90 
The Colorado River 
During these efforts of the regular army officers to secure in¬ 
formation as to the possibility of exploring the great canyons, 
Powell approached the problem from an entirely different 
direction, and his quick and accurate perception told him that 
to go down with the tide was the one and only way. He was 
not a rich man; and expeditions require funds, but this was no 
more of a bar to his purpose than the lack of an arm. His 
father was a Methodist clergyman of good old stock, vigorous 
of mind and body, clear-sighted, and never daunted. My im¬ 
mediate impression in meeting the father, even in his old age, 
was of immense mental and moral strength, resolution, and 
fortitude. These qualities he bequeathed to his children, and 
it was a fine inheritance. Major Powell, therefore, had his 
ancestry largely to thank for the intellect and the courage with 
which he approached this difficult problem. 
Funds for the proposed expedition were furnished by the 
State Institutions of Illinois and the Chicago Academy of 
Science; none by the general Government, so that this was in 
no way a Government matter, except that Congress passed 
a joint-resolution authorising him to draw rations for twelve 
men from western army posts. Early in the spring of 1869, 
after returning from the rambles along Green River of the 
previous winter, Powell went to Chicago and engaged a com¬ 
petent builder to construct four strong boats after his sugges¬ 
tions. Three of these were of oak, twenty-one feet long, and 
one of light pine, sixteen feet long, the latter intended as an 
advance boat, to be quickly handled in the face of sudden 
danger. At the bow and stern of each was a water-tight com¬ 
partment, in which supplies and instruments could be packed, 
and they would yet give buoyancy to the boats when they 
would be filled with water by the breaking waves of the rapids. 
Amidships the boats were open, and here also goods, guns, 
etc., were stowed away. Each had a long rope, to use in low¬ 
ering past the most dangerous places. Unlike all the explora¬ 
tions on the lower course of the river, this expedition would 
require no lines for towing. These four little craft, which were 
to be the main reliance of the daring men composing the 
party, were transported free of charge, together with the men 
