Melissa L. Sevigny

Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter were botanists, which was allowable for women in the 1930s, though they were generally discouraged from more than leisurely walks in the fields. Both where well-educated: Clover was a professor at the University of Michigan with a specialization in cacti, while Jotter was a graduate student whom Clover mentored. In 1938, these two women went on a trip down the formidable Colorado River, to collect plants and learn about the plants in and around the Grand show more Canyon.

Sevigny's account of the trip is fascinating, as much about the river itself as about the Nevills Expedition - the one Clover and Jotter were on with Norm Nevills and a few others with disparate goals for the trip. Including stories of other expeditions and giving enough history and science for lay readers to appreciate the importance of the trip, Sevigny grounds the story in its time and place, letting us see the challenges of women in their field - many thought they shouldn't be on such a dangerous river at all, and when newspapers covered it, they sensationalized and often glossed over or didn't mention that the women were scientists. National parks' complicated history and ignoring of Indigenous peoples' knowledge (indeed, often moving tribes off the land to make the park) add to the details of the history. Sevigny also does a great job of balancing the science as known then versus now, detailing the changes in understanding of ecology through the changes in the river, as dams were added after the 1938 expedition. A compelling story about people that deserve to be remembered for their scientific contributions. show less

Very entertaining and informative recount of the botanical expedition by river raft in 1930s, a time when "women don't do such things". A woman botanist and a grad student have a chance to join an expedition down the Grand Canyon during a time when there are efforts afoot to dam the river, and it is a time when scientists are expanding ideas of evolution and ecosystems. They jump at the chance.
Sevigny uses descriptions that come alive. Describing Ocotillo, "green leaves erupted", "a spray show more of red flowers exploded", "lose precious water every time the pores open...sucking in carbon dioxide to transform into sugars" (p 191). "Every algae-slicked pool hummed with an uncanny chorus...chorus which rose, claiming sand, water, and stone. Nothing here belonged to humans, not now." (p.112). "Inside the rock, pressed thin as paper, tiny fish were forever frozen midswim" (p.135)
The botanists left journals and diaries which gave a personal perspective to their experience, and the author wrote vividly, filling in descriptions of what they were seeing and the interactions among the crew members. As women, it was 'naturally' assumed that they would do all the cooking. As women, they were often frustrated by not being allowed to run the wilder rapids, as they were assigned to walk the river edge (when there was one!).
Sevigny gives us a perspective which these botanists did not have in her inclusion of native people's use of the area; e.g. the Hualapai planted & tended a particularly large sweet species of Agave (p.144); when they were barred from their traditional wintering grounds they began planting Cottonwoods in order to have firewood (p.194). People called the Grand Canyon "pristine...ignoring centuries of stewardship by Native Americans" (p.172-3). She also comments on use of the canyon and river by other people of color; the park was segregated (p.157) and there is no record of Black people living in Boulder City despite it having been constructed to house the dam workers (some of whom were Black) (p.210).
Yes, there is some description of the plants (and their latin names), but Sevigny researched widely and brings in related items from previous trips down the river (by whites), American politics, geology, management of the National Park, and an introduction to the development of botany as a science. I never knew that Linnaeus classified plants by counting their stamens & pistils (now science is using evolutionary relationships based on DNA to reclassify them). It was up to Asa Gray, a confidant of Darwin in the 1850s, to develop a taxonomy based on the whole plant structure, even tho that required more specialized training.
The book contains a lengthy list of sources, including oral interviews and archived films. show less

In 1938 few explorers had attempted to float the length of the Grand Canyon. Parts of it were regarded as unfloatable – those attempting to do so had lost expedition members or mysteriously disappeared.
Enter Elzada Clover. Although botany was considered a pretty and popular hobby for well bred young ladies, Clover had pushed all reasonable boundaries by earning a degree in botany and becoming a professor at the University of Michigan, specializing in American cacti.

She determined that she show more wanted to put together an expedition mapping the native plants, especially the cacti of the Grand Canyon, especially useful as the recently completed Hoover dam was filling the westernmost part of the canyon with Lake Mead, permanently changing the plant life in the area forever.

There were many obstacles to putting together such an expedition – the first being that although she was a professor at the University of Michigan, she had to obtain permission from her father. Next came the thorny hurdle of funding, which after monumental efforts she received from a private source. She had previously met an adventurer and river man Norman Neville, who agreed to hand build three wooden cataract boats for the trip and would be the expedition’s outfitter.

Clover would be joined by Lois Jotter Cutter a graduate student in botany; there was also a male scientist with an interest in collecting animal specimens.

The press framed the expedition as a stunt by women. Although there was ever increasing coverage of the expedition, the focus was on the absurdity of two women undertaking the float and whether it was possible for them to survive the trip. The trip became known as the ‘Neville Expedition’ after the name of the outfitter and did not reflect that Clover had organized it, financed it and made significant scientific discoveries.

Clover and Cutter collected and described the flora of the canyon, including identifying new species of cacti and identifying areas where indigenous peoples had brought in plants non-native to the area. At the same time, the two women handled all the cooking and other camp chores while the men of the expedition took their ease around camp.

This book reads like an adventure story – showcasing the disregard the public felt for women scientists while describing the beauty of the Canyons and Clover and Cutter’s significant contributions to the understanding of the ecosystems (itself a new concept) of the Grand Canyon.

Highly recommended for those who love the Grand Canyon, tales of adventure and the pioneering efforts of women scientists. show less

In the early 20th century, men dominated the field of botany, not much different from most sciences at that time. In 1938, botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter decided to navigate the Colorado River, mapping the plants of the Grand Canyon, determined to be the first to do so. An exciting, informative tale, told through letters and journals the two women kept.