Original subtitles

Patrick! What?

Where's Whitaker? I got the papers for him.

You're just supposed to be headed back to the air.

That did it. Looking good.

It's good. Uh -huh.

I don't know, man, except for a minute there, I was back in there pissing in my

pants. What you talking about?

Something hit me four, maybe five times. Take a look for yourself.

Incoming from nowhere.

Looks like quail.

Quail?

There's not a man alive who doesn't want to keep it just that way.

Because most folks take no pride in what they've done up through today.

While others find the reason is the effort that they've made.

But maybe that's why leaving ain't so hard.

You can't win if you don't play the game.

And nobody hears you talking when you don't have nothing to say. Sometimes

losing ain't losing after all.

Sometimes a climb is worth falling.

I just don't believe it.

on to the lake.

This likes to play with his horn, that's all.

What the hell does he know?

I had a 14 -pounder on the end of my line.

All that noise, you made, drove off. Why didn't you just drive the goddamn jeep

out in the middle of the lake? No, no, I'm sorry. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You think you can come up here to shoot some tourists, Wayne?

I know where there's a couple that'll dress out to around 200 apiece.

You know those tourists, Harry? Can't live with them, can't live without them.

Bullshit, I can live without them.

Dwayne, look at them tin canners out there.

They got more goddamn equipment than you've ever seen in your life.

They got big gaffing hooks.

They're gonna stab the bastards to death.

Hey!

Still pissing my leg!

Jesus.

I don't know what the world is coming to.

Next thing you know, they'll be using radar.

We need some music and a drink.

Maybe Captain Tripper could use a shot, too.

One for me.

You know Otis Cato, that black kid who went off to Vietnam to fly helicopters

for Whitaker sometimes?

Oh, yeah, Otis.

A local hero.

Nice fella.

Got a magic touch with machines.

He sure cured my old caddy there more than once. Well, he was pulling a log

morning over by Dog Creek, and a bunch of quail bashed into him, damn near

knocked him out of the sky.

Oh, sure.

Quail don't give a shit for heroes in helicopters.

He's up around 2, 250 feet.

Kind of high for quail.

That's what I was thinking.

Maybe he was wrong.

Uh -uh. No, sir, I was there. I saw it.

Well, if it did happen, I'm not saying it did, seeing as I wasn't there.

But if it did...

It was most likely deodorants that caused it.

You want to run that by me again, Harry?

You say deodorants?

Dwayne, don't you keep up with science or nothing?

Better take the Reader's Digest like I do.

There was an article in there a while back explaining how them spray things,

know, that you fire at your armpits, got some sort of shit in them, it goes way

up in the ion, ionus, something or other.

Heats up the atmosphere.

Too much sun gets in.

Throws everything out of kilter.

Yeah, the aerosol cans.

You think that's what it is, huh?

No doubt about it. Some of them killer rays from the sun got in there, drove

quail crazy.

Put that in your report.

It's the 20th century, Duane. You've got to think up some new ideas to expand

the mess things are in.

Well, I'm going fishing.

Frag the quail.

Leave daddy alone.

Hey, Jake!

Take a look at this!

I've never seen anything like that in my life!

Look at him!

Today marks the 139th day of captivity for the 53 American hostages, and

out of Iran suggest there is little hope for their immediate release.

Mount St. Helens, located in southwest Washington, only 45 miles northeast of

the Portland, Vancouver area, may be sending out signals of her own after 123

years of inactivity.

Earthquakes have been increasing in the area since yesterday when the mountain

was rocked by a quake registering 4 .1 on the Richter scale.

The U .S. Geological Survey in Boulder, Colorado announced today that one of its

scientists, David Jackson, has been sent to the St. Helens area to investigate

the continuing seismic activity.

You David Jackson?

She's as beautiful as her sister.

What are you talking about, sister?

I'm Fuji.

Uh, how old are you?

I get it. You were expecting someone older with gray hair, glasses, a pipe.

Not exactly, but I thought you'd be more... Listen, I don't know what your

schedule is, Sheriff, but I've got a lot of work to do.

You think we'll be able to get my gear into your rig?

Yeah, I think we can handle that.

What the hell are you talking about?

Ever use a dog whistle?

Yeah, when I was a kid. Didn't wait for one, one time.

Well, it's like that.

Any earthquake or volcanic activity is always preceded by a change in the

Earth's electromagnetic field.

The animals feel this change and they become disoriented.

That's why the quail were flying so high.

It's all interconnected.

Mountains, men, volcanoes, everything.

You know, there's a legend here that a long time ago, two Indians got in a

over a squaw.

Got thrown rocks and fire across the Columbia River.

Well, the gods got tired of that. Changed the Indians into mountains.

One of the warriors into Mount Hood.

The other one into Mount Adams.

