July 27€¦

Late in the afternoon, we pass to the left, around a sharp point,
which is somewhat broken down near the foot, and discover a flock of
mountain sheep on the rocks, more than a hundred feet above us. We
quickly land in a cove, out of sight, and away go all the hunters with
their guns, for the sheep have not discovered us. Soon, we hear
firing, and those of us who have remained in the boats climb up to see
what success the hunters have had. One sheep has been killed, and two
of the men are still pursuing them. In a few minutes, we hear firing
again, and the next moment down come the flock, clattering over the
rocks, within twenty yards of us. One of the hunters seizes his gun,
and brings a second sheep down, and the next minute the remainder of
the flock is lost behind the rocks. We all give chase; but it is
impossible to follow their tracks over the naked rock, and we see them
no more. Where they went out of this rock walled cañyon is a mystery,
for we can see no way of escape. Doubtless, if we could spare the time
for a search, we could find some gulch up which they ran.

We lash our prizes to the deck of one of the boats, and go on for a
short distance; but fresh meat is too tempting for us, and we stop
early to have a feast. And a feast it is! Two fine, young sheep. We
care not for bread, or beans, or dried apples to night; coffee and
mutton is all we ask.

- J. W. Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its
Tributaries (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1875), 66.

--
Bob
www.kanyak.com

On 8/11/2014 9:33 AM, Opinicus wrote:
> July 27€¦
>
> Late in the afternoon, we pass to the left, around a sharp point,
> which is somewhat broken down near the foot, and discover a flock of
> mountain sheep on the rocks, more than a hundred feet above us. We
> quickly land in a cove, out of sight, and away go all the hunters with
> their guns, for the sheep have not discovered us. Soon, we hear
> firing, and those of us who have remained in the boats climb up to see
> what success the hunters have had. One sheep has been killed, and two
> of the men are still pursuing them. In a few minutes, we hear firing
> again, and the next moment down come the flock, clattering over the
> rocks, within twenty yards of us. One of the hunters seizes his gun,
> and brings a second sheep down, and the next minute the remainder of
> the flock is lost behind the rocks. We all give chase; but it is
> impossible to follow their tracks over the naked rock, and we see them
> no more. Where they went out of this rock walled cañyon is a mystery,
> for we can see no way of escape. Doubtless, if we could spare the time
> for a search, we could find some gulch up which they ran.
>
> We lash our prizes to the deck of one of the boats, and go on for a
> short distance; but fresh meat is too tempting for us, and we stop
> early to have a feast. And a feast it is! Two fine, young sheep. We
> care not for bread, or beans, or dried apples to night; coffee and
> mutton is all we ask.
>
> - J. W. Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its
> Tributaries (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1875), 66.
>

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

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

On 8/11/2014 10:33 AM, Opinicus wrote:
> July 27€¦
>
> Late in the afternoon, we pass to the left, around a sharp point,
> which is somewhat broken down near the foot, and discover a flock of
> mountain sheep on the rocks, more than a hundred feet above us. We
> quickly land in a cove, out of sight, and away go all the hunters with
> their guns, for the sheep have not discovered us. Soon, we hear
> firing, and those of us who have remained in the boats climb up to see
> what success the hunters have had. One sheep has been killed, and two
> of the men are still pursuing them. In a few minutes, we hear firing
> again, and the next moment down come the flock, clattering over the
> rocks, within twenty yards of us. One of the hunters seizes his gun,
> and brings a second sheep down, and the next minute the remainder of
> the flock is lost behind the rocks. We all give chase; but it is
> impossible to follow their tracks over the naked rock, and we see them
> no more. Where they went out of this rock walled cañyon is a mystery,
> for we can see no way of escape. Doubtless, if we could spare the time
> for a search, we could find some gulch up which they ran.
>
> We lash our prizes to the deck of one of the boats, and go on for a
> short distance; but fresh meat is too tempting for us, and we stop
> early to have a feast. And a feast it is! Two fine, young sheep. We
> care not for bread, or beans, or dried apples to night; coffee and
> mutton is all we ask.
>
> - J. W. Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its
> Tributaries (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1875), 66.
>

I read a fictionalized novel about this trip. Totally fascinating.

--
From somewhere very deep in the heart of Texas

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

On 8/12/2014 2:09 AM, Opinicus wrote:
> 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.

Powell was a tough minded, good commander and explorer - he never used
his arm as an excuse for anything.

>> 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.

He did indeed, and barring that his ancestors were part mountain goat it
baffles me.

Those slopes and rock are "slick" and crumbly, at the same time.

On Tue, 12 Aug 2014 09:48:24 -0600, Mayo > wrote:

>> 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.
>
>Powell was a tough minded, good commander and explorer - he never used
>his arm as an excuse for anything.
I watched the Snow documentary again last night and the narrator does
mention the disability (if it may be called that in Powell's case)
twice, in fairly quick succession and almost as if it were an
unimportant detail, in the introduction. Yesterday I discovered that
in his report of the 1872 expedition Powell does mention the fact,
albeit obliquely, on pages 129-130:

<powell>
"... We will tell the Indians on the other side of the great river
that we have seen Ka'-pu-rats, and he is the Indians' friend..."
"Ka'-pu-rats" is the name by which I am known among the Utes and
Shoshones, meaning "arm off."
</powell>

--
Bob
www.kanyak.com

On 8/13/2014 2:30 AM, Opinicus wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Aug 2014 09:48:24 -0600, Mayo > wrote:
>
>>> 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.
>>
>> Powell was a tough minded, good commander and explorer - he never used
>> his arm as an excuse for anything.
> I watched the Snow documentary again last night and the narrator does
> mention the disability (if it may be called that in Powell's case)
> twice, in fairly quick succession and almost as if it were an
> unimportant detail, in the introduction. Yesterday I discovered that
> in his report of the 1872 expedition Powell does mention the fact,
> albeit obliquely, on pages 129-130:
>
> <powell>
> "... We will tell the Indians on the other side of the great river
> that we have seen Ka'-pu-rats, and he is the Indians' friend..."
> "Ka'-pu-rats" is the name by which I am known among the Utes and
> Shoshones, meaning "arm off."
> </powell>
>

Reminds me of a passage in T. E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom",
where he participates in an Arab sheep feast. It's repellant and
gustatory at the same time.

