.png?1362242248)
(Note to this portrait and its verse: Although a popular painting at the time, Major Powell would not have approved the eulogy's import. He happened to have revered Glen Canyon and likely would have joined David Brower (and so many others) who tried to stop the massive dam and lake project from happening.)
Note To Dkos Readers: If you are just joining me for this series of diaries on, please read the introduction in the first diary (http://www.dailykos.com/...). I also recommend reading the ensuing diaries. It will help explain the essence of both the adventure and the social politics behind same. This diary is also the final missive in the series. Although an abridged account of the 1869 expedition, I think all the essential and salient background has been presented. And I hope the DKos community that supported this diary series has found the presentation noteworthy and enjoyable.
To Err Is Human...To Forgive, Divine: This adage holds true in most cases and perhaps even for Major Powell's faux pax lambasting after his inaugural 1869 expedition. Certainly, he enjoyed his fair share of tribute over the years. He also enjoyed his popularity given the prose-laden text he authored, though of course, the adventure so described was actually a combination of two very distinct accounts of what really happened.
In later years after his demise, Major Powell's reputation as a heroic explorer was duly criticized by historians and contemporaries alike, that is, once all the facts were known. When Sumner and Hawkins got around to sharing their side of the story, as well as what Bradley’s writings revealed, a whole new side of the John Wesley Powell saga comes to light, including what these men thought of their missing comrades who weren’t around to defend their actions, much less their characters.
Sumner’s letter to Lewis Keplinger in 1906 also explained noteworthy details about the expedition, including some of what took place on the Rocky Mountain foray the year before. (Keplinger was part of the 1868 Rocky Mountain Expedition, which is how he first got to meet Sumner. He also became a respected Kansas City judge who kept in touch with Sumner over the years.)
(The contents of the letter can be found at this URL: http://www.gcrg.org/...)
Later, it was Sumner’s extensive interviews that he gave to Robert Stanton that told a different story compared to what Major Powell had published. Part of this testimony has already been mentioned earlier in the text (i.e., about the matter of vouchers that were never paid). Bass, who was keenly interested in James White, who claimed to be the first man to run the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, eventually contacted the last surviving member of the 1869 expedition, Billy Hawkins. Juxtaposing Hawkins account with Sumner’s one discerns a credible pattern unfolding in their respective details.
This URL reveals a fascinating account of recent publications on James White and Major Powell: http://www.gcrg.org/...
Michael Ghiglieri's First Through Grand Canyon text bares all in this telling tome and is highly recommended reading (my direct endorsement). Preview the book's contents at this URL: http://www.amazon.com/...