Well, the squaw, she became Mount St. Helens.

I like that.

So what's your guess about this mountain of ours, Jackson?

I don't have one.

But if she goes, I want to be there.

Hell, Sheriff, relax.

Volcanoes are like people. Every now and then they have to burp. We leave the

pressure.

They burp.

Come on.

It's good on the right frequency.

Got it.

Every frame a masterpiece.

Jackson, you're brilliant.

Sometimes losing ain't losing after all.

Sometimes buying is worth falling here.

Sean's been in Washington a long time.

Okay, this guy goes duck hunting, right? And he brings the ducks home to his

wife.

Hi, sir.

May I sit down?

Go on ahead.

This is my wife, Patty Jean, and friend of ours, Linda Steele.

This is David Jackson, the geology fellow I was telling you about.

Hi.

You comfortable here in the image, Jackson?

Well, it sure beats living in the snow, I'll tell you. Come on, is that what

geologists have to do?

Only the stubborn ones, I'm afraid.

Hey, Cindy, can we have a couple more pictures over here, please?

Have you been around these parts before?

I've done some exploration further south.

Are you from here?

Chicago.

Washed up here about nine years ago.

No, there's one hiding in here somewhere.

Those things are going to kill you.

I know.

I'll quit tomorrow.

I'll get him.

Where's the machine?

It's back there.

You didn't tell me. He's cute.

Well, I didn't think he was.

Well, don't you think he's cute, Linda? Yeah.

A little too serious for me, though.

But he does have sexy green eyes.

Well, you girls feel free to talk dirty while I'm gone because I don't want to

hear when I come back.

You boys don't care what kind of scum you hang out with, do you?

This guy dropping the logs on you yet?

Ah, well, it don't matter. He ain't going to be around them as long anyway.

Look, you keep messing with me and I'm going to kick your butt so far between

your shoulder blades you're going to have to stand on your head to go to the

john.

I'm at you.

I understand you're going to be doing some work on the mountain. That's right.

My name's Clyde Whitaker. I own this inn and a half a dozen logging operations

in the area.

What kind of work do you think you're going to be doing?

Just setting up some instruments to record the amount of volcanic activity

the area.

Volcanic activity?

Yeah. Hell, I've lived around these parts all my life.

We've never had anything like that. I guess that's what we'll find out then.

Now, just hold on.

It's just that it's such a sensitive issue.

I mean, there's an awful lot of tourism in these parts.

How many people do you think are going to want to pitch their tents on a

volcano?

Only take one wrong word and this place is going to turn into a ghost town.

Mister, either you have a live volcano or you have a dead one.

But you're not going to find out quick by keeping your eye on the cash

Old Clyde don't like to listen to that kind of talk.

I never knew an old Clyde who did.

Want to dance?

Sure.

This guy's talking about volcanoes.

So I'll believe in peace with me. I'd hate to do eternity in the hell I've

known.

Because I ain't much for misery.

But you don't take me seriously.

It sure gets old.

One man's heaven is another man's hell. Takes me a while. Let's go home, honey.

I'm a little drunk. But you might as well go with me. That man's heaven is

hell.

I wouldn't want to break a local custom.

Where the hell is the goddamn water?

Place is shut to hell.

How you doing in there, duck?

Warming up?

Looks a little black around the wings.

Let's see what Edie says about a duck being black around the wings.

Base duck every 20 minutes in cherry sauce.

Cherry sauce.

Damn it, Edie. How am I going to base the duck in cherry sauce? I'm all out of

cherry sauce.

Looks like I've got to make a load of sauce.

If I had some cherries, I could make a load of sauce.

What are you going to do?

The least you could do is set the table.

So how about you? Any loves in your life?

I'm afraid I've been accused of only relating to mountains.

Well, my marriage only lasted a couple of weeks.

I thought it was going to last forever, but the guy left and I never saw him

again.

Then a month later, I found out I was pregnant.

Boy or girl?

Boy.

You know, sometimes you do the right thing even when you're crazy. I saw this

picture of this beautiful mountain that looked so cool and far away.

I just packed up my bags and left.

Chad was born here.

At least that's one thing I never regretted doing.

You're right.

Mountain country's a great place to raise kids.

Yeah, it sure is.

Would you like some coffee?

Thanks, Jenny. I'll call you in the morning about tomorrow.

Okay, bye, Chad.

I'm going to make some coffee, Chad, and you're going to go to bed.

Oh, Mom, let me finish the program.

See those lizards, Chad?

They're the only lizards in the world that can swim.

How do you know?

Because that's the Galapagos Islands and I've been there.

They have giant turtles there, too.

I know. I rode one once.

He didn't like it much.

Gee, I'd like to go there someday.

Go to bed, Chad.

Oh, Mom.

