Category: Destination4x4

Thomas Leiper Kane

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Thomas Leiper Kane (January 27, 1822 – December 26, 1883)
Thomas Leiper Kane (January 27, 1822 – December 26, 1883)

Thomas Leiper Kane (January 27, 1822 – December 26, 1883) was an American lawyer, abolitionist, philanthropist, and Union Army officer best known as a lifelong non-Mormon friend, advocate, and mediator for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often called Mormons). He was not a Mormon convert or a Utah settler; he remained outside the faith while providing crucial political, diplomatic, and public-relations support during key crises in the church’s history. Kane County, Utah, and the early Iowa settlement of Kanesville (near present-day Council Bluffs) were named in his honor.

Early Life and Background

Kane was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second son of John Kintzing Kane (a prominent federal judge and politician) and Jane Duval Leiper Kane. He came from a well-connected family of Irish and Scottish descent. After education in Philadelphia and some study in England, he read law under his father and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1846. He briefly served as a clerk in his father’s court but resigned around 1850 over moral opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act. He was active in reform causes, including abolition (with involvement in the Underground Railroad), opposition to capital punishment, prison reform, women’s rights, and educational initiatives.

Introduction to the Latter-day Saints (1846)

Kane first encountered the Saints in May 1846 in Philadelphia, where he attended a conference organized by Jesse C. Little, the church’s eastern representative. Learning of the forced expulsion of the Mormons from Nauvoo, Illinois, and their difficult westward migration, Kane used his family’s political connections to help. He met with President James K. Polk and other officials, helping arrange the enlistment of the Mormon Battalion (about 500 volunteers) for the Mexican-American War. The battalion’s pay provided vital funds for the impoverished refugees.

Kane traveled west to the Mormon camps along the Missouri River in Iowa Territory. He assisted with recruitment, visited scattered settlements, and publicly defended the Saints against hostile reports. Impressed by their loyalty and suffering, he became a committed advocate. In recognition, the Saints renamed one of their Iowa settlements Kane (later Kanesville). In September 1846, Patriarch John Smith gave Kane a patriarchal blessing that he valued highly throughout his life.

Advocacy and the Utah War

Throughout the 1850s Kane worked to improve the public image of the Saints and secure favorable federal treatment. In 1850 he delivered an influential lecture, The Mormons, before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, describing their history and the desolation of abandoned Nauvoo. His influence helped secure Brigham Young’s appointment as the first governor of Utah Territory under President Millard Fillmore. Kane declined an offer to serve as territorial governor himself, preferring that Young hold the post. He also supported efforts toward Utah statehood.

His most famous service came during the Utah War (1857–1858). Amid exaggerated reports of Mormon rebellion, President James Buchanan ordered a large U.S. Army force (Johnston’s Army) to Utah. Kane volunteered as an unofficial mediator, traveling under the alias “Dr. Osborne” via a long southern route (through Panama and California) to reach Salt Lake City in early 1858. He negotiated with Brigham Young and the new federally appointed governor, Alfred Cumming, helping persuade Young to accept Cumming and avoid armed resistance. The peaceful resolution averted bloodshed and is often credited in large part to Kane’s diplomacy.

Civil War Service and Later Life

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Kane organized and led the 1st Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment (the “Bucktails”), a noted sharpshooter unit. He rose to the rank of brigadier general of volunteers and received a brevet promotion to major general for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg (1863). Wounds and illness forced his resignation. After the war he settled in northwestern Pennsylvania, where he helped found the town of Kane and engaged in land development, railroads, oil, and civic affairs. He continued corresponding with Brigham Young and other church leaders, offering counsel on political and legal matters.

In the winter of 1872–1873, in poor health, Kane, his wife Elizabeth Dennistoun Wood Kane, and two of their sons visited Utah at Brigham Young’s invitation. They traveled with Young to St. George in southern Utah, where the milder climate improved Kane’s health. Elizabeth later published Twelve Mormon Homes (1874), a valuable firsthand account of Mormon domestic life. Kane returned briefly to Utah in 1877 after Young’s death.

