392 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



upper tributaries and lower portion were alone known to civilized man. 

 That such an unexplored region should exist within the limits of the 

 United States seemed to him almost a reproach to the boasted enter- 

 prise of our people, and he began to lay plans for its exploration. 



In the summer of 1868 he organized a party of men, some of whom 

 were mountaineers, and, starting from Middle Park, followed down the 

 Grand River to the head of Cedar Canon, thence over the Park Range 

 through Gore's Pass to the White River, one hundred and twenty 

 miles above its mouth. Here the party went into winter-quarters, and 

 during the winter made reconnaissances, and completed their prepara- 

 tions for an early expedition in the sj^ring. 



Proceeding, in the spring of 1869, to Green River station, on the 

 25th of May the expedition launched its four small craft in Green 

 River, the largest of the tributaries of the Colorado. 



We have not space to follow them through their perilous voyage 

 of over three months' duration, or to describe the succession of hard- 

 ships, disasters, and hair-breadth escapes, by which almost every day 

 of this period was characterized. All this has been written by the 

 hero of the expedition. We can only say here that it was not until the 

 20th of July that the brave party reached the junction of the Grand 

 and Green, or the head of the Colorado River proper ; that on the 

 13th of August they entered the Grand Canon, from which they did 

 not emerge until the 29th ; and that on the 30th of that month they at 

 last arrived at the mouth of the Rio Virgen, where, for the first time, 

 they saw the faces of white men. 



After having been two weeks in the Grand Canon, already for 

 some time reduced to half -rations, three of the men refused to go 

 farther, and endeavored to induce Major Powell to turn back. He 

 explained to them that they were very near the end of their journey, 

 but was himself almost tempted, in view of the scarcity of provisions, 

 and the probable nearness of Mormon settlements, to yield to their 

 arguments. He passed a sleepless night, and expresses the result of his 

 reflections in the following words : " But for years I have been con- 

 templating this trip. To leave the exploration unfinished, to say that 

 there is a part of the canon which I can not explore, having already 

 almost accomplished it, is more than I am willing to acknowledge, and 

 I determine to go on." The three men undertook to reach the settle- 

 ments by a journey across the country, and were murdered by Indians ; 

 the boatmen emerged the next day in safety from their granite prison. 



This daring voyage was not a barren adventure. In many respects 

 it was a scientific expedition, and as many instruments as could be 

 taken were carried, and determinations were made wherever practica- 

 ble, the accurate records of which were kept in duplicate, so that one 

 set was safely brought through. The importance of Professor Pow- 

 ell's labors, and their thorough and scientific character, made it appar- 

 ent that they should be followed up, while their national bearing sug- 