Move it.

Now.

Night, Mom.

Good night, Chad. Night, David.

Don't forget to brush your teeth.

Those turtles live to be 100 years old.

Nice kid.

Yeah I know.

Why don't we take him now?

Shut up, Curie. This is my party. He's going to pay for dropping that log.

like as good a place as any.

You take the passenger side.

I'm really going to enjoy this.

He won't drop any more logs.

Where is that chopper, Doc?

Well, I guess I'll just have to bust up his gall dang car then.

How's that?

The place you could have gone is up there.

All right, you go over that way.

You go down there.

We'll get that apple mucker.

George, right here. Come on.

This is private business.

Get out of here.

David Jackson.

You do this sort of thing every morning?

Only on Tuesday and Thursday.

Monday and Wednesday I go to the gym.

What the hell was that?

A 4 .5 on the Richter scale.

Five, maybe.

Six miles away.

Felt like it was right here to me.

Yeah.

Hey, you're a volcano dude, ain't you?

Yeah.

Tell me something, man. Is that thing gonna blow?

Huh? I don't know for sure, but she's sure trying to tell us something.

We've been recording oscillations all morning.

Minor quakes, 4 .5.

No. No harmonic tremors at present, but these quakes are continuous.

Well, it may look like that from Boulder, Lloyd, but not from here. We've

had an avalanche on the north face.

I would recommend that you call the governor in preparation to be made for a

possible evacuation.

I said possible evacuation, Lloyd, for Christ's sake.

Give me a break.

Yeah, Lloyd.

Great.

No, I don't want to unduly alarm anyone either.

Sheriff's right here.

He'll take care of the local level.

I'll keep you posted.

I don't understand it. One minute you arrive, you're talking about volcanoes

burping. The next minute, you're planning an evacuation.

Now, what the hell is going on?

I'm not planning an evacuation. I just want to be prepared.

That's all.

What is it you wanted me to do?

Is there anybody who can provide us with accurate information as to who's

working, living, vacationing in this area in case they have to be evacuated?

Yeah, Harry Truman knows that. He knows everything, but he's not the easiest guy

in the world to talk to. I don't care about that. Can you get us together with

him? Yeah, sure.

Now, listen, Jackson, I don't know about Richter scales or harmonic trimmers,

but I've lived here all my life, and I know these people.

You can't shove them around like pieces on a checkerboard without giving them

good reason. Now, is that goddamn mountain going to blow or not?

In 1883, there was a volcano in the Pacific called Krakatoa.

It exploded.

They heard the noise 2 ,000 miles away.

33 ,000 people died.

That's what a volcano does.

You can worship them or you can get the hell out of their way.

But you'd better not ignore them.

You see, St. Helens is just one of a great circle of

volcanoes that go all the way around the Pacific Ocean.

David, do you ever think about anything besides volcanoes?

Have you ever seen The Wizard of Oz?

Yes. One of the first movies I ever saw.

I think I was about six.

I was fascinated by the tornado.

Do you remember it?

Yeah, it scared me.

I'm frightened of a thunderstorm.

I kept dreaming that the tornado was coming after me.

It was going to take me up inside where everything was swirling.

And I'd go higher and higher until finally I could see right down inside.

Right into its eyes.

I'm not so sure I'd like you to do that.

That your friggin' truck?

Yeah, that's my truck. Why?

What you doing out in the middle of the road blocking traffic?

What traffic?

Me, asshole. I'm the traffic. Now move your damn truck.

Now you got enough room?

No, I ain't got enough room.

This is a big car.

Now you gotta move your truck.

What do you mean I gotta move my truck? Any idiot could drive through there.

Listen, you happy prick.

What are you, an idiot who parked his truck in the middle of the road?

What are you, on drugs or something?

Now move your truck or I'll run you down.

Jesus Christ.

Muriatric idiot.

You little fool.

Where's that son of yours? He's fine.

Tell him I'm going to come by one of these days and take a picture.

All right.

You with him?

Uh -huh.

He's gone too far over.

He's going to have to get some wood or something put under that back wheel if

wants to get any traction.

Who the hell was that?

That was Harry Truman, kiddo.

At 1236 this afternoon, Mount St. Helens became the first active volcano on the

North American continent in over 60 years. In southern Washington, residents

were startled by the force of the window -rattling blast, and in Portland,

people witnessed a spectacular view of the eruption.

A deep crater, 1 ,000 yards long, 120 yards wide, and 50 feet deep, was ripped

out of the north face of the summit.

Washington state authorities report that the explosion has caused a massive

traffic jam.

on the major highways in southeastern Washington as people try to get a good

view of the volcano.

And Lloyd Wagner, head of the U .S. Geological Survey on his way to the

mountain, says today enough sophisticated equipment now is in place

adequate warnings of any major eruption.