Personal Life and Death

Kane married Elizabeth Dennistoun Wood in 1853; they had several children. Though raised in a Presbyterian family, he did not formally join any church. He remained a steadfast friend of the Saints until the end. He died of pneumonia in Philadelphia on December 26, 1883 (some sources list the 27th), after caring for an injured son. Among his last concerns were messages of affection for his “Mormon friends.”

Legacy

Kane is remembered in Mormon history as one of the most important non-member allies of the 19th century—an “outrider for Zion.” His mediation during the Utah War, defense of religious liberty, and long friendship with Brigham Young left a lasting mark. A statue of him stands in the Utah State Capitol, and the LDS Church maintains a memorial chapel in Kane, Pennsylvania. His papers and correspondence remain important sources for historians of the American West and the Latter-day Saint movement.

Colorado I – Colorado River Steamship

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The Colorado I (also known simply as the Colorado) was a stern-wheel paddle steamer—the third steamboat overall on the Colorado River and the first sternwheeler to operate there. It played a key early role in commercial navigation on the lower Colorado, helping supply military posts, support settlement and mining, and prove the viability of sternwheelers for the river’s shallow, shifting, sandbar-choked waters.

Construction and Launch

George A. Johnson & Company (the dominant early operator on the river) commissioned the vessel. It was built in San Francisco by the noted California steamboat builder John G. North, then disassembled, shipped by sea in sections to the Colorado River estuary (in Mexican territory at the river’s mouth on the Gulf of California), reassembled, and launched in December 1855.

Captain Isaac Polhamus Jr. (who would become one of the most experienced pilots on the river and later command several other vessels in the fleet) took command.

Specifications

  • Type: Stern-wheel paddle steamer (wooden hull).
  • Length: Approximately 120 feet.
  • Engine: 80-horsepower steam engine.
  • Cargo capacity: Up to about 60–70 tons of freight (sources vary slightly; some list ~60 tons, others up to 70).
  • Draft: Less than 2 feet when loaded (ideal for the Colorado’s shallow conditions and frequent sandbars).
  • Other details such as exact beam are sparsely recorded in surviving accounts, but as a sternwheeler it was narrower and better suited than sidewheelers for navigating the river’s narrower channels and sloughs.

Compared with Johnson’s earlier sidewheeler General Jesup (launched 1854, ~104 feet, 50 hp, ~50-ton capacity), the Colorado I was more powerful, carried larger loads, and handled the strong currents and obstacles more effectively. Sternwheel design also allowed techniques such as reversing the wheel to help free the hull from sandbars.

Role on the Colorado River

Steamboats on the lower Colorado (from the Gulf of California upstream toward the Virgin River area) began in 1852 primarily to supply the isolated U.S. Army post at Fort Yuma more cheaply than overland freight. Early sidewheelers like the Uncle Sam (1852) and General Jesup proved the concept, but shifting sandbars, low water, strong currents, and tidal bores in the delta made the work difficult and hazardous.

The Colorado I improved efficiency on the core run between the estuary (where ocean vessels transferred cargo, often midstream to avoid Mexican customs) and Fort Yuma. It made faster upstream trips with larger cargoes. It also towed barges at times, further increasing payload.

Beyond routine freight (supplies, goods for settlers and mines), it supported military operations. During the 1858–59 Mohave War and the establishment of Fort Mohave, the Colorado I and General Jesup carried troops and supplies upriver under contract (reportedly at $500 per day). It contributed to the broader expansion of river commerce that later served mining booms (including areas like Eldorado Canyon) and settlement in what became Arizona, California, Nevada, and adjacent Mexican territory.

Johnson’s company held a near-monopoly for years; the Colorado I was an important part of the early fleet that generated substantial profits before competition and, later, railroads arrived. Navigation remained adventurous—pilots frequently dealt with grounding, low water, and the need for wood fuel from riverside yards often staffed by local Indigenous people (including Cocopah).

Ultimate Fate

After roughly six years of hard service (frequent groundings, wear from sandbars, and the river’s harsh conditions), the hull of the Colorado I was worn out. It was dismantled in spring 1862 (sources commonly cite April 1862; some secondary accounts mention August) at or near Fort Yuma / Arizona City.

