On Mon, 11 Aug 2014 10:13:10 -0600, Mayo > wrote:

>Recall that Powell was able to command this expedition down the Colorado
>despite having only one arm.

I had completely missed that. Powell doesn't mention it of course and
I don't think it's referred to in Dan Snow's "Operation Grand Canyon",
a BBC documentary (BBC) about re-running a part of the expedition in
boats similar to those used in 1869.

>He had lost an arm in combat during the battle of Shiloh in the Civil War.

"At the Battle of Shiloh, he lost most of his right arm when struck by
a minie ball while in the process of giving the order to fire. The raw
nerve endings in his arm would continue to cause him pain for the rest
of his life." (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wesley_Powell)

How the hell does anyone climb 1,000-foot canyon walls with one arm?!
Weather permitting, Powell appears to have done that at the end of
each day's run down the river in order to map the party's progress.

--
Bob
www.kanyak.com