328 The American Geologist. 
June, 1903. 
meantime at Decatur and Clinton. He also took partial courses 
at Jacksonville and Oberlin colleges, but was never grad- 
uated. 
He traversed various portions of Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, 
and the Iron Mountain regions of Missouri, making collec- 
tions of shells, minerals, and general natural history objects, 
which led to his election in 1859 to the secretaryship of the 
Illinois Natural History Society. It is said that, in 1856 when 
but twenty-two years of age, he descended the Mississippi 
alone in a row boat from the Falls of St. Anthony to its 
mouth, making collections on the way. Again, in 1857, he 
rowed the whole length of the Ohio river from Pittsburg to 
its mouth, and in 1858 made a like trip down the Illinois river 
to its mouth and thence up the Des Moines. 
With the outbreak of the civil war Powell enlisted in the 
20th Illinois volunteers, and was mustered in as second lieu- 
tenant. He was for a time stationed at Cape Girardeau and 
as captain of battery F of the 2nd 'Illinois artillery took part 
in the battle of Shiloh, losing his right arm at Pittsburg Land- 
ing. He returned to the service as soon as his wound healed, 
and took part in the battles of Champion Hill and Black 
River Bridge. At the close of operations about Vicksburg 
he was obliged to submit to a second operation on his arm, 
but returned to his post in season to take part in the Aler- 
idan raid. Later he was made major and chief of artillery, 
first, of the 17th army corps and subsequently, of the depart- 
ment of Tennessee, taking part in the operations before At- 
lanta and in the battle of Franklin. 
At the close of the war he accepted the position of profes- 
sor of geology and curator of the museum of the Illinois 
Weslevan University at Bloomington, from which institution, 
although not a graduate, he had previously received the de- 
grees of A.B. and A.M. He also became connected with the 
Illinois Normal University and was widely known through- 
out the state by his lectures and addresses on scientific sub- 
jects. 
In Mav, 1867, Powell visited the Rocky mountains of 
Colorado, taking with him a party of sixteen students. This 
was before the completion of the Pacific R. R. and \\hen the 
country was still infested by Indians. The party ascended 