Its engine and boiler were salvaged and installed in the larger successor vessel Colorado II (launched 1862 at Arizona City under the protection of Fort Yuma’s guns, partly out of concern over possible Confederate threats during the Civil War). The Colorado II (about 145 feet, 179 tons, same 80 hp engine) continued in service until it was itself dismantled in 1882.

The Colorado I thus marked an important transition: the shift to sternwheelers better adapted to the Colorado, the growth of Johnson’s profitable river trade, and the reuse of machinery that extended the company’s operations. Commercial steamboating on the lower Colorado continued for decades (peaking and then declining with the arrival of railroads in the late 1870s and the eventual blocking of the channel by Laguna Dam around 1909), but the Colorado I was a foundational vessel in that era.

Glen Canyon Dam

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Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona, near the town of Page (about 15 miles upstream from Lees Ferry and roughly 8 miles south of the Utah-Arizona border). It stands 710 feet high above bedrock (583 feet above the original riverbed), with a crest length of 1,560 feet. It forms Lake Powell, one of the largest reservoirs in the United States (capacity roughly 24–27 million acre-feet at full pool of about 3,700 feet elevation). The dam is a key unit of the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP).

Glen Canyon Dam, Page, Arizona. Photo by James L Rathbun
Glen Canyon Dam, Page, Arizona. Photo by James L Rathbun

Origins and Why It Was Built

Interest in a dam in Glen Canyon dates to the early 20th century. U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist E.C. LaRue proposed a site as early as 1916–1921, initially more for flood control than long-term storage. Studies continued in the 1920s, but priority went to Hoover Dam (completed 1936) farther downstream.

The decisive driver was the 1922 Colorado River Compact, which apportioned the river’s waters roughly equally between the Upper Basin (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico) and Lower Basin (California, Arizona, Nevada), with measurement at Lees Ferry. The Upper Basin states needed large upstream storage to develop their share for irrigation, municipal, and industrial use without risking failure to meet delivery obligations to the Lower Basin during droughts. Without storage, Upper Basin development would be constrained because water would simply flow downstream to Hoover Dam/Lake Mead.

By the 1940s–1950s, rapid population and economic growth in the West intensified the need. The Bureau of Reclamation advanced the Colorado River Storage Project, a system of dams and reservoirs to regulate flow, store water for beneficial use, provide flood control, reclaim arid lands, and generate hydropower. Hydropower revenues were essential: they would repay construction costs and help finance other Upper Basin projects. Glen Canyon Dam was the centerpiece—the largest storage feature—providing the bulk of the system’s capacity to hold water during wet years for release in dry ones while guaranteeing Lower Basin deliveries.

Congress authorized the CRSP (including Glen Canyon Dam) on April 11, 1956. The project was never primarily a local irrigation scheme; its core purposes were basin-wide storage and power generation.

Site Selection

Engineers and geologists evaluated multiple sites in lower Glen Canyon from the 1920s through the late 1940s (intensive work 1946–1948). Key criteria included:

  • A large reservoir basin capable of holding an immense volume of water.
  • Strong, stable canyon walls and bedrock foundation able to support a high dam.
  • Proximity to quality aggregate (rock and sand) for concrete—available nearby on Wahweap Creek.
  • Economic feasibility and constructability.

An early favored site was about 4 miles upstream from Lees Ferry (which could have held more water), but the chosen site—roughly 15–16.5 miles upstream—was selected for superior foundation rock (Navajo Sandstone cliffs rising nearly vertically) and easier access to gravel deposits. The remote location presented challenges: no nearby rail, and a 200-mile drive to cross from one rim to the other. This necessitated new access roads and the Glen Canyon Bridge (a 1,271-foot steel-arch bridge completed 1959, then among the world’s highest).

The final site sits in a narrow gorge of sandstone and shale, ideal for an arch-gravity design that transfers load into the abutments.