You say something to me on the phone about law enforcement authorities taking

care of things?

I didn't pass a single cop on the way up here.

Every friggin' highway north from Vancouver is clogged with traffic.

What in the hell do those stupid bumpkins think they're gonna see anyway?

Nice to see you too, Lloyd.

Don't you get smart with me, Jackson.

Every time you show up someplace, there's chaos.

Well, now I'm in charge of monitoring this mountain.

Whether you like it or not, we're going to have some order around here.

You do understand, huh, David?

Oh, yeah, Lloyd.

I've never had any trouble understanding you.

Lloyd.

Don't go up empty -handed.

Sir, can you please?

Sir, one second.

Think there's more like him out there, Harry?

Oh, sure.

Maybe not as big.

Grab the pole.

Come on, son.

I've got something to show you.

Start her up.

That's good.

Now release the brake.

Okay. Now put her in drive.

Okay, go.

Go for big, Harry.

Never mind big. Just steer it.

Does she go fast?

Like the wind.

Me and the wife used to drive her 100 miles an hour every night.

All right, take it easy.

Easy. All right. Go for crasher, Harry.

If you crash here, I'll feed you to my dog. Take her a couple of days to finish

you up. All right, hold it!

Do you ever ride a turtle, Harry?

Can't say as I have.

Well, they live on the Galapagos Islands.

That's funny. I don't get over that way like I used to.

Turtles, huh?

I got something for you.

Not a turtle, mind you.

Don't dive off.

I don't know. He's your puppy.

Well, maybe I could call him Harry.

Yeah, you could do that.

Captain George Vancouver saw this peak as he sailed his ship up the Columbia

River on May 19th, 1792.

He named it Mount St. Helens. Excuse me, would you mind not going quite so fast?

Sure, man, sure.

He named it Mount St.

Helens in honor of the British ambassador to Spain.

The volcano last erupted 123 years ago, but nobody was there to see it like you

gentlemen are seeing it right now.

And so we say goodbye to beautiful Mount St. Helens.

Hey,

wait a moment. Where are we going?

Hooper, man, I got to get back.

Hey, I'm not through taking pictures. I want to go around again.

No, I can't do it, lady.

I got close to 40 people I gotta get up here by sundown.

What a rip -off! You're making 500 bucks a flight! Well, back up. You ain't

being ripped off.

You get a volcano to blow up in your backyard, you take me up in your

helicopter.

Business is business.

See where I'm coming from, Gage?

They seem to be acting up today.

I wonder what the heck's the matter with them.

Let's go feed the chickens.

Back in there, there's three farms.

You can't get in there directly. You've got to go way around. Take this logging

road that comes in from the northwest. That's open.

Of course, you've got to drive very careful not to lose your temper.

You had more than enough room to drive around, and you know it.

Ooh, kind of touchy, ain't it, Dwayne? The scientist fellow here.

Now, what about the Duck Bay area?

Oh, there's just some gypo loggers in there.

What's that?

Independent. Whitaker's got a bunch of crews up there.

And there's a bunch of tin canners.

Tin canners. Tin canners.

Foreigners like yourself.

Dropping tin cans and plastic bags all over the place that I gotta pick up.

Who else?

Hunters?

Good health country in there.

All told, there must be a hundred heads scattered around.

Now then.

You just gonna tell all them folks to...

Pack up and move on.

I'll handle that, Harry.

Oh, hell no, Dwayne. Let me do it.

Nothing I like better than to tell somebody to get their ass or their truck

of the way.

I said I'll take care of it, Harry.

I really appreciate this, Harry.

You do, huh?

Want to give me cash or write me a check?

William O. Douglas, Supreme Court Justice.

By God, you're right. That is William O. Douglas.

You recognize the weird -looking geezer with him?

Do you know Douglas?

Oh, sure.

He's a good friend of mine.

We even went on a five -day pack trip together.

Don't forget, I got so goddamn drunk, I fell in the fire and burned my ass.

Wasn't that funny, Dwight.

My ass was on fire.

Don't forget the sight of Douglas running through the trees trying to pour

on my ass.

Then about six weeks later, when he got back to Washington, he sent me a

picture, you know, all dressed up in his Supreme Court outfit.

On the bottom of the picture, he wrote, Take it easy, Harry. You won't always

have William O. Douglas to watch out for your ass.

All right, tell me, Professor Wizard, are we gonna all get blowed to hell or

what? I don't know for sure.

You're gonna have to come down off the mountain too, Harry.

Bullshit. Who told you that?

No friggin' way.

We've got the cougar at large. Here comes the national guard.

We've got kids with balloons.

It looks like this.

We can't handle this by ourselves.

Everybody's got to get shot.

