"Chimney Peak", Mollhausen, H. B.

A great lithograph showing the steamboat, U.S. Explorer, making its way up the Colorado River during the expedition led by Lieutenant Joseph C. Ives in 1857-58. In the1850s the U.S. government was concerned that war could break out between the U.S. and the Mormons, who were establishing an independent state in Utah. They began looking for ways to transport troops and supplies into the area and it was hoped that the Colorado River would provide an easy water route to southern Utah. To determine if this was true, Lt. Ives was chosen to command the Colorado River Exploring Expedition. Ives had a special steamboat built and transported in pieces by ship to the mouth of the Colorado River. The party traveled upstream to find the head of navigation, which they determined to be in Black Canyon, north of the Mojave Villages. While they did not find an easy route into Utah, they were the first white men to reach the bottom of the Grand Canyon by land.

References: Sabin #35308

Condition: A