Jack Sumner

Sepia-tone photograph of a young man sitting on a chair against a plain wall. He has a narrow face and is clean-shaven, and wears a broad-rimmed hat, bow tie, and loose-fitting shirt and pants. He sits leaning back, with his legs pushed out in front of him. His right hand is bandaged, and in his right arm he cradles a large rifle, with its stock near his face and the barrel resting on the floor.
Sumner c. 1860, shortly before enlisting in the Union Army[1]

John Colton Sumner (1840–1907)[2] was an American explorer who took part in the Powell Geographic Expedition of 1869. An experienced marksman and boatman, he was chosen by John Wesley Powell to lead the first boat of the expedition.[2] He eventually had a falling out with Powell over differences in personality, and was troubled through the rest of his life over the disappearance and deaths of three other men in the expedition. His remorse and resentment became so great that, in 1902, he castrated himself.[3][4]

  1. ^ The photograph and its history are described here.
  2. ^ a b Darrah, Chamberlin & Kelly (2009).
  3. ^ Ross (2018), p. 173.
  4. ^ Lago (2017).