How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
But even if the preindustrialized Appalachians were only half as wild and dramatic as in the painting of Durand and others like him, they must have been something to behold. (1.10.4)
The truth is that Bryson couldn't be like the explorers of yore even if he wanted to. Putting aside the fact that most of the world has already been discovered at this point, you have to consider how much modernization has transformed the face of the United States. There's still plenty of wilderness to explore, sure, but it's nothing compared to what once was.
Quote #5
When Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark into the wilderness, he confidently expected them to find woolly mammoths and mastodons. (1.10.4)
That's... amazingly awesome. That would be like a president today sending a diplomatic contingency to Mars in the hopes of establishing ties with its alien denizens. Joke aside, this little fun fact shows just how unknown the planet Earth once was.
Quote #6
One of the younger Bartram's expeditions lasted over five years and plunged him so deeply into the woods that he was long given up for lost. (1.10.8)
Here's another fun fact about Mr. Bartram: when he emerged from the Appalachian forest, he was shocked to learn that America had declared its independence from England. For real. This dude might as well have been on the moon for all the difference it would have made.