ficer in the Civil War. After
that he was connected with the Wesleyan University at Bloomington,
Illinois, and with the Normal University at Normal, in the same state.
Sumner, generally known as Jack Sumner, had also been a soldier in the
late war. He was fair-haired and delicate-looking, but with a strong
constitution. Dunn had been a hunter and trapper. Walter Powell was
Major Powell's youngest brother. He had been in the late war and had
there suffered cruelly by capture and imprisonment. Bradley was an
orderly sergeant of regulars, had served in the late war, and resigned
from the army to join this party. O. G. Howland had been a printer.
Seneca Howland was his younger brother. Goodman was a young Englishman.
Hawkins had been a soldier in the late war, and Andrew Hall was a Scotch
boy nineteen years old.

The spring was chosen for the beginning of the voyage because the Green
then is at flood and there would be less trouble about floating the
boats through the shoal places and amongst the rocks. The river in some
respects is safer at a lower stage of water, but the work is harder.
This, however, was not known then, and Powell had to take his chances at
the flood. On May 24, 1869, the boats were manned and soon were carried
out of sight of the haphazard group of houses which at that time
constituted this frontier settlement of Green River. They were heavily
laden, for ten months' rations were carried, as Powell expected when
winter came to be obliged to halt and make a permanent camp till spring.
He calculated the river might be filled with ice. It has since been
ascertained, however, that the Colorado proper rarely has any ice in it.
I remember once hearing that a great many years ago it was frozen over
in the neighbourhood of Lee's Ferry, where for a little distance the
current is not rapid. Powell was providing for every contingency he
could think of, and trouble with ice was a possible one. But even
without ice the water in winter is so cold that, as men who make the
descent must continually be saturated by the breaking waves and by the
necessity of frequently jumping overboard in avoiding rocks, the
danger of pneumonia is really greater than that from wreck. They had
an abundance of warm clothing for winter, plenty of ammunition, two or
three dozen traps, tools of various kinds, nails, screws; etc. In
the line of scientific instruments there were two sextants, four
chronometers, a number of barometers, thermomet