The header sketch is my rendition of John Wesley Powell, the explorer of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. Born March 24, 1834, died September 23, 1902.
He was the one-armed cliff-climber who clambered up and down the cliffs along the Green and Colorado Rivers while making the first exploration of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon in 1869.
In 1861 he enlisted in the Union Army at age 27 and fought in several battles, losing his arm in the battle of Shiloh, and later he was in the battles of Champion Hill, Big Black River Bridge, and the siege of Vicksburg. He was elected to Sergeant-Major of the regiment after joining the 20th Illinois and was soon promoted to lieutenant and earned his way up the ladder to brevet lieutenant-colonel, but was always called "Major".
In May, 1869, he left Green River, Wyoming, and traveled to the conjunction of the Colorado and on down through the Grand Canyon. One man quit the expedition early and three more later on in the trip. These three were killed by the Indians in a case of mistaken identity it is believed. Of the travels through the Utah portion, he said: ..."wonderful features-- carved walls, royal arches, glens, alcove gulches, mounds and monuments. From which of these features shall we select a name? We decided to call it Glen Canyon."
After this, he was appointed second director of the U. S. Geographical survey and he was also the director of the Bureau of Ethnology of the Smithsonian until his death.
Reference: Wikipedia and Wikipedia Commons. An interesting man and an interesting write-up.
I have a cousin who was born with only one arm. I remember how well he used to play baseball even though he had only one.
ReplyDeleteWas he the one who was in the news a while back - a news item on a one-armed baseball player?
ReplyDeletePowell Wyoming named after him, they wanted to name the town Colter but that was already taken so they named the town Powell. Powell is a very nice Wyoming town and the erstwhile town of Colter never became anything more than a railroad stop and even that soon ended.
ReplyDeleteI found Colter on the map, but couldn't find Powell in a hurried look.
DeleteToo bad we lost Glen Canyon. I believe there's a chapter in Abbey's DESERT SOLITAIRE describing it as the dam was being built. Also a fine book of photos by Eliot Porter, THE PLACE NO ONE KNEW.
ReplyDeleteGlen Canyon is no longer a private and distant place with all the tourists dragging their boats for hundreds of miles to spend a week or two plowing around the lake and looking at the natural bridge. The picture book would be interesting to take a look at.
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