Photograph of a pathway on a rocky hillside in the Big Bend area. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "An exploratory group headed by John W. Spencer met in Chihuahua and came into the Big Bend. This was the first of the rush of settlers to come on the Chihuahua Trail" (p. 4).

Photograph of a rocky desert landscape in Big Bend near Marfa, Texas. The landscape has sparse grasses and weeds; two hilltops are visible in the top right corner of the image. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "[John W.] Spencer tried horse and cattle raising, but because of Indians, failed" (p. 4).

Photograph of a windmill on top of a small fort in Big Bend. Various sparse bushes surround it and a rocky hillside is to the right of the fort. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "The presence of a United States Army fort in the Big Bend encouraged more settlers to ranch" (p. 5).

Photograph of Don Milton Faver, wearing a suit, seated next to a child partially visible on the far left. The image accompanied a written speech with the caption: "The first Anglo-American rancher in the Big Bend was Don Milton Faver" (p. 5).

Photograph of the front of the Cibolo ranch home in Presidio, surrounded by desert trees and landscape. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "The first Anglo-American rancher in the Big Bend was Don Milton Faver. He established three ranch headquarters when he came in 1857. His first cattle were Mexican longhorns which he branded with a 'lazy F' on the left hip " (pp. 5-6).

Photograph of three longhorns in Big Bend ranch, standing in a fenced area in front of a desert area with a mountain in the background. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "His [Don Milton Faver's] entire herd of three hundred cattle was run off by the Indians, leaving him with only thirty or forty calves which were in a corral. From this meager beginning, he built a second herd of ten to twenty thousand" (p. 6).

Photograph of a desert landscape in the Big Bend area, including trees and bushes with mountains in the background. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "The Big Bend really began to open up when in 1882 the Southern Pacific Railroad planned to lay rails through Ft. Davis on its way to the ocean. The city fathers didn't want the noise of the trains to disturb their beautiful, quiet town, and the plan was revised so the tracks would be laid twenty-five miles south" (p. 6).

Photograph of a desert landscape in the Big Bend area with a prominent mountain in the center. A dirt road is visible in the foreground as well as an unidentified building. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "The city fathers didn't want the noise of the trains to disturb their beautiful, quiet town, and the plan was revised so the tracks would be laid twenty-five miles south" (p. 6).

Photograph of a grassy, barren Big Bend landscape, with mountains in the far distance. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "The chief engineer gave the honor of naming the newly-created water store to his wife, who was reading a Russian novel" (p. 6).

Photograph of bushes in the Big Bend landscape with a long line of mountains in the background. The image accompanied a written speech with the caption: "J. M. Dean, an attorney from El Paso, bought land around Marfa" (p. 6).

Photograph of a series of partial ruins and lots in abandoned Shafter, Texas. Mountains are visible in the background. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "Once this ghost town, Shafter, was the producer of an important source of income, silver" (p. 7).

Photograph of two large, cylindrical structures in abandoned Shafter, Texas. Mountains are visible in the background. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "Silver was discovered by John W. Spencer in 1883 and with Col. W. R. Shafter, who was stationed at Ft. Davis, gained the necessary capitol to organize the Presidio Mining Company" (pp. 7-8).

Photograph of partial ruins in abandoned Shafter, Texas. Mountains are visible in the background. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: About twenty-three million dollars worth of silver was extracted by 1942 when the price of silver dropped, and mining was no longer profitable. Cinnabar, source of mercury, was mined and processed at Terlingua for many years" (p. 8).

Photograph of a series of one-story white buildings making up part of Camp Marfa, viewed from across a large, open, grassy field. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "Camp Marfa, later Ft. D. A. Russell, housed cavalry troops during this time [from 1915 to 1920]" (p. 8).

Photograph of the Davis Mountains at Big Bend National Park, taken from between two mountain peaks overlooking a valley. Another mountain peak is in the background.

Photograph of a cowboy adjusting the saddle on a horse, in front of a wood and wire fence. On the other side of the fence, there are several parked trucks, a windmill, and a second cowboy who appears to be on horseback. A desert hill is visible in the background. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "Although modern inventions have made ranching easier, the truck can't compare to the cow pony when it is time for round-up" (p. 11).

Photograph of four cowboys on horseback rounding up sheep in pens. A group of sheared sheep are in a pen in the foreground and a group of unsheared sheep are grouped on the other side of the fence, with the cowboys spread out behind them. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "Although modern inventions have made ranching easier, the truck can't compare to the cow pony when it is time for round-up" (p. 11).

Photograph of a set from the movie, "Giant" including the front of a stone mansion that has decorative ironwork along the roofline. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "During a severe drought which strained the economy, help came from a glamorous source. In 1955, a Warner Brothers film crew with movie stars, including Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Chill Wills, and others moved into Marfa. The event was the on-location shooting of the movie, 'Giant,' based on the novel by Edna Ferber" (p. 11).

Photograph of a set from the movie, "Giant" showing a close up of one side and the wooden bracing across the back of the facade. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "In 1955, a Warner Brothers film crew [...] moved into Marfa [for] the on-location shooting of the movie, 'Giant,' based on the novel by Edna Ferber. The three hundred stars' and crewmen's presence was probably the most exciting event in Marfa's recent history" (pp. 11-12).

Photograph of a set from the movie, "Giant" including the front of a stone mansion with a car parked in front. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "The house used for the shooting still stands in the pasture where it was put together nearly fourteen years ago" (p. 12).

Photograph of a man in the cockpit of a glider on a tarmac. Five men are standing around the glider, looking down at it. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "A new source of revenue in the Big Bend is coming with the growing popularity of soaring" (p. 12).

Photograph of the Presidio County Airport, viewed from across a paved tarmac. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "The Presidio County Airport between Marfa and Alpine, important during World War II as a training base for pilots, is the site of several regional and national soaring contests" (p. 12).

Photograph of a white glider in the sky above Marfa, Texas. "6X" is written on the underside of one wing. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "The Presidio County Airport between Marfa and Alpine [...] is the site of several regional and national soaring contests. The International Soaring Contest, never before held in the Western Hemisphere, will be held here in 1970" (p. 12).

Photograph of several storefrongs on a Marfa, Texas street, including a jewelry store in the background. Cars are parked outside of the buildings, on the left side of the image, and there is an American flag. The image accompanied a written speech, with the caption: "Positive Americanism is too seldom publicized. The people of Marfa demonstrate their patriotism and love for America by daily flying American flags from all businesses" (p. 12).