.

Upon the return of Powell to civil life in 1865 he was tendered a nomination to a lucrative political office in Du Page County, Illinois, and at the same time he was offered the chair of geology in the Wesleyan University, a struggling Methodist College at Bloomington, Illinois.

There was no hesitation on his part. He declined the political honour and its emoluments and accepted the professors.h.i.+p, which he retained two years. At the session of the Illinois Legislature in 1867 a bill was pa.s.sed, largely through his effort, creating a professors.h.i.+p of geology and natural history in the State Normal University at Normal, Illinois, with a salary of fifteen hundred dollars and an appropriation of one thousand dollars annually to increase the geological and zoological collections. He was elected to this chair and at about the same time was also chosen curator of the Illinois State Natural History Society, whose collections were domiciled in the museum of the Normal University.

Attracted by the Far West as a field for profitable scientific research, the summer of 1867 found him using his salary and the other available funds to defray the expense of an expedition to the then Territory of Colorado for the purpose of securing collections. He organised and outfitted at Plattsmouth, Nebraska. All his a.s.sistants were volunteers except the cook. A. H. Thompson, afterwards so closely a.s.sociated with him in the detailed exploration of the Colorado and in subsequent survey work, was the entomologist of the party. They crossed the plains with mule teams to Denver, worked along the east slope of the Front Range, climbed Pike's Peak, and went westerly as far as South Park. Without realising it, apparently, Powell was all these years steadily approaching the great exploit of his life, as if led on and prepared by some unseen power. Now the project of exploring the mysterious gorges of which he heard such wonderful tales dawned upon him. It was as near an inspiration as can be imagined. Henceforth his mind and energy were directed irresistibly toward the accomplishment of this conception.

Again in 1868 he was in the field with the same financial backing, to which was added a small allotment from the Illinois Industrial University at Champaign, Illinois, a State school. All but Mrs. Powell and his brother Walter, of this 1868 party, returned East on the approach of autumn, while with these and several trappers and hunters, among whom were the two Rowlands, William Dunn, and William Rhodes Hawkins, afterwards of his party to explore the canyons, he crossed the range to White River and wintered there near the camp of Chief Dougla.s.s and his band of Utes. When spring came in 1869 he went out to Granger, on the Union Pacific Railway, and there disposed of his mules and outfit, proceeding immediately to Was.h.i.+ngton, where he induced Congress to pa.s.s a joint resolution endorsed by General Grant authorising him to draw rations from Western army posts for a party of twelve men while engaged in making collections for public inst.i.tutions. Never was a.s.sistance better deserved. Then he returned to Illinois and obtained from the trustees of the Normal University permission to again divert his salary and the other funds to Western work. The trustees of the Illinois Industrial University allotted him five hundred dollars, and the Chicago Academy of Sciences, through the influence of Dr. Andrews, the curator, also contributed two hundred and fifty or five hundred dollars. In addition some personal friends contributed small sums.

The object proposed was to make collections in natural history to be shared accordingly with the contributing inst.i.tutions. While these collections were one of Powell's objects, others were the examination of the geology, and particularly the solution of the greatest remaining geographical problem of the United States, the canyons of the Green and Colorado rivers. The Green, as has been explained in preceding pages, was known as far as the Uinta Mountains, and here and there at widely separated points on down to about Gunnison Valley. But there were long gaps, and below Gunnison Crossing as far as the Grand Wash the knowledge of the canyons as already pointed out was vague in the extreme. The alt.i.tude of Green River Station, Wyoming, was known to be about six thousand feet above sea level, and that of the mouth of the Virgen less than one thousand. How the river made up this difference was not understood and this problem was what Powell now confronted. His fort.i.tude, nerve, courage, and war experience served him well in this endeavour upon which he started, as previously described, in the spring of 1869. The War Department and perhaps the Smithsonian Inst.i.tution, furnished some instruments. This expedition met with so many disasters that Powell deemed a second descent in the interest of science desirable, and for a continuation of his explorations, Congress voted in 1870 an appropriation of ten thousand dollars. This second expedition was successful, performing its work in the years 1871-72-73. At the Session of 1871-72 another appropriation was made by Congress for proceeding with the topographical and geological survey of the country adjacent to the river. These appropriations were expended under the supervision of the Smithsonian Inst.i.tution and were continued annually for work under the t.i.tles, Exploration of the Colorado River and its Tributaries, and Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region, up to 1879, when the work was consolidated largely through Powell's endeavour, with two other surveys, Hayden's and Wheeler's. The latter thought all this work ought to be done by the War Department, but Powell believed otherwise and his view prevailed. Out of these grew by the consolidation the Geological Survey, of which Clarence King was made director, Powell, because of the earnest efforts he had made to bring about the consolidation, refusing to allow his name to be presented. The new Geological Survey was under the Interior Department, and in 1881, when King resigned the directors.h.i.+p, Powell was immediately appointed in his place. The results of Powell's original field-work were topographic maps of a large part of Utah, and considerable portions of Wyoming, Arizona, and Nevada, constructed under the direction of Powell's colleague, Prof.

