John Wesley Powell II
Program Information
Series: A Moment in TimeDuration: 00:03:38
Year Produced: 2009
Description:
On May 29, 1869, a small party of nine men in four rowboats, led by a man with one arm, set out on what was called an impossible task.
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Lead: On May 29, 1869, a small party of nine men in four rowboats, led by a man with one arm, set out on what was called an impossible task.
Intro: A Moment In Time with Dan Roberts.
Content: By the time 35-year-old college professor and Civil War veteran John Wesley Powell and his crew embarked on their historic journey, Powell had a well-established reputation as a scientist and surveyor of the Rocky Mountain region. He had led one of the four major survey teams the federal government hired to chart the interior west. During an early expedition Powell set his goal to map the uncharted river system from the Green River in Wyoming to the end of the Colorado, something no man had done.
His crew of nine would ride in specially designed boats built in Chicago for that expedition. On May 29, 1869, the troop launched from Green River Station, Wyoming. The sturdy boats were equipped with tools, scientific instruments, traps, extra clothing, guns and enough food to last ten months. They traveled through present day Utah and Arizona, through winding canyons and across formidable rapids. Four crewmembers, fearing for their safety, departed before the end of the journey. The last and most treacherous segment was through the 277 miles of the mile-deep gorge Powell named the Grand Canyon. Located in northwestern Arizona with parts of it two billion years old, the canyon was formed by the natural cutting movement of the Colorado River.
Powell and the five remaining crew emerged from the canyon at the mouth of the Virgin River after pursuing his goal for one hundred days. He led further expeditions to the region and later served as the director of the United States Geological Survey Department and, until his death in 1902, as the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, studying the anthropology of American Indians.
Research assistance by Catherine Leonard and Ann Johnson. The producer of A Moment In Time is Steve Clark. At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.