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Components of a storyTitles?Terra Incognita / Psyche Incognita The Will to Believe – Powell underestimated the capacity of the plains dirt farmer to continue to believe in myths even while his nosed was being rubbed in unpleasant fact.
Potential PlayersJohn Wesley Powell – man out of time Emma Dean Powell - wife Walter Powell - brother – boatman William Powell - brother Mary Powell – JWP’s daughter William Gilpin – speculator Introduced fantasy into geography. He is a mystic, burning with certainty, striving to convey to his audience the contagion of his own ecstatic vision. He seems to be uttering self-evident axioms rather than pleading a lawyer’s brief. Coined the phrase, "the untransacted destiny of the American people". Henry Adams – writer Clarence King – surveyor
Jack Colton Sumner – (1840-1907) boatman Civil war veteran turned mountain man. After the war he became a trading post operator and outfitter in Middle Park, Colorado. Powell recognized his skills during the Rocky Mountains Exploring Expeditions and hired him for the boat trip. He was the brother-in-law to W. N. Byers, influential editor of the Rocky Mountain News. He worked again for Powell again in later surveys but became embittered as an old man and was the source of many anti-Powell stories. ’Billy’ William Rhodes Hawkins – (1841-1919) boatman Added the ‘Hawkins’ name later in life apparently after some brush with the law. He served in the 9th Regiment, Missouri Cavalry. Not much is known of him. Frank Goodman – (?) boatman English adventurer who joined the expedition at Green River. He lost all his gear in the wreck of the No-Name and bailed out of the expedition at the Uinta River. Andrew Hall – (1851-1882) boatman Young "Andy" already had frontier experience at age 18 when he met Powell at Green River. After the expedition ended, he and Billy Rhodes continued down the Colorado, just to do it. George Young Bradley – (1836-1885) boatman Wounded at Fredricksburg while a volunteer of the 19th Massachusetts Infantry. Kept the best diary of the trip. Powell met him at Fort Bridger in 1869 and arranged a discharge so he could accompany the expedition. Oramel G. Howlands – (1833-1869) boatman Vermonter. Apparently well educated, became printer and editor of the Rocky Mountain News. Spent much time in the wilderness, and worked as a guide on Powell’s earlier expeditions, then signed on for the river trip. Killed after departing the expedition at Separation Rapids. Seneca Howlands - (1843-1869) boatman Younger brother of OG. Served in Civil War with the 16th Vermont Infantry and was wounded at Gettysburg. Killed after departing the expedition at Separation Rapids. Bill Dunn - (died1869) boatman Little is known other than he was a trapper and worked for Powell in Middle Park, Colorado in 1868. Killed after departing the expedition at Separation Rapids.
Sam Adams – adventurer Rejected by Powell for the 1869 expedition. Became an enemy of Powell’s Jack Hillers – Photographer/Ethnographer Accompanied Powell on many expeditions on behalf of the Bureau of Ethnography and took many photographs of Native American culture. Big Bill Stewart – () Senator of Nevada in 1887, speculator, helped write the 15th amendment to the constitution, became an enemy of Powell’s when it was discovered that Powell was not interested in mass exploitation of the land by capitalists. Thomas Hart Benton, Senator of Missouri Father of John C. Frémont’s wife, father of Manifest Destiny. Horace Greeley – () Abolitionist from Kansas, believed that if Kansas was full of yeomen farmers working 160-acre plots, plantations and slavery were not likely to intrude. Indians – Accepting the land as it was, and were consequently nomadic Walt Whitman – Poet Declared that America must turn away from the feudal past of Europe to build a new order founded on nature: I swear there is no greatness or power that does not emulate those of the earth! I swear there can be no theory of any account, unless it corroborates the theory of the earth! Louis Agassiz – (1807-1873) Scientist Opponent of Darwin’s theory of evolution. Regent of the Smithsonian in 1863.
Plot LineTaken from David Segal's 9 part
plot line
Ideas to develop"Science as a Candle in the Dark" as in Carl Sagan's ideas.In the infinitely difficult act of thinking nothing is more difficult than to separate what is known from what is not known – unless it be to understand that the separation must be made. (From The Course of Empire by Bernard DeVoto, Chapter 2, Spectrum of Knowledge) Colonization, Manifest Destiny, and the course of empireWater rightsPowell’s View:The west was to be a technological civilization, bent on the domination of nature. But, the people not the capitalists should be in charge. He had a dream of a technological democracy. Man Out Of TimeConstruction/Deconstruction of IdentityMyth of western identityConstruction of GenderConstruction of RaceTeilhard’s idea
Truth and Error – Powell’s work of philosophyPowell’s five-fold or ‘pentalogic’ categories for all human activities:
Marilyn Strathern & Carol MacCormack:in the nature/culture discourse, nature is equated with female in need of subordination by culture which is equated with male, active, abstract To be so sure of one’s actions…Terra Incognita
Chronology
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