I'm sorry, but this order's wrong. You want some over -easy. Give it to

else. I can't do that. Can you please just do them over -easy?

No, Jim, and I'm busy.

A customer's waiting. Pick this up, will you? If you pick this up yourself,

you're about to have it. Just take it easy. No, no, no. You take it easy. You

try ringing on 25 tables at a time and being felt up by every guy out there

three beers in him.

25 -cent chips, $1 .50 an hour, 20 minutes for life, and still it won't be

bad because you won't have to work for shithead Clive Whitaker. So you can take

your $4 volcano burgers and shove them because I quit.

Oh, yeah?

You're fired!

I usually don't lose my temper like that, but everything's been so crazy.

I've never seen so many people in my life, and everybody wants something, and

want it right now. No.

I thought you were going to flatten it.

I did come unglued in there, didn't I?

It really drives me to lose control like that. I hate it. I can't stand it.

Are you all right?

Will you come home with me?

I want you to come home with me.

Make sure Highway 607 is all clear. We should be out of here in 20, 30 minutes.

Hey, you guys, get that vehicle out of there. Get that jeep going.

Hello,

Nick. Who the hell are you? I'm going to use your bathroom.

That's an official sign. I don't want anybody on my porch.

That includes those steps.

Want to go to the john?

You got to get in line.

That's ridiculous.

It ain't as ridiculous as what I'm looking at. You should have better

for your visitors. These are totally inadequate.

If they feel that way about it, you can head out into the trees and point your

ass as you please.

It'll bring out the bear in you.

I hope he's got him.

Matt, how long are we going to have to stay away?

I don't know.

But we'll have to be back in a week or the animals will die.

Oh, boy.

Now what?

Okay. Here you are, sir. What is this? Wait a minute. What is this?

It's instructions for evacuation, sir. In case of volcanic eruption, move away

from the explosion, not towards it. What a pretty young piece of advice.

presumably some young sociologist has been given a tremendous amount of money

come up with this idea.

What did you write?

No, sir, I didn't write it. Victor, can this man do something to help us or not?

Will you hold your tongue or I'll cut it out and send it to your mother.

Excuse me.

Take it easy.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, darling.

mm -hmm

I'm going home, and all this shit ain't gonna stop me. You're not going anywhere

except back where you came from. Look, I don't know who gave you a license to

drive this thing, but if you're not careful, mister, I'm gonna have you

out of here.

Who the hell are you?

Lloyd Wagner, chief of operations of the USGS.

Where you from, fella?

Minneapolis. Well, let me tell you something, Mr. Lloyd Wagner.

In Skamania County, we got three chiefs, and I'm two of them. Now, get the hell

out of my way. I want to go home.

It's for your own good.

I mean, we can't be irresponsible.

Don't shit me, buddy. I got a turd in every pocket.

How's it feel to be interviewed almost every day, Harry?

Well, I'll tell you something.

I do like talking to you people better when you're not sticking things in my

face.

Oh, come on, Harry. Who do you think you're fooling? You know you love the

attention. The whole world's watching you.

Don't mean shit to me.

No, seriously, I'll tell you something.

You can sit out here sometimes in the middle of the afternoon.

It's so peaceful and quiet.

You can hear chainsaws 50 miles away, clear as a bell.

And sometimes the wind starts blowing up at the top of the trees.

It comes in gusts.

You can hear it coming.

And all of a sudden, it's right over you.

And then, It's gone.

Don't you ever get lonely, Harry?

Yeah, I did for a bit, I think.

After Edie died.

But it's better to be lonely up here.

I tell you that. I've been in cities. I've seen that rat race.

You stay up here a while, then you lay eyes on a city. You wonder how we

survived this long.

Yes, sir. This country was founded by people too stubborn to do...

Exactly what some crazy king told him.

No offense intended.

I'm taking, Harry.

Yeah, we're the only country in the world that's got a constitution that

have every right to do what we want to do.

Used to be people were proud to say they're Americans.

That's right.

families when they have to stop working. Well, how are they going to support

their families if the volcano erupts and they're killed? That is panic talk.

Nobody's going to be killed.

You're going to have to stop working. Your men are going to have to move out

the red zone.

You can close down and move out voluntarily, or the National Guard will

for you. I think you better get out of here. Think about it, Whitaker.

One way or the other.

All right, what do you say? Let's get back to work.

Colonel, there's someone coming up to see you. They just let him through the

barrier.

Dr. Lucius Rome Ranton, founder and pastor of the Holy Church of the Dark

Raleigh, North Carolina.

I understand the great god Vulcan has chosen to make his appearance in this

of the world.

Am I correct, gentlemen?

Gentlemen, there is a volcano in the area of Mount St. Helens, I believe.

Yes, that's right.

Well, I believe I've found a way to appease the great god Vulcan.

