"In the years following the Civil War, one great region of the United States remained as a challenge to explorers and geographers -- the vast unmapped area of the canyon country and the roaring rapids-infested Colorado River. This is the life story of Major John Welsey Powell, who organized and led two great expeditions down the Colorado to chart its course and collect scientific data. The crisp and readable narrative reflects the color and excitement of the life of Major Powell. His courage and vitality manifested themselves in every field in which he engaged -- as an army engineer, professor, explorer, geologist, ethnologist, and government administrator. Powell's life was one of devotion to the promotion of science in the federal government. He was the leading figure in the formation of the U.S. Geological Survey and as its second director persistently called attention to the problems of the West -- irrigation, and the conservation of natural resources. Concurrently, as director of the Bureau of Ethnology he made many contributions to the study of the Indian languages, customs, and mythologies."--From the dust-jacket front flap.

1830-1846 Wilderness bound -- 1846-1853 Prairie farmer -- 1853-1861 Illinois schoolmaster -- 1861-1865 An arm for union -- 1865-1867 Up Pike's Peak -- 1868 Across the Continental Divide -- 1869 Preparations at Green River -- 1869 First expedition down the Colorado -- 1869-1870 Among the Cliff Dwellers -- 1871 Second expedition down the Colorado -- 1872 Seeking federal support -- 1873 A special commission among the Utes -- 1873-1876 A new concept of the canyon country -- 1877-1878 A proposal for reform of the Land Acts -- 1878-1879 Consolidation of the surveys -- 1879-1881 The bureau of ethnology -- 1881-1884 Double duty -- 1884-1887 The survey and science in America -- 1888-1891 The irrigation survey -- 1886-1891 Life in Washington -- 1890-1894 The survey under fire -- 1894-1895 A philosophy of science -- 1896-1898 Haven -- 1898-1901 Truth and error -- 1902 The last days.