On Wed, 13 Aug 2014 02:36:56 -0400, Travis McGee >
wrote:

>Reminds me of a passage in T. E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom",
>where he participates in an Arab sheep feast. It's repellant and
>gustatory at the same time.
Speaking of "repellant and gustatory", I came across this gem in the
1872 report:

<powell>
Now we reach the stinking water pocket; our ponies have had no water
for thirty hours, and are eager even for this foul fluid. We carefully
strain a kettleful for ourselves, then divide what is left between
them-two or three gallons for each; but this does not satisfy them,
and they rage around, refusing to eat the scanty grass. We boil our
kettle of water, and skim it; straining, boiling, and skimming makes
it a little better, for it was full of loathsome, wriggling larvae,
with huge black heads. but plenty of coffee takes away the bad smell,
and so modifies the taste that most of us can drink, though our little
Indian seems to prefer the original mixture.

- J. W. Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its
Tributaries (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1875), 126.
</powell>

I suppose camp coffee in the 1870s wasn't exactly Starbucks-quality.

Note: The "little Indian" is their new guide, "a blear eyed, weazen
faced, quiet old man, with his bow and arrows in one hand, and a small
cane in the other." (122-3)

--
Bob
www.kanyak.com

On 8/13/2014 12:30 AM, Opinicus wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Aug 2014 09:48:24 -0600, Mayo > wrote:
>
>>> 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.
>>
>> Powell was a tough minded, good commander and explorer - he never used
>> his arm as an excuse for anything.
> I watched the Snow documentary again last night and the narrator does
> mention the disability (if it may be called that in Powell's case)
> twice, in fairly quick succession and almost as if it were an
> unimportant detail, in the introduction. Yesterday I discovered that
> in his report of the 1872 expedition Powell does mention the fact,
> albeit obliquely, on pages 129-130:
>
> <powell>
> "... We will tell the Indians on the other side of the great river
> that we have seen Ka'-pu-rats, and he is the Indians' friend..."
> "Ka'-pu-rats" is the name by which I am known among the Utes and
> Shoshones, meaning "arm off."
> </powell>
>
Keep these posts up, I'm loving reading the expedition logs again, thanks!

On 8/13/2014 4:02 AM, Opinicus wrote:
> On Wed, 13 Aug 2014 02:36:56 -0400, Travis McGee >
> wrote:
>
>> Reminds me of a passage in T. E. Lawrence's "Seven Pillars of Wisdom",
>> where he participates in an Arab sheep feast. It's repellant and
>> gustatory at the same time.
> Speaking of "repellant and gustatory", I came across this gem in the
> 1872 report:
>
> <powell>
> Now we reach the stinking water pocket; our ponies have had no water
> for thirty hours, and are eager even for this foul fluid. We carefully
> strain a kettleful for ourselves, then divide what is left between
> them-two or three gallons for each; but this does not satisfy them,
> and they rage around, refusing to eat the scanty grass. We boil our
> kettle of water, and skim it; straining, boiling, and skimming makes
> it a little better, for it was full of loathsome, wriggling larvae,
> with huge black heads. but plenty of coffee takes away the bad smell,
> and so modifies the taste that most of us can drink, though our little
> Indian seems to prefer the original mixture.
>
> - J. W. Powell, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its
> Tributaries (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1875), 126.
> </powell>
>
> I suppose camp coffee in the 1870s wasn't exactly Starbucks-quality.
>
> Note: The "little Indian" is their new guide, "a blear eyed, weazen
> faced, quiet old man, with his bow and arrows in one hand, and a small
> cane in the other." (122-3)
>
I suspect they would have used egg shells to settle the grounds, had
they the luxury.

Then again the Colorado River is a silt machine, so grit of any ind is
to be expected.

On Wed, 13 Aug 2014 10:54:39 -0600, Mayo > wrote:

>> "Ka'-pu-rats" is the name by which I am known among the Utes and
>> Shoshones, meaning "arm off."
>> </powell>

>Keep these posts up, I'm loving reading the expedition logs again, thanks!
Unfortunately there are more no more "food" references. There are two
long paragraphs on the indigenous people's food gathering and
processing habits that I may post but the rest is all "On the physical
features of the Valley of the Colorado", "The cranial and dental
characteristics of Geomydie", and suchlike. (This is a government
report after all.)

There is also a fascinating account of a campfire recitation/enactment
of the legend of "The One-Two", apparently a pair of twin boys who
revenge the murder of their father and abduction of their mother
(pages 116-122). What a great animated cartoon it would make... But
not of the Disney sort, more like the animated sequences in "The Wall"
or "A liar's autobiography: The untrue story of Monty Python's Graham
Chapman".

--
Bob
www.kanyak.com