Fairbury men who never died with Major Powell

John Wesley Powell was born in Mount Morris, New York, in 1834, the son of Joseph and Mary Powell. His father, a poor itinerant preacher, had emigrated to the U.S. from Shrewsbury, England, in 1831. His family moved westward to Jackson, Ohio, then Walworth County, Wisconsin, before settling in rural Boone County, Illinois.

As a young man, John Powell undertook a series of adventures through the Mississippi River valley. In 1855, he spent four months walking across Wisconsin. During 1856, John Powell rowed the Mississippi from St. Anthony, Minnesota, to the sea. In 1857, he rowed down the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to the Mississippi River, then traveled north to St. Louis. In 1858, he rowed down the Illinois River, then up the Mississippi and the Des Moines River to central Iowa. In 1859, at age 25, he was elected to the Illinois Natural History Society.

During the Civil War, he served first with the 20th Illinois Volunteers. While stationed at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, he recruited an artillery company that became Battery F of the 2nd Illinois Light Artillery, with Powell as Captain. On November 28, 1861, Powell took a brief leave to marry the former Emma Dean. At the Battle of Shiloh, he lost most of his right arm when a Minnie ball struck him while he gave the order to fire. Despite the loss of a limb, he returned to the Army and fought in many more battles. He was promoted to Major Powell.

After leaving the Army, Powell took the post of professor of geology at Illinois Wesleyan University. He also lectured at Illinois State Normal University for most of his career. Powell helped expand the collections of the Museum of the Illinois State Natural History Society, where he served as a curator. He declined a permanent appointment in favor of exploring the American West.

After 1867, Powell led a series of expeditions into the Rocky Mountains and around the Green and Colorado rivers. One of these expeditions included his students and his wife, and they collected specimens across Colorado. Powell, William Byers, and five other men were the first white men to climb Longs Peak in Colorado in 1868.

In 1869, Major Powell set out to explore the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. He set out from the Green River in Wyoming with nine men, four boats, and food for ten months.

On July 2, 1869, the Chicago Tribune ran a sensational story reporting that Major Powell's entire Colorado River expedition had been lost except for one member. The only survivor, John A. Risdon, broke down in tears explaining the tragic accident to the reporter. Risdon recounted that the expedition consisted of Major Powell and 19 men. Risdon revealed the names of each of the 19 men, except he could not remember the names of the two Fairbury, Illinois, men on the journey. Two teamsters were carrying baggage.

Risdon reported the party's boat capsized on the Colorado River on May 8, 1869. Risdon was on horseback and searched for four days for survivors. The only thing Risdon found was a carpetbag with some of Major Powell's sketchbooks. Risdon said he shipped the carpetbag and Major Powell's baggage to his widow in Detroit. Illinois Governor John M. Palmer gave Risdon free passage back to his home in LaSalle.

For a few days, Risdon charged fees to speak to groups and tell his story of Major Powell's ill-fated expedition. Newspapers across the nation covered the sensational story about Major Powell and his entire team being wiped out.

The story took a significant turn when Mrs. Powell announced that the story of her husband's death was a fraud. She received a letter dated two weeks after her husband was supposedly lost in the Colorado River. She also reported that none of the names of the party Mr. Risdon reported were correct.

The Ottawa Free Trader reported on July 17, 1869, that after Risdon was returned to LaSalle, he went to Lincoln and got a job as a hired hand for Mr. Bowman. The next night, Risdon stole a horse and started towards Bloomington. Risdon also stopped at a farmhouse and stole a blanket, overcoat, and shawl. Risdon found Kickapoo Creek was too high to ford, so he left on foot to Atlanta, Illinois, where he was captured. Rison was brought back to Lincoln and was sent to jail as a horse thief.

Public officials in LaSalle let it be known that John A. Risdon had never lived in their city. Ottawa officials reported that they sent John A. Risdon to the Penitentiary from that city in 1859. The Ottawa officials also stated that Risdon was a thief and a liar. Risdon had previously used the alias names of Miller and Clark.

Major Powell not only survived his 1869 expedition, but he went on another journey in 1871. Major Powell is credited with fully mapping the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. Major Powell served as the second Director of the United States Geological Survey, a post he held from 1881 to 1894. Lake Powell, just outside Las Vegas, is named after Major Powell.

Historians note that Risdon's big lie in 1869 made Major Powell more famous on the national stage. Once Risdon's story about the whole expedition being lost in the wild Colorado River county made national news, it became an even bigger story when the lie was debunked.

Efforts to determine what happened to Risdon after he was convicted of horse thievery in Lincoln were unsuccessful. Records indicate a John A. Risdon from Hennepin who served in the Civil War. It is unknown why Risdon mentioned two unnamed men from Fairbury in his tall tale. No record of Risdon living in Fairbury could be found. He may have served in the Civil War and met fellow soldiers from Fairbury.

Dale Maley's local history feature is sponsored by Dr. Charlene Aaron