A. H. Thompson. There were also many volumes of reports and monographs, among them the account of the expedition of 1869, ent.i.tled The Exploration of the Colorado River of the West, 1869 to 1872; The Geology of the Uinta Mountains, by Powell; Lands of the Arid Region by Powell; Geology of the High Plateaus of Utah, by C. E. Dutton of the Ordnance Department, U.S.A.; Geology of the Henry Mountains, by G. K. Gilbert; and four volumes of Contributions to North American Ethnology, one of which contained Lewis H. Morgan's famous monograph on "Houses and House Life of the American Aborigines." Early in his Western work Powell became interested in the native tribes. In the winter of 1868, while on White River, he studied language, tribal organisation, customs, and mythology of the Utes and from 1870 to 1873 he carried on studies among the Pai Utes, the Moki, etc., being adopted into one of the Moki clans.

On his journeys during these periods he often took with him several of the natives for the purpose of investigating their myths and language.

Eventually he became the highest authority on the Shoshonean tribes. In 1874 he was one of the commissioners to select and locate the Southern Pai Utes on a reservation in south-eastern Nevada.

North American archaeology also claimed his interest and about the time of the consolidation of the Surveys Powell proposed the establishment of a Bureau of Ethnology to carry on investigations in this field as well as the ethnologic. This was done and the Bureau was attached to the Smithsonian Inst.i.tution with Powell as director, an office that he held without salary till his resignation as head of the Geological Survey in 1894. After this he received a salary as chief of the Bureau of Ethnology in which office he remained till his death. The widely known extensive series of valuable volumes published by the Bureau, const.i.tuting a mine of information, attest the efficacy of his supervision. He contributed much to these and also wrote numerous papers on anthropological subjects and made many addresses. His labours as a pioneer in and organiser of the science of ethnology have been recognised by learned inst.i.tutions and societies throughout the world.

The results of his direction of the Geological Survey are seen in the maps, reports, bulletins, and monographs, const.i.tuting an imperishable monument to his ability as an organiser and administrator.

He delivered many lectures and once, when he appeared on the platform at the University of Michigan, an incident occurred which ill.u.s.trates his tact and his faculty for seizing means at hand to accomplish his end. At this time it was the habit of the students at public lectures to guy the speaker, even Charles Sumner having been a victim. Powell had been warned of this practice. As he advanced in evening dress a voice called out "How are your coat tails?"--a greeting which was repeated from all parts of the house. During a momentary lull he exclaimed with the peculiar squinting of the eyes and the half-laugh his friends so well remember: "Your greeting reminds me of Dave Larkins's reply when criticised for wearing a wamus* in July. Dave said, with his slow drawl, 'If you don't like my wamus I can take it off.'" The suggestion took with the students and when the laughter had ceased, cries of "You'll do--go on," came from everywhere. The incident roused Powell, and he has often said he never talked better nor had a more attentive audience. He was rewarded with enthusiastic applause. With his closing sentence he said: "I have given you the finest account of the exploration of the Colorado River my command of language permits. I have been as dramatic and as eloquent as I thought this occasion demanded. If any one wishes a plain statement regarding the exploration, I will be happy to give it to him at my hotel." There was a hush for a moment as the students grasped the implication and cries of "Sold!" burst from them. A large number did call the next morning to discover whether he had actually stated facts, which of course he had.