Introduction 



It was not, therefore, a new species of ad 

 venture upon which Mr. Muir embarked when 

 he started on his Southern foot-tour. It was 

 only a new response to the lure of those favor 

 ite studies which he had already pursued over 

 uncounted miles of virgin Western forests and 

 prairies. Indeed, had it not been for the acci 

 dental injury to his right eye in the month of 

 March, 1867, he probably would have started 

 somewhat earlier than he did. In a letter writ 

 ten to Indianapolis friends on the day after the 

 accident, he refers mournfully to the interrup 

 tion of a long-cherished plan. &quot;For weeks,&quot; 

 he writes, &quot;I have daily consulted maps in lo 

 cating a route through the Southern States, the 

 West Indies, South America, and Europe a 

 botanical journey studied for years. And so my 

 mind has long been in a glow with visions of the 

 glories of a tropical flora; but, alas, I am half 

 blind. My right eye, trained to minute analy 

 sis, is lost and I have scarce heart to open the 

 other. Had this journey been accomplished, 

 the stock of varied beauty acquired would have 