Are you going to do that?

Colonel.

You will be our holy escort to the top of the mountain.

Now, you will escort Pamela and myself. She's 15 years old and a virgin.

After a brief ceremony at the top of that fiery inferno, she will hurl

into the jaws of that treacherous, teething fire and thereby appease the

god Vulcan. The mountain will not erupt and your people will be saved.

What do you feel about this, Pamela?

Whatever the doctor says.

Well, Doctor, I don't want you to think that we're not great for you coming all

the way from Raleigh and all, but we'd like to try a couple of other things

first. Maybe we could hold you in reserve.

And if we do get to sacrificing, I think we'd like to use a local girl.

Don't say I never gave you a chance.

Don't even know if she'll be a virgin tomorrow.

All right, I'll buy another volcano for you.

Oh, yeah. How many?

Seven. Seven.

Seven.

Sorry about you and Whitaker, hon.

Oh, well, it's no big deal. It's not the end of the world.

I didn't expect you to come back here.

There's no other place in Cougar to go.

Hey, look, it's Harry.

What's safe today?

Well, reports from the U .S. Geological Survey indicate that... Listen, I ain't

coming down off this mountain. I don't give a damn what anybody says.

The governor, the president of the United States, even the king of England.

matter of fact, Harry, we have a queen at the moment.

That's your problem.

You have to keep sticking that thing up my nose. You see the expression on that

reporter's face? So you're saying that people should decide for themselves.

I'm saying what I said, but I ain't saying it again.

This is Gary St.

Clair. I can't believe they put that on television.

Don't they realize?

People see that and they say, right on, Harry. You tell them, Harry. We won't

come off the mountain either.

God damn it, they have no idea what they're dealing with.

Relax.

It's okay.

Read the other part.

A state of emergency was declared in Washington today as smoke and ash

to spew from Mount St. Helens.

By order of the governor, a red zone and a blue zone have been created in the

area around the mountain, which scientists feel is in the most immediate

In the small town of Cougar, 12 miles to the south, it has been closed by the

National Guard roadblocks to all but residents.

Merchants and shopkeepers protested the action, which sent a booming volcano

business plummeting when the town was cut off.

Well, despite this action, the U .S. Geological Survey and the U .S. Forest

Service issued a joint statement today that, quote,

that a major eruption of molten rock will occur at any time in the near

unquote.

You're the one that put these barriers here. On whose authority?

On the authority of the governor of the state of Washington.

You've cut me off, damn it!

Look at all those people. You've cut them off. You've cut off Cougar. There

isn't a tourist within a thousand miles, right? Like you said, who'd want to

pitch his tent on the side of a volcano?

I want these barriers moved now.

Can't do that.

By the way, I understand you're logging up the north fork of the Toodle.

That crew will be moved out by me within 24 hours. We'll see about that.

If nobody can get in this town, I can't make any money.

And if this keeps up, I'll be bankrupt in two months.

All right, all right, sit her down. Quiet down. As you know, there is a

as to where the barriers are placed in this area.

Now, I talked to the governor's office today. We came to an agreement.

The governor has delegated the authority to Mr.

Lloyd Wagner to determine where the barriers are to be placed.

Mr. Wagner has determined that Cougar should be open to tourists again.

Hold on, will you? Just hold your horses. I also talked to the Attorney

General today.

What I'm saying is all the residents, all the workers in this area,

you can go into the red zone.

provided you sign a simple little legal waiver which absolves the state of any

responsibilities. So we're in business!

Now, wait a minute! Wait a minute!

Before you sign those waivers, I think you have a right to know... Mr. Jackson,

I'm sure nobody's interested in what you... Whitaker!

You've been yakking all day long. Let him talk.

I want to hear what he has to say.

I don't think you have any idea what you're getting these people into.

Mr. Wagner knows.

Do you know what would happen if Mount St. Helens had a major eruption and you

were standing anywhere near it?

You'd melt.

You'd liquefy.

In the blink of an eye, 1600 degrees Fahrenheit.

That fast.

No hair.

No eyes.

No flesh.

You're a puddle.

Now let's say you're standing five or six miles away from it.

You think you're going to be any safer there?

You'll be just as dead.

Only it'll be slower.

First the sky will go black.

You'll start to gag, choke.

Because there's so much boiling ash in the area, it burns out your lungs.

Don't worry about the logging. There won't be any.

Trees will be flattened for miles, laid out like toothpicks.

Fried in heat.

The fish at Spirit Lake will be boiled alive in the water they're swimming in.

You'll never see them again in your lifetime.

You won't even want to look at this land.

It'll be worse than the surface of the moon.

Don't worry.

You sign these waivers.

You go back to your homes and your jobs because chances are you won't be around

to see anything anyway.

You have no right to talk to these people.

