How a one-armed Civil War vet conquered the Grand Canyon in 1869

Powell’s Perilous Journey Through the Uncharted Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon National Park holds the story of America’s last great exploration that nearly ended in mutiny.

In 1869, one-armed Civil War veteran John Wesley Powell launched four wooden boats into the Colorado River’s unknown waters. His crew lost boats, food, and hope as they descended through unmapped canyons.

By August, starving men faced a terrible choice: run deadly rapids or climb out and face the desert. Three men chose the desert and vanished forever.

Powell and the remaining crew made it through, mapping the American West’s final frontier. Here’s how this harrowing expedition unfolded at the canyon you can visit today.

One-Armed Major Launches Boats into the Unknown

John Wesley Powell and nine men set off from Green River Station in Wyoming Territory on May 24, 1869.

Their four wooden boats carried food and supplies meant to last 10 months as they tackled the unexplored Colorado River. Powell, who lost his right arm in the Civil War, led mostly veterans, hunters, and trappers.

Three oak boats named Maid of the Canyon, Kitty Clyde’s Sister, and No Name had special watertight compartments, while Powell rode in his lighter pine boat Emma Dean.

The team packed tools like sextants, chronometers, barometers, thermometers, and compasses to map the unknown canyon country.

Boat Smashes to Pieces at Disaster Falls

On June 8, 1869, the team hit trouble in Lodore Canyon.

The No Name boat missed Powell’s signal to stop above rough rapids and crashed into rocks at what they later called Disaster Falls.

The wreck took all their barometers, hurting their ability to measure heights for their maps. The crew spent the next day picking through wreckage downstream and found some tools and a hidden keg of whiskey.

The crash cost them about a third of their food, forcing them to cut meals as they faced months more travel through unknown land.

Frank Goodman Calls It Quits After Six Weeks

Frank Goodman left the trip on July 6, 1869, at the Uinta River Indian Agency. He told Powell he’d “had more than enough adventure” and wanted no part of what waited ahead.

Powell took a week-long break, visiting the Indian Agency and meeting with military men in the area.

Goodman stayed in the region and lived with eastern Utah Paiutes for years before settling in Vernal, Utah, where he started a family. The nine men left now faced the most dangerous canyons with one less helper.

Towering Walls Mark the Gateway to Hell

The team reached the Little Colorado River meeting point on August 13, 1869, which Powell called “the foot of the Grand Canyon.”

The men knew they were about to enter what Powell wrote as “the Great Unknown” as huge rock walls rose around them, giving off desert heat like an oven.

Powell called this entrance Marble Canyon because of the smooth marble walls that rose 2,500 feet overhead.

The crew now had to tackle wild rapids in the biggest gorge on earth with their three boats and shrinking supplies.

Soggy Bacon and Empty Stomachs Test Men’s Resolve

Rain soaked the team as they pushed deeper into the canyon, spoiling much of their food. Their bacon went bad in the heat and dampness, leaving them with barely enough to eat.

Powell wrote in his journal that spirits among the men had dropped “dangerously low” as hunger stayed with them daily. Another boat nearly sank, which would have left them with even fewer vessels.

Despite food shortages, Powell kept taking long side hikes to scout ahead and record the land, making his hungry crew upset.

Scientific Dreams Wash Away with the Current

By late August, the team’s tools lay broken or lost, turning their big research mission into a fight to stay alive. Oramel Howland lost some maps and notes he had been making, further cutting their research gains.

The men stopped focusing on measurements, working instead on simply staying alive in the canyon depths.

Powell’s big science goals became less important as tools and food vanished “rapid by rapid” in the rough Colorado River.

Hungry Men Grow Hostile as Food Runs Out

Fighting broke out between Powell and his crew, mainly after the boat crashes early in the trip. William Dunn fell into the river and ruined Powell’s watch, starting a bitter fight over payment.

The team’s cook, William Hawkins, later talked about growing anger among team members as things got worse.

Hunger, tiredness, and Powell’s tough leadership style mixed to create a tense mood as the men fought through more dangerous rapids with empty stomachs and fraying nerves.

Roaring Rapids Force a Life-or-Death Decision

The team faced what looked like unpassable rapids on August 27, 1869, with one crew member calling them “the worst rapids yet.”

That night, Oramel Howland pulled Powell aside and tried to talk him into stopping, saying it would be “madness to continue on the river.”

Powell wrote in his journal that “The billows are huge and I fear our boats could not ride them” as he thought about ending the trip.

He spent a sleepless night weighing choices before deciding they had “gone too far to give up.

Three Men Choose the Devil They Don’t Know

Brothers Oramel and Seneca Howland plus William Dunn quit the trip on August 28, 1869, sure that the rapids ahead meant certain death.

Seneca had become well-liked among the crew for his “soft-spoken, good nature” but chose to follow his brother instead of staying with Powell.

The three men helped guide the boats through the first part of rapids, then watched as their friends got ready to face the churning waters.

They refused their share of the small rations, planning to hunt with their rifles once they climbed out of the canyon.

Rapids Prove Less Deadly Than Feared

The six men left pushed into the rapids that had seemed so scary but found the stretch, now known as Separation Rapid, “proved less fearsome than it appeared. ” Their boats went through safely despite the loud water.

George Bradley nearly drowned when big waves at Lava Cliffs Rapid pulled his boat under, but he came up downstream waving his hat proudly.

The boats fired guns hoping to signal the three quitters to come back, but no one showed up on the canyon rim above.

Six Survivors Emerge While Three Vanish Forever

Powell and five exhausted survivors reached the Virgin River confluence on August 30, 1869, completing nearly 1,000 miles of river travel over three months.

They found Mormons and a local Indian already searching the river for wreckage, as rumors spread that Powell’s party had perished. The three men who left the expedition were never seen alive again.

They likely met their end at the hands of Shivwits Indians who mistook them for government spies investigating the Mountain Meadows Massacre.

Powell later met with Shivwits who reportedly admitted killing three white men after confusing them with prospectors who had attacked a Shivwit woman.

Visiting Grand Canyon National Park

You can explore Powell’s historic expedition route at Grand Canyon National Park for $35 per vehicle (good for 7 days). The South Rim stays open 24 hours year-round with no reservations needed.

From March to November, take the free Red Route shuttle to Powell Point, named after the explorer. You can also bike there on Hermit Road.

Stop by the Grand Canyon Visitor Center from 8am-4pm for trip planning help.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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