John Wesley Powell, Explorer (Part 1)
John Wesley Powell was born in Mt. Morris, New York on March 24, 1834. He was one of eight children. He was the son of an itinerant Methodist preacher and wanted his son to follow in his father’s footsteps. But Powell had other plans. He left home to study natural history in college. His father refused to pay the tuition. After college, he became a teacher, teaching first in Wisconsin, then later in Illinois. He was already interested in natural history and had collected over 6,000 specimens while exploring.
During the Civil War he enlisted in the Union army in the 20th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He met and fought with Ulysses S. Grant, who became a lifelong friend. At the Battle of Shiloh, he was wounded in the right arm. His wife Emma, whom he had married during a leave of absence, was on hand when the arm had to be amputated. He stayed in the army afterward and raised to rank of major and brevet lieutenant colonel. He was at the battle at Vicksburg and the march on Atlanta.
In 1865, Powell became a professor of natural science at Illinois Wesleyan University. He led a group of students into the Rocky Mountains two years later. The Smithsonian provided instruments and the army provided an escort and use of military posts for supply depots. Other colleges and railroads also provided money. Emma accompanied him on the trip, as did his brother-in-law Almon H. Thompson, a skilled map-maker.
The expedition left from Council bluffs, Iowa, on June 1, 1867. They took the plains route to avoid Indian troubles. They arrived in Denver about July 1. From there, they took a rough trail over Rampart Ridge and into Bergen’s Park. They stayed there a month to gather specimens. On July 2, they reached the top of Pike’s Peak. Emma was one of the first women to scale it. They explored South Park and Berthoud Pass on their way back to Denver. The group disbanded, but Powell stayed on to the explore the Grand River.
The next year, several Illinois colleges, the Smithsonian, and his old friend General Grant sponsored another expedition of the Colorado River and Long’s Peak. He returned to Berthoud Pass and entered North and Middle Park to collect specimens and fossils. On August 22, 1868, Powell, his brother Walter, L.W. Klepinger, Samuel Gorman, Ned Farrell, Jack Sumner, and William Byers reached the top of Long’s Peak. They built three cabins on the White River 150 miles from its junction with the Green River to use as a winter headquarters while he made a
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