The Powell Expedition: New Discoveries about John Wesley Powell's 1869 River Journey

John Wesley Powell’s 1869 expedition down the Green and Colorado Rivers and through the Grand Canyon continues to be one of the most celebrated adventures in American history, ranking with the Lewis and Clark expedition and the Apollo landings on the moon. For nearly twenty years Lago has researched the Powell expedition from new angles, traveled to thirteen states, and looked into archives and other sources no one else has searched. He has come up with many important new documents that change and expand our basic understanding of the expedition by looking into Powell’s crewmembers, some of whom have been almost entirely ignored by Powell historians. Historians tended to assume that Powell was the whole story and that his crewmembers were irrelevant. More seriously, because several crew members made critical comments about Powell and his leadership, historians who admired Powell were eager to ignore and discredit them.
 
Lago offers a feast of new and important material about the river trip, and it will significantly rewrite the story of Powell’s famous expedition. This book is not only a major work on the Powell expedition, but on the history of American exploration of the West.
1300739802
The Powell Expedition: New Discoveries about John Wesley Powell's 1869 River Journey

John Wesley Powell’s 1869 expedition down the Green and Colorado Rivers and through the Grand Canyon continues to be one of the most celebrated adventures in American history, ranking with the Lewis and Clark expedition and the Apollo landings on the moon. For nearly twenty years Lago has researched the Powell expedition from new angles, traveled to thirteen states, and looked into archives and other sources no one else has searched. He has come up with many important new documents that change and expand our basic understanding of the expedition by looking into Powell’s crewmembers, some of whom have been almost entirely ignored by Powell historians. Historians tended to assume that Powell was the whole story and that his crewmembers were irrelevant. More seriously, because several crew members made critical comments about Powell and his leadership, historians who admired Powell were eager to ignore and discredit them.
 
Lago offers a feast of new and important material about the river trip, and it will significantly rewrite the story of Powell’s famous expedition. This book is not only a major work on the Powell expedition, but on the history of American exploration of the West.
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The Powell Expedition: New Discoveries about John Wesley Powell's 1869 River Journey

The Powell Expedition: New Discoveries about John Wesley Powell's 1869 River Journey

by Don Lago
The Powell Expedition: New Discoveries about John Wesley Powell's 1869 River Journey

The Powell Expedition: New Discoveries about John Wesley Powell's 1869 River Journey

by Don Lago

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Overview


John Wesley Powell’s 1869 expedition down the Green and Colorado Rivers and through the Grand Canyon continues to be one of the most celebrated adventures in American history, ranking with the Lewis and Clark expedition and the Apollo landings on the moon. For nearly twenty years Lago has researched the Powell expedition from new angles, traveled to thirteen states, and looked into archives and other sources no one else has searched. He has come up with many important new documents that change and expand our basic understanding of the expedition by looking into Powell’s crewmembers, some of whom have been almost entirely ignored by Powell historians. Historians tended to assume that Powell was the whole story and that his crewmembers were irrelevant. More seriously, because several crew members made critical comments about Powell and his leadership, historians who admired Powell were eager to ignore and discredit them.
 
Lago offers a feast of new and important material about the river trip, and it will significantly rewrite the story of Powell’s famous expedition. This book is not only a major work on the Powell expedition, but on the history of American exploration of the West.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781943859436
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
Publication date: 11/15/2017
Pages: 372
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author


Don Lago is one of the most respected historians of the Grand Canyon, and the author of Grand Canyon: A History of a Natural Wonder and National Park. He has published more than 50 personal essays in national magazines and literary journals. His latest book is Where the Sky Touched the Earth: Cosmological Landscapes of the Southwest. He lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

Introduction ix

Prologue: Dreams of Rivers 3

Part I The James White Mystery

1 Introduction to the James White Mystery 21

2 WANTED-James White 27

3 An Old Story 36

4 Rivals and Rails 45

5 Dawson and Teller 57

6 Conclusion? 65

Part II The Crew

7 The Howland Connection 69

8 Seneca Howland: The Unsung Hero 81

9 Call Me No Name 90

10 The Howland Brothers Write Home 100

11 What's Eating the Howland Brothers? 111

12 The Curse of Howland Island 121

13 Introducing William H. Dunn 126

14 Last Words Before the Launch 138

15 William Hawkins: Abducted by Alias! 144

16 The Promotion of Andy Hall 158

17 The Westering Star of Jack Sumner 168

18 Why Jack Sumner Stayed 178

19 The Madness of Jack Sumner 190

20 Jack Sumner Looks Back 196

Part III John Wesley Powell

21 Horse Feathers 203

22 Major Powell, I Presume 208

23 The Impeachment of John Wesley Powell 217

Part IV Naming Names

24 The Maid of the Canon 235

25 Lodore 245

Part V The End of the Adventure

26 Hats Off to Bishop Leithead 257

27 A Hardy Welcome 261

28 The Afterlife of a Boat 265

Part VI The Fate of the Howland Brothers and William Dunn

29 Introduction 273

30 Toab 281

31 The Toquerville Hoax 292

32 Three Men Sentenced to Be Shot 299

33 The Aftermath 320

34 The Arizona Strip Massacre 336

35 The Afterlife of William Hawkins 340

36 Conclusion? 361

Afterword: Ten Who Bored 363

Bibliography 371

Acknowledgments 383

About the Author 386

Index 387

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