Natural Wonders of the West (1938)

James A. FitzPatrick: Self - Narrator

Quotes 

• [first lines] 

  James A. FitzPatrick : In the western part of the United States, there is a vast area of uncultivated land embracing, in particular, the states of Arizona, Wyoming, Utah and South Dakota, which was originally referred to by the native Indians and early white pioneers as the Badlands of the West. But today, this very colorful expanse of scenic grandeur is being converted into gigantic national parks, abounding in natural wonders which attract visitors from all parts of the world.

• James A. FitzPatrick : When Mr. Borglum was told the granite in which he was carving his masterpiece would erode at the rate of one inch every hundred thousand years, he patriotically added another twelve inches to the nose of Washington, thereby perpetuating that famous nose for an additional twelve hundred thousand years.

• James A. FitzPatrick : The native Indians made it a rule never to be caught in the canyons after dark, for they believed them to be haunted by the demons of the night. But to modern men, this divine spectacle is a revelation of the colossal forces of Mother Nature, who for her own purpose broods and rears and elevates - and also for her own purpose, levels, sweeps away and destroys.

• [last lines] 

  James A. FitzPatrick : In the centuries to come, many changes will affect the evolution of mankind, and the maps of the earth will be subjected to many variations - but here upon Mount Rushmore, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, will remain a monument defying the ramifications of time, commemorating for a million years or more the memory of four great Americans who helped to establish one of the greatest republics ever inaugurated in the history of mankind.