Construction and Filling

Construction began almost immediately after authorization. On October 15, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower triggered the first blast by remote control from the White House. The prime contract went to Merritt-Chapman & Scott in April 1957 (winning bid about $108 million). Work included diversion tunnels to reroute the river, deep excavation to bedrock (about 137 feet), and shaping the canyon walls.

Concrete placement started in June 1960 (first formal pour around June 16–17) and continued around the clock. The dam contains roughly 4.9 million cubic yards of concrete in the structure itself (over 5.3 million including the powerplant)—enough for a multi-lane highway from Phoenix to Chicago. It was built in large blocks and topped out on September 13, 1963, at 710 feet. About 18 workers died during construction. The remote site required creating the town of Page, Arizona, for the workforce.

The river was diverted; the last diversion tunnel was closed on March 13, 1963, and Lake Powell began filling. First power generation occurred in September 1964. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson dedicated the dam on September 22, 1966. Filling to capacity took until June 22, 1980 (about 17 years). Glen Canyon National Recreation Area was established in 1972.

Controversy

The dam was highly controversial. Early CRSP plans included dams at Echo Park and Split Mountain in Dinosaur National Monument. A major campaign by the Sierra Club (led by David Brower), Wilderness Society, and others successfully blocked those, framing them as a threat to national parks. In the political compromise, Glen Canyon Dam proceeded (and was made larger to compensate for lost storage). Many environmentalists later regretted the trade-off, viewing the flooding of Glen Canyon’s scenic, archaeological, and ecological treasures as a major loss—“the place no one knew.” Archaeological salvage projects documented sites before inundation. The dam also fundamentally altered the Colorado River’s flow, temperature, and sediment regime through the Grand Canyon, leading later to the 1992 Grand Canyon Protection Act and adaptive management programs.

Operations and Later History

Lake Powell stores water for Upper Basin use and regulated releases to the Lower Basin. The powerplant (eight generators, original rating ~1,320 MW) has produced billions of kilowatt-hours annually in good years, with revenues supporting CRSP operations, environmental programs, and repayment. Notable events include 1983 floods that damaged the spillways (requiring major repairs) and ongoing adaptive management for downstream ecosystems and recreation.

Current Struggles with Low Water

Prolonged drought, aridification linked to climate change (warmer temperatures, reduced snowpack efficiency, higher evaporation and soil absorption), and overallocation have sharply reduced inflows. Lake Powell has declined dramatically from full-pool levels last seen in the early 1980s.

As of late August 2026, the lake has set new record lows, hovering around 3,518 feet elevation—roughly 22–23% of live capacity and about 180+ feet below full pool. It sits only tens of feet above minimum power pool (3,490 feet), the level at which the penstocks lose adequate submergence and the turbines can no longer generate hydropower reliably. Dead pool (the point at which water can no longer be released by gravity through the outlets) is at approximately 3,370 feet.

Projections in 2026 have warned of potential drops toward or below minimum power pool in 2027 under continued dry conditions, with reduced generation already occurring (output has fallen substantially from historical peaks). Managers have implemented emergency measures: reduced releases from Glen Canyon, increased upstream releases (e.g., from Flaming Gorge), and operational adjustments under drought contingency plans and interim guidelines to protect elevations near or above ~3,500–3,525 feet. Below minimum power pool, releases shift solely to the smaller river outlet works (not designed for sustained primary use), raising concerns about capacity, reliability, sediment, and downstream water delivery. Recreation (marinas, boat ramps) has been heavily impacted, with many facilities unusable.

The situation threatens hydropower for roughly millions of customers in the West, water supplies for agriculture and cities in the Lower Basin, and the broader Colorado River system’s stability. It has prompted study of potential dam modifications for lower-level operations and underscores the original assumptions about hydrology that no longer fully hold. Lake Powell and Lake Mead together hold far less water than in earlier decades, highlighting the ongoing Colorado River crisis.

In summary, Glen Canyon Dam was engineered as a linchpin of 20th-century Western water development—securing Upper Basin rights, enabling growth, and generating power—chosen for its geology and storage potential after careful evaluation. Decades later, it faces the limits of that vision under a drier climate and strained allocation system.

