The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1916-01-06
MONUMENT TO MAJOR POWELL, FATHER OF
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY AND EXOLORER OF
THE GRAND CANYON OF THE COLORADO

'AS M I'LL \ok~IkNFADO
we SO, first on smooth but swift water.
then we strike CLASSY wave aud ride
to it's top, down again into the trough,
up again on a higher wave, and Gown
and up on waves higher and sta high
En- until we strike one just as it curls
back, and a breaker rolls over our lit
tie boat.
Still, on we speed, shooting past
projecting rocks, till the little boat is
caught in a whirlpool and spun around
several times. AT last we pull out
again into the stream.
Hurled back from a rock, now on
this side, now on that, we are carried
into an eddy, in which We struggle for
a few minutes, and are then out again,
the breakers still rolling over u.s."
How Bright Angel Rock Was Named.
The many thousands who have de-
scended the Bright Angel trail at the
Grand canyon will be interested in this
THE little affluent which we have
entry under date of August IS:
discovered here is a clear beautiful
creek-or river, as it would be termed
/ in this western country where streams
are not abundant We have named
one stream away above in honor of the
great chief of the Bad Angels and,
as this is in beautiful contrast to
that, we conclude to name it Bright
Angel"
In August II he writes:
1T is especially cold in the rain to-
night. The little canvas we have is
rotten and useless; the rubber pom
chos with which we started from
Green City have all been lost; more
than half the party is without hats,
and not one of us has an entire suit of
clothes and we have not a blanket
apiece. So we gather driftwood and
build fire; but after supper the rain
coming down in torrents, eXtinguishes
it, and we sit up all night on the rocks
shivering, and are more exhausted by
the nights discomfort than by the
days toll"
On August 81;
Below, the river turns again to the
right; the canyon is very narrow, and
we see in advance but short distance
The water, too, is very swift, and there
is no landing place. From around this
curve there comes a mad roar, and
down we are carried, with a dizzying
velocity, to the head of another rapid
On either side, high above our heads
are overhanging granite walls, ant
the sharp bends cut off our view, 81
that a few minutes will carry us into
unknown waters.
Away we go on one long, winding
chute; l stand on deck, supportin!
myself with strap fastened on either
side to the gunwale, and the boa
glides rapidly where the water il
smooth, or, striking wave, she leap
and bounds like thing Of life, and W,
have a wild, exhilarating ride for /
miles, which we make in less than al
hour. The excitement is so great tina
we forget the danger until we hea
the roar of great fall below; then W
back on our oars, and are carried
slowly toward it's head, and succeed j,
landing just above, and find that w
have to make another portage"
Deserters Never Returned.
And so on. The diary recounts {
continual succession of exciting battle
with fate. Meantime, in repeated up
sets, one of their boats is lost and tn
most of their flour destroyed. The,
are down to a few days rations, prin
clpally of dried apples.
On August 20 three of the party lief
them, preferring to take their chance
of climbing the almost perpendicular
walls and finding their way to som
settlement.
These men were never heard o
again.
And the very next day the parts
after a most exciting passage over
series of rocky cascades, swept out o
the Grand canyon in safety.
He repeated the passage for scienti
fic research, two years later and the
; he used a boat into which he wa
strapped Several times this boa
rolled over in the rapids and ono
nearly drowned him
Major Powel's desire to continue
work of similar nature prompted hir
to seek annual appropriations for con
t ducting an independent survey of tn
: territories. In this work he continue
! until, through his agency the geologi
| cal survey was organized in 1879
At his solicitation Clarence King ac
= cepted the position of first directo
: The same year the bureau of ethno
/ ogy under the Smithsonian Institutio
K was organized through his efforts. {
h this he was appointed director.
/. In 1881 Clarence King resigned II
s dictatorship of the geological surve
e and Major Powell was appointed
~