304 
OBITUARY NOTICES. 
district, and they returned only when the snow made further 
work impracticable. 
The winter was spent in college work and the study of 
the collections. 
In 1868, by the aid of the Smithsonian Institution and 
with the cooperation of various colleges, another expedition 
was organized. 
Through the aid of Gen. U. S. Grant the facilities offered 
by the various army posts in the West were put at the 
disposal of the party, whose object was the exploration of 
western Colorado and the gathering of information toward 
the solution of the problems offered by the Colorado canon. 
A rendezvous camp was established in Middle Park, Colo¬ 
rado, and the summer was spent chiefly among the moun¬ 
tains of the Colorado range. On the approach of winter the 
students with the collections returned to the East, but Powell 
established himself in a log-house camp on the White River, 
whence explorations were made in all directions and large 
collections gathered. Powell’s intercourse with the Ute 
Indians led to ethnologic studies, foreshadowing his later 
work in the field of anthropology. The construction of the 
Pacific railroad had by this time reached the Green River, 
and when the party broke up in March, 1869, Powell decided 
to have his outfit for the exploration of the great canon 
made in Chicago and transported to Green River by rail, and 
returned to Illinois with this project in view. The plan in¬ 
volved the practical cessation of Powell’s work as a univer¬ 
sity teacher. The winter passed in preparations. On the 
24th of May, 1869, his four boats were launched on the Green 
River, and on the 30th, with nine companions, the canon 
voyage was begun. On the 28th of August three men left 
the party to make their way overland to the Mormon settle¬ 
ments rather than face the dangers of the still unexplored 
remainder of the canon. These men were killed by Indians 
before reaching civilization. On August 29 the remainder 
of the party came safely out of the canon into the open 
country. This exploration has justly been regarded as in- 