You're responsible.

Way out of line.

Ladies and gentlemen, you're absolutely...

No conclusive proof that there will be a major eruption, no matter what Mr.

Jackson has to say about it.

Is there, David?

No, Lloyd.

Not yet, there isn't.

Since there is no definite proof, I think we can trust Mr.

Wagner's assessment and let calmer heads prevail.

I have waivers for everyone to sign, so come on up here and let's sign these

things. Harry,

I have a special one just for you.

I don't have to sign that. Now wait a minute, I thought you were staying.

You look at too much TV, Clyde.

How you doing there, Professor Wizard?

Not too good, Harry.

Don't worry about it.

I like your feet.

You are now getting something to think about.

You melt, huh?

That's right, Harry. That's what happens.

No shit.

Hell of a way to go.

Wasn't very successful, was it? You told him the truth.

You put yourself on the line and you told him exactly how it was.

Well, that was wonderful.

Oh, you don't really love me.

You're just overwhelmed by my fantastic ability to get large groups of people to

follow my advice.

Don't joke.

You affected some people in there today. You affected me the very first time I

laid my eyes on you. Just let me finish.

You know that before I met you, I didn't think I ever wanted to be with a man

again.

I just want to go someplace quiet and work and raise cats.

But I don't feel that way anymore.

I want you to know that.

Now, as you can see from these photographs, there's a bulge which has

on the north face of the mountain.

It's the most serious potential hazard that we've encountered so far.

Our primary concern is that this bulge will overextend itself and shear off

during an earthquake.

And as you know, we've been averaging 33 earthquakes a day for the last week and

a half.

Excuse me, Mr. Wagner, but wouldn't a bulge expanding at such a rapid rate

suggest that there's going to be an eruption?

Well, it could be molten rock pushing up inside the cone of the crater.

And if that was the case, then the answer to your question would be yes.

However, it is my opinion that it's insignificant.

It's strictly a gravity anomaly. Gravity what? I have some photographs here

taken by NASA.

They show where the mountain is hot.

So far, we don't have any conclusive data. Is there any way to find out if

there's going to be an eruption?

Short of going down inside the volcano's crater and taking samples, no.

And I don't think anybody's crazy enough to do that.

what in the hell you're doing.

I know what I'm doing. Just fly.

The propulsion thing blows right up our ass.

Just think of it as war on us.

It'll all come back to you.

Biggest gun barrel I ever flew down.

Well, I'll tell you, if she goes off, we won't feel a thing.

Come on to your bows, man. Here we go.

You're looking right down into the center of the earth, Otis.

There.

As close as you can get.

We're evacuating now governor. There's no longer any doubt One of my men went

down inside the crater and took some samples of volcanic gas The presence of

hydrogen sulfide indicates that magma is rising inside the volcano No, no, he's

here with me right now I'll tell him that you're grateful.

Thank you governor What

you did

It was the most unbelievably reckless and irresponsible act that I've

encountered in my whole professional career.

Irresponsible?

This stunt even beats the one you pulled off in Alaska.

You'd have been gone if I hadn't yanked you off that mountain. What about those

barriers you wanted to have moved?

What about those waivers you advised people to sign?

I advise no one to sign anything, David.

Because you've become a politician, Lloyd.

You risk the life of every single person in this community with your goddamn...

crock of shit at that meeting.

You knew the boat was growing five feet a day, but you didn't say anything. So

don't talk to me about irresponsibility.

As far as I'm concerned, I have a chance of a lifetime here to watch a dormant

volcano awaken.

And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

I want to watch it.

All of it.

Because I'm a scientist, Floyd.

I really don't know what you are.

be that time, Harry.

What time is that, Dwayne?

Time to get off this knot before she blows.

Time to move out of here.

Come on, Dwayne. You're getting the sound like the professor.

Besides, you know me better than that.

Doggone it, Harry. You're going to pack up right now. I'm going to throw your

ass in the back of that rig. You got that?

You and who else?

Aw, shucks, Harry. Why don't you come stay with Patty Jean and me, huh?

Until this thing calms down.

You know I can't do that, Dwayne.

I buried my wife and daughter up there.

Besides, I gotta stay here and take care of my dog.

Yeah, I guess you do.

Take care, Harry.

Dwayne.

You know what the problem is.

Like I told you before, it's all those goddamn aerosol cans.

Some of the killer rays from the sun got through, drove everybody crazy for a

while.

Come on, girl.

I want you and me to put on the feedback.

Come on, we're having people food tonight.

Let me give you a hand with that.

Come on, let's take a look at my machine, huh?

You've been wanting to take a ride. Well, you're going to get one this

buddy.

I don't want to go.

I want to stay here with you.

It's not going to be for a week.

Maybe less.

That's right.

Yeah.

