John Wesley Powell. 381 



cept the disappearance of the party at an unknown time and 

 place. 



Some years later, while smoking an after-dinner cigar with 

 some of his friends, he gave his reasons for his faith in under- 

 taking it. I told him that for some years previous to his 

 famous trip, I had been much interested in that canyon and 

 had picked up all the rumors and information pertaining to it 

 that I could, and being in Colorado while he was making the 

 trip was intensely anxious as to his fate, for I thought it was a 

 mad scheme; the canyon was a long and vastly deep one, cut 

 mostly in strata lying relatively level, that owing to unequal 

 hardness the erosion created waterfalls ; that I had been reared 

 in central New York where such waterfalls were especially 

 numerous, cited Niagara and various other examples elsewhere ; 

 tliat this long and deepest canyon in the world was mostly in 

 such rocks ; that he embarked on the river at over 6000 feet 

 elevation, to emerge some 500 or more miles below at nearly the 

 sea level, the river having an average fall of ten or fifteen feet 

 per mile and I had assumed that there must be great falls, and 

 that the explorer must approach them from above. 



He answered in substance, " Have you never seen the river? 

 Jt is the muddiest river you ever saw. I was confident that I 

 would find no considerable falls. Rapids I expected, of course, 

 but not falls. I was convinced that the canyon was old 

 enough, and the muddy water swift enough and gritty enough 

 to have worn down all the falls to mere rapids. I entered the 

 canyon with confidence that I would have no high falls to stop 

 us, although there might be bad rapids, and I believed that we 

 might overcome them in some way, — and we didP 



The next year he induced Congress to establish a geological 

 and topographical survey of the Colorado River and its tribu- 

 taries ; it was placed under his direction and on it he was en- 

 gaged much of the following ten years. 



Incident to this, he became interested in the study of the 

 arid regions and the problem of their improvement, also the 

 impounding of the floods of the western rivers for the double 

 purpose of controlling the floods and using the water for irri- 

 gation. The present hydrographic survey of the country is 

 the outcome of his interest in this matter. 



Between 1865 and 1875 many surveys in the western country 

 were established, acting independently of each other, often in 

 competition as well as rivalry, but not mutually helpful, and 

 working under different departments of government. 



Major Powell took an early.and active part in the efforts that 

 came up for a more satisfactory adjustment of these and their 

 unification under a more rational system of operation. After 

 much agitation, discussion and opposition. Congress finally, in 



