1902. 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION. 



399 



was shattered by a shot in such a man- 

 ner that it was necessary to immediately 

 amputate it. When the wound had 

 healed sufficiently for him to get out of 

 the hospital, Major Powell rejoined his 

 regiment and remained with it until 

 peace was declared. 



At the close of the war he was made 

 professor of geology at the Wesleyan 

 University, at Bloomington, 111., and 

 was later made professor of geology at 

 Northern University, Illinois. In the 

 summer of 1867 Major Powell led a 

 field class to Colorado, where the sum- 

 mer was spent in stud}- in the Rocky 

 Mountains. This was the first class of 

 this character that ever did such work, 

 and led the way for the establishment 

 of the summer schools of geology that 

 have become an important feature of 

 scientific stud}'. 



At that time the valley of the Colo- 

 rado River was practically unknown. 

 Major Powell formed the idea of ex- 

 ploring it, and with a small party built 

 boats and embarked at Green River, 

 the terminus of the Union Pacific Rail- 

 road, in 1868. He made the trip through 

 the Colorado Canyon safely, with the 

 loss of but two of his party, these two 

 having left the expedition to go across 

 country to Salt Lake City. This expe- 

 dition through the canyon was the first 

 and the only one that has ever been 

 made. Portions of the canyon have 

 been explored, but the entire length 

 has never again been traversed by man. 



A second trip through a portion of 

 the canyon was made by Major Powell, 

 accompanied by Prof. A. H. Thompson 

 and J. K. Hillis. The reports on the 

 geological, geographical, and ethno- 

 graphical conditions of this valle}' led to 

 the establishment of the United States 

 Geographical and Geological Survey of 

 the Rocky Mountain region in 1870, and 

 led also to a continuance of the work of 

 exploration and investigation. 



Nine years later the four surveys, 

 then operating under the authority of 

 the government, which included the 

 one just mentioned, the Hayden sur- 

 vey. King survey, and Wheeler survey, 

 were combined, and the present United 

 States Geological Survey was organ- 

 ized, with Prof. Clarence King as di- 



rector. At the same time the Bureau 

 of Ii^thnology was organized and Major 

 Powell placed at the head of it. A year 

 later Professor King resigned, and Major 

 Powell was selected to take his place as 

 director of the Geological Survey. 



During the time he was at the head 

 of the Survey, Major Powell evolved a 

 plan for the irrigation of the less humid 

 regions of the West, which was dis- 

 cussed at length by Congress. The plan 

 adopted by the government, as embodied 

 in the bill passed at the last session of 

 Congress, is almost identical with the 

 plan proposed by Major Powell. In 



MAJOR JOHN WESLKV POWELL. 



1894, owing to trouble with his arm, 

 Major Powell resigned his directorship 

 and entered Johns Hopkins Hospital, 

 Baltimore, where he underwent an op- 

 eration. He subsequently resumed his 

 scientific work as director of the Bureau 

 of Ethnology, and was the director of 

 the Bureau up to the time of his death. 

 He made many important contributions 

 to philosoph}' , and by many scholars is 

 held to rank with such men as Herbert 

 Spencer, Comte, and Bacon. His many 

 scientific papers and addresses have 

 been published from time to time, and 

 include several hundred titles. 



