mount st. helens

Those were the words of one Harry Truman (no relation to that Harry S Truman) in the days prior to the eruption. Truman had a lodge on the side of Spirit Lake, in the shadow of Mount St. Helens. He lived there with twenty-some cats, and I guess being almost ninety years of age he was just too stubborn to listen to geologists who were screaming at him to get out of the area. That giant building bulge on the north slope of the mountain didn’t seem to impress.

A few days later, an earthquake triggered the lateral blast on the north flank. The entire top of the mountain and the north slope were blown away. Harry Truman and his cats are now somewhere 300 feet beneath ash and rock that eventually formed a new Spirit Lake. In all the eruption killed 57 people, including volcanologist David Johnston. His camp ...

Those were the words of one Harry R. Truman. He also assured reporters and visitors to his lodge that “No one knows this mountain better than me.”

The 83 year-old Harry Truman was speaking of Mount St. Helens in the state of Washington: the mountain on which he lived along with his 16 cats. For two months the long-quiet volcano had slowly been stirring in activity. Geologists became alarmed by the increasing swarms of small quakes and the appearance of a bulge on St. Helens’ north side: indication that lava was building up beneath. Many tried to convince him to leave, but Harry Truman refused to go. It was nothing to worry about, he swore up and down.

A few days later, at 8:32 a.m. on the morning of May 18th 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted. It was one of the most violent geological events in modern history. ...

“This mountain don’t dare blow up on old Harry!”

“This god-damned mountain doesn’t dare do anything to Harry.”