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Early Explorer
This monument honors Major John Wesley Powell, the leader of the first documented expedition through Grand Canyon. Imagine entering the depths of Grand Canyon down a roaring, not-yet-charted river, not knowing whether you will emerge. Because Powell's first expedition in 1869 was more survival than science, he led a second in 1871-1872, which gave America its first geologic glimpse of the canyon.
The names Frank Goodman, William Dunn, and brothers Oramel and Seneca Howland, 1869 expedition members, are missing from this 1912 monument. All were labeled "deserters"-though not by Powell-for leaving the voyage. Goodman left after the first major rapid in northern Utah. Dunn and the Howlands left just two days before the trip's end. They attempted to climb out of the canyon, but were never heard from again.
"There are great descents yet to made....maybe, we shall come to a fall...we cannot pass...where the water is so swift we cannot return...How will it be in the future!"
-- John Wesley Powell |