Linda, I have a job to do.

And when I finish, I'll come straight to you.

What if something happens? What if you don't come off the map? I would...

Nothing's going to happen.

A long lifeline, remember?

So you take care of your mom, you hear?

And if you really want to ride those turtles, there's nothing stopping you.

All right, Tudors, take care of yourself.

Stay cool, man.

Well, if you were on the mountain and just got blasted and were lucky enough

survive, well, come on in, sit down, and there'll be life.

We'll get blasted on the mountain, blasted on the mountain.

Come on in, sit down, and have a beer.

The way that thing will be blowing, you should go out and get blown away.

Come on in, get blown away right here.

How's it going, Professor?

Don't you have a home to go to?

Nope.

Here, Harry, this is for you.

God bless you.

Nectar of the God.

How'd you know I had a cold?

We'll drink to Edie.

Who's Edie?

Didn't I ever tell you about Edie?

Edie was the most beautiful woman God ever created.

Everybody around here knew Edie.

We had 24 years.

Not bad.

She's the one I bought the pink caddy for.

Got her, she'll let them go away.

Can you imagine?

Some guy offered me seven grand for it after she died.

I ain't never gonna sell it.

Never.

Jesus, I just realized something.

I ain't played the piano for anybody since Edie died.

Did you know I play the bagpipes, Harry?

I haven't got them with you, have you?

No. Good.

I hate the bagpipes.

Sounds like pigs being murdered.

You know, Dave, that mountain's gonna blow its cork anytime.

I know it is.

I think I knew it from the beginning.

How come you can feel it so good and you just got here?

Seems like I've been here a long time.

How come you're staying, knowing what you do?

Same reason you are, Harry.

Not really, Professor.

I'm gonna level with you.

You know, I got an awful lot of fans out there.

I kind of enjoy all the attention I'm getting.

Besides, where would I go anyway?

Come on, Harry.

No, it ain't the same, Dave.

I've been and I've done.

Went to war, lived with a woman.

I've seen a lot of times.

But yours is still ahead of you.

A lot of promise, too.

They're not going to pull me off this goddamn mountain.

This one's mine.

I want to be there.

I can't explain it any better.

To me, the worst thing that could happen would be at

the moment when I felt my life slipping from me, the last thought I'd have

would be

Oh, God, if I'd only done this, if I'd only done that.

I think that's the same no matter how old you get.

Don't you?

Yeah.

But you're going to be dead for a long, long time.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Nobody really knows the answer to that one, do they, Harry?

Maybe we just keep coming back over and over again until we finally get it

right.

Well, it's sure something to sleep on yeah gotta get going

I

Want to take a couple of pictures of the mountain in the morning Dave

You're more than welcome to stay here if you want

Thank you,

I'd like that

You're not supposed to be here at 6, not 20 at 7.

Time is money. You waste any more of either, you're out on your ass. You

understand that?

Go on, get to work.

That'll just make for smoke.

Later.

I'm sober!

I'm sober!

This is it!

towards the light I can see.

I can feel ash now in my eyes.

It's getting very difficult to breathe.

It burns.

At this very moment, I almost can't believe I'm dead.

by the explosion and that David Jackson, the young geologist from Boulder, was

monitoring instruments on the north face of the mountain when it exploded.

me The worst thing that could happen would be At the moment when I felt my

slipping from me The last thought I'd have would be oh god if I'd only done

I'd only done that

You know, you can sit out here sometime in the middle of the afternoon, so

please, quiet.

You can hear chainsaws 50 miles away, clear as a bell.

And sometimes the wind starts blowing up in the tops of the trees.

It comes in gusts.

You can hear it coming.

And all of a sudden, it's right over you.

And then, it's gone.

The eruption of Mount St. Helens was equivalent to the explosive power of 500

atomic bombs.

It was heard over 300 miles away.

More than a cubic mile was instantly blasted from the top of the mountain.

That's over a ton of rock for every person on this earth.

Enough dust and ash to cover all of Manhattan Island to a depth of 400 feet.

The blast flattened 200 square miles of forest.

Over 175 ,000 animals were killed. 59 people are dead.

According to scientists, Mount St. Helens could erupt again at any time.

No matter what he did, he wouldn't go.

Some folks think he's crazy, but how can you blame him?

Because he won't be forced to leave his home.

He said, I've lived up here the best years of my life.

And I can't throw those memories away.

The Lord's been with me So has the mountain We're

settling here So this is where I'll stay

You so...

Here's to you,

Harry Truman.

They can't talk you into moving.

You're not going to leave your mountains all behind.

Here's to you, Harry Truman.

You've shown...

If the mountain goes, so do I.

This is where I live and where I choose to die.

If the mountain goes, by golly, so do I.

This is where I live and where I choose to die.