380 John Wesley Powell. 



and proceeded to where the Union Pacific Kailroad crosses the 

 Green liiver. Four small row-boats had been built in Chicago 

 for the specially dangerous voyage and transported on the still 

 unfinished railway to this place. 



The small party consisted of but ten men. Their make-up 

 is noteworthy. Of his nine companions, Major Powell 

 describes four as having served in the army — in the war 

 recently over ; three were described as " hunters and trappers " — 

 " Indian fighters " is incidentally mentioned ; one as " a pen- 

 sive young man ;" and one was an Englishman " looking for a 

 glorious trip." 



With rations sufficient to last ten months, the little fleet 

 started on its perilous trip on May 24th. The departure is 

 briefly chronicled in the narrative. The people at the cross- 

 ing turn out to see tliem start, he tells us, and " we raise our 

 little flag, push the boats from shore, and the swift current 

 carries us down." They disappear from the outside world 

 and emerge from the mouth of the Grand Canyon August 29, 

 and the next day arrive at the mouth of the Virgin Piver. 



But not all of them. Only a few days earlier, the dangers 

 of the passage becoming even greater than before, and a place 

 occurring where it was thought they could get out of the 

 canyon, ahead of them rapids or falls that seemed more dan- 

 gerous than any before encountered, the dark abyss beyond 

 visible but a short distance, tliree of the men resolved to leave 

 the party while they could. They took out with them duplicate 

 notes, that the results of the trip might not be lost with the 

 party. They made their escape, and along the river below 

 watched for fragments and traces of their abandoned com- 

 panions. 



Of the voyage itself and its brilliant success, of the results 

 that grew from it, of the adventures and experiences encoun- 

 tered, I need not speak further. The subject forms a brilliant 

 chapter in the annals of exploration and adventure in the 

 interests of science. 



Never was a bolder voyage planned and executed. I know 

 of no equal in the annals of exploration and navigation. 

 While comparisons between this and polar exploration are 

 difficult, yet, there were in this features of the possibilities 

 which seemed such eminent probabilities of disaster, and the 

 dangers were of such a kind, as to deter the attempt. The 

 disastrous end of the expedition, and the manner in which it 

 would come about, seemed so plain that several of our enter- 

 prising newspapers published more or less minute accounts of 

 its sad end ; all of the party but one being lost was the most 

 common plan of the tales ; the nature of the dangers were such 

 that one of the party had to be saved or no story written, ex- 



