634 JOHN WESLEY POWELL. 



At the close of the war he prompth'^ returned to civil life, dropping 

 the study of military science as abruptly' as he had beg-iin it. An 

 attractive opportunity to enter political life was declined in favor of 

 scientific work. He became professor of geology at Bloomington, 

 111., and lecturer on geology at Normal, 111. In 1867 he organized and 

 led the first important geological excursion of American students, 

 taking a jjarty of 16 to the mountain region of Colorado. This was 

 before the building of transcontinental railways, and the journey 

 across the plains was long. He remained among the mountains as an 

 explorer after the party had returned East, and in the following 3'ears 

 organized a second expedition with geologic and geographic explora- 

 tion and research as its chief objects. The necessary funds were fur- 

 nished by various educational institutions in Illinois, and Congres- 

 sional authority was obtained for supplying the party with provisions 

 from the military posts of the West. His expedition wintered west 

 of the Rocky Mountains in the valley of White River, and the long- 

 period thus spent in a permanent camp was occupied in the scientific 

 study of Indians. In the following spring four ])oats were l>rought 

 from Chicago to the point where the newly constructed Union Pacific 

 Railway crossed Green River, and a party was organized for the 

 exploration of the canyons of the Green and Colorado rivers. When 

 this work was begun it was known that the rivers here descend in a 

 distance of TOO to 1,000 miles through the vertical space of 5,000 feet, 

 coursing most of the way between unscalable walls, but the nature of 

 the rapids, cascades, and cataracts by which the water falls from the 

 upper to the lower level was altogether unknown. The undertaking 

 was therefore of phenomenal boldness and its successful accomplish- 

 ment a dramatic triumph. It produced a strong impression on the 

 public mind and gave Powell a national reputation which was after- 

 wards of great service, although based on an adventurous episode b}' 

 no means essential to his career as an investigator. 



The voyage through the canyons was a reconnoissance in an unex- 

 plored area and led to the organization of a geographic and geologic 

 survey, for which appropriation was asked and obtained from Con- 

 gress, the work being initially placed under the supervision of the 

 Smithsonian Institution. By the advice of Professor Henry, the gath- 

 ering of ethnologic data was made a leading function of the oi'ganiza- 

 tion. In 1869 a boat party began a second voyage through the 

 canyons, the plan ])eing to spend two years in their mapi)ing, and land 

 parties were at the same time organized to cooperate with them. The 

 river was abandoned as a base of operations in the middle of the sec- 

 ond season, but the land work continued, with progressive develop- 

 ment of plan, for a period of ten 3'ea''s. About the middle of this 

 period the study of the problem of the utilization of tiie arid region 

 tln'ouoh irri<>ation and otherwise became a function of the oi'oariiza- 



