JOHN WESLEY POWELL. 27 



tain. Altogether, three days had been filled with the ascent and 

 descent of Pikes Peak, probably by a route never before and never 

 since taken. 



From Pikes Peak the party went round to South Park, and 

 although it was midsummer, two days of the trip were through a 

 blinding snow. They camped in South Park for two or three weeks, 

 and from the rendezvous which was established many of the moun- 

 tains round about were climbed. One of the most noteworthy 

 excursions was the ascent of Mount Lincoln, a peak 14,300 feet 

 above the level of the sea. 



From South Park they went to Denver, where the party was 

 broken up, and a number of the young students returned to their 

 homes in the East. But Professor Powell, with his wife and two 

 or three young men and a couple of hardy mountaineers, went from 

 Denver over into Middle Park, where another month was spent in 

 exploring the mountains around that beautiful valley. One of the 

 most interesting expeditions made from Middle Park was about 

 the head of Grand Lake and up into the high sierras to the east, 

 in the region of Longs Peak, and from thence around Mount Sum- 

 ner, on the divide between Middle and North Parks. On this trip 

 the Professor made some interesting collections of bear, elk, wol- 

 verine, and other animals. But finally the snows came on and they 

 were driven out of the mountains. In going from Middle Park 

 back to Denver, they had to cross the range once more, at Ber- 

 thoud Pass, during the latter part of November, after the snows 

 had accumulated several feet in depth. 



On arriving at Denver the collections of the expedition were 

 prepared for shipping to the East, embracing the skins and skele- 

 tons of many mammals, a collection of many hundreds of birds, 

 many reptiles and fishes, many bottles and boxes of insects, and 

 especially a large collection of plants. There was also a great store 

 of fossils, minerals, and volcanic rocks ; all of which were taken east 

 to enrich the museums at Normal, Bloomington, and other insti- 

 tutions. 



Professor Powell spent the winter of 1867-1868 in the arrange- 

 ment and study of his collections and in lecturing. In the spring a 

 new expedition was organised, designed primarily for the museum 

 at Normal, of which he was now in charge ; but other institutions 

 gave him assistance. A small grant was made by the Illinois State 

 Agricultural College, and the Smithsonian Institution furnished 

 him the apparatus and outfit necessary for natural history collec- 

 tion and instruments required for geographical reconnoissance. 