Cliff Dweller – Colorado River Steamship

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The Cliff Dweller was a stern-wheel steamboat that operated briefly on the Green River (a major tributary of the upper Colorado River) in Utah in the early 20th century. It belonged to a short-lived series of experimental vessels attempting commercial navigation on the challenging upper Colorado/Green River system, far upstream from the better-known lower Colorado River steamboat fleet that served Yuma, mining districts, and points north into the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Origins and Construction

The vessel began as the City of Moab, a gasoline-powered, screw-driven boat. In 1905–1906, owner John J. Lumsden (with involvement from Charles Anderson and others) had it substantially rebuilt at Halverson’s (near Green River, Utah). Workers removed the upper works and tunnels, lengthened the hull by about 10 feet, and converted it to a coal-fired stern-wheeler with steam power (two stern-wheel engines, each rated around 25 horsepower in some accounts). It was renamed the Cliff Dweller, likely referencing the prehistoric Ancestral Puebloan (cliff-dweller) ruins and landscape along the river canyons.

It was launched around November 1905 at Halverson’s. Contemporary descriptions and later lists give approximate dimensions of 70 feet in length and 20 feet in beam, with a very shallow draft of about 14 inches (light; around 16–20 inches or more when loaded with fuel such as coal). These shallow-draft characteristics were essential for the sandbars, riffles, and variable water levels of the Green River.

Role Along the Colorado River System

Unlike the commercial stern-wheelers of the lower Colorado (such as the Mohave, Gila, Cocopah, and others operated by George A. Johnson & Company and later the Colorado Steam Navigation Company), the Cliff Dweller was an upper-river experiment. Its intended purpose was commercial service—primarily linking Green River, Utah, with Moab and points toward the confluence of the Green and Grand (upper Colorado) Rivers—for freight, passengers, or related trade. The upper river was far more difficult than the lower reaches due to rapids, sandbars, fluctuating flows, and limited traffic potential.

In practice, the boat made only limited use. Its principal documented voyage occurred in August 1906 under master/pilot C. W. Anderson (with H. T. Yokey as chief engineer and a small crew that included firemen, deck officers, and a cook). The log records a cruise from Green River downstream toward the junction of the Green and Grand Rivers (reaching Valentine’s Bottom, about 20 miles from the confluence, and visiting sites such as cliff dwellings and the Cave of Winds). The return upstream involved the usual hazards: grounding on sandbars (including at Hell’s Hole and Brigham’s Aleck), the need to use a capstan or shore lines, and temporarily raising engines when the paddle wheel struck bottom. The trip carried guests rather than commercial cargo and demonstrated the difficulties of sustained operation. It made one main long trip plus a couple of shorter side trips.

These upper-river efforts (including earlier vessels such as the Undine and later ones such as the Black Eagle and Charles H. Spencer) were generally short-lived and commercially unsuccessful because of the river’s obstacles and the lack of sufficient traffic once railroads expanded.

Specifications (Approximate, from contemporary and compiled sources)

  • Type: Stern-wheel steamboat (converted from gasoline screw propulsion)
  • Length: ~70 feet (after lengthening from the earlier City of Moab configuration)
  • Beam: ~20 feet
  • Draft: ~14 inches light; higher when loaded (e.g., with coal)
  • Propulsion: Coal-fired steam; stern-wheel engines
  • Built/rebuilt: Halverson’s, Utah, 1905 (rebuild completed for 1906 operation)
  • Owner: Primarily John J. Lumsden (with partners at times)

Exact tonnage and full engine details are sparsely recorded compared with the lower-river fleet.

Ultimate Fate

Commercial prospects between Green River and Moab proved unviable; operators concluded the venture could not generate adequate revenue. In 1907 (accounts cite April), Lumsden sold an interest, and the boat was cut in two, shipped overland to Salt Lake City, and placed in service as an excursion vessel on the Great Salt Lake. It was renamed the Vista and operated as a tourist craft for a number of years.

