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Despite his remarkable calm and determination, Powell couldn't entirely ignore the all the dangers of the trip and the toll it took on the body and mind. Three of his men abandoned the trip about two thirds of the way through, and died on their way out of the area. (The cause of their deaths is uncertain.) He was well aware of the price he was paying, even in the face of the incomprehensible beauty and scope of the Canyon. He documents a moment when the rest of the crew is making portage along the riverbank below and he is able to climb up a canyon wall and survey the landscape: "All about me are interesting geological records. The book is open and I can read as I run. All about me are grand views, for the clouds are playing again in the gorges. But somehow I think of the nine days' rations, and the bad river, and the lesson of the rocks, and the glory of the scene is but half seen." The second trip down the Colorado in 1871 resulted in a highly detailed map of the Colorado basin, and a wealth of scientific papers describing Powell's theories of the geologic features of the Canyon and the processes that created it. His groundbreaking work earned him the position as the director of the US Geological Survey in 1881. Powell directed his scientific attentions to the human history of the Colorado River as well as that of the rocks and plants, publishing extensive documents about the languages and histories of the native populations of the Southwest, and added Director of the Bureau of Ethnology to his growing list of titles. Major John Wesley Powell died of arterial sclerosis at the age of 68 in 1902. In many ways he personified the iconic spirit of the American West, fearless, rugged, and highly individualistic. His studies and explorations opened up a part of the continent unknown to the young United States, and his name will always be associated with the river that held him under its spell. Article by Sarah Horton. 
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