The Cliff Dweller thus represents one of the more ambitious but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to extend steam navigation into the upper Colorado River basin. Its brief career illustrates both the engineering adaptations required for shallow, obstructed western rivers and the limits of steamboat economics once railroads and other transport options became available. Primary details come from contemporary logs, testimony in later legal proceedings related to river navigation, photographic records, and compiled steamboat lists (including those drawing on Richard E. Lingenfelter’s research on Colorado River steamboats).

Cocopah I – Colorado River Steamship

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The Cocopah I (often simply called Cocopah) was a stern-wheel paddle steamer and the fifth steamboat to operate on the Colorado River. It was launched in August 1859 and served until 1867.

Construction and Specifications

Built in 1859 in San Francisco for George A. Johnson & Company at a cost of $35,000 (roughly equivalent to over $1 million today), it was the largest steamboat yet placed on the river. Key specifications include:

  • Length: 140 feet
  • Beam (width): 29 feet
  • Draft: Approximately 14.5–19 inches even when fully loaded (sources vary slightly; commonly cited as a mere 19 inches with full cargo)
  • Cargo capacity: Up to about 60–100 tons (it could also tow barges carrying additional tonnage)
  • Type: Stern-wheel paddle steamer with a powerful engine suited to pushing heavy loads against strong currents

It was specifically designed to replace Johnson’s earlier side-wheeler General Jesup and to handle the Colorado’s difficult conditions—shifting sandbars, snags, shallow water (especially in low-water seasons), and strong currents. The stern-wheel configuration and shallow draft made it far better suited to these conditions than earlier side-wheel vessels.

The boat was disassembled in San Francisco, shipped to the mouth of the Colorado River, transferred to another vessel, and taken upriver to Gridiron Landing in Sonora, Mexico, where it was reassembled and launched in August 1859.

Role on the Colorado River

Operated by George A. Johnson & Company (later associated with the Colorado Steam Navigation Company), the Cocopah I played a central role in the commercial and military development of the lower and middle Colorado River corridor during the late 1850s and 1860s.

It ran routes primarily from the river’s mouth/Gulf of California area (and later the safer Port Isabel Slough) northward. Key destinations included Fort Yuma (about 120 miles upriver), La Paz/Ehrenberg area mining districts, Fort Mohave/Hardyville (roughly 300 miles), and occasionally farther during high water (toward Eldorado Canyon or similar points). Wood yards along the river, often staffed by Cocopah laborers cutting cottonwood and mesquite, supplied fuel.

Captain David C. Robinson (a longtime Johnson employee who had previously commanded the exploratory steamer Explorer far upriver) was its primary early captain.

The vessel transported freight, passengers, mining equipment, provisions, and military supplies. It supported:

  • U.S. Army posts (notably Fort Yuma and the newly established Fort Mohave after the 1858–1859 Mohave War)
  • Early gold and silver mining booms along the river
  • Settlement and commerce in what became Arizona Territory and adjacent areas

One of its early major tasks involved supporting military logistics connected with Fort Mohave (established 1859). Steamers including the Cocopah helped move troops, artillery, and supplies upriver when overland routes proved difficult. Freight rates by steamer were dramatically lower than overland teamster rates, helping open the region economically.

The Cocopah I exemplified the shift to larger, more capable stern-wheelers that made regular commercial navigation practical on the challenging Colorado.

Ultimate Fate

The Cocopah I remained in service until 1867. By then it had seen heavy use; accounts note boiler repairs and eventual condemnation as unseaworthy. Its boiler and engine were removed, and the hull was hauled ashore at Port Isabel, Sonora (the company’s port and shipyard settlement near the river mouth). There it was converted into housing for workmen.

It was replaced by the larger Cocopah II (launched 1867 at Arizona City), which continued in the fleet for more than a decade until railroad competition (especially the Southern Pacific bridge at Yuma) ended the main era of Colorado River steamboating.

The Cocopah I is remembered as a pioneering large stern-wheeler that helped establish reliable steam navigation on the Colorado and supported the military, mining, and settlement expansion of the desert Southwest in the mid-19th century. Primary sources for these details include Richard E. Lingenfelter’s Steamboats on the Colorado River, 1852–1916 and National Park Service historical summaries.