Introduction 



but there's an end to mortals' strength of body 

 and mind, to all that mortals can accomplish. 

 You are sure to go on and on, but I want you 

 to remember the fate of Hugh Miller/ She was 

 one of the finest examples I ever knew of a kind, 

 generous, great-hearted Scotchwoman/' 



The formal leave-taking from family and 

 neighbors indicates his belief that he was part- 

 ing from home and friends for a long time. On 

 Sunday, the ist of September, 1867, Mr. Muir 

 said good-bye also to his Indianapolis friends, 

 and went by rail to Jefifersonville, where he 

 spent the night. The next morning he crossed 

 the river, walked through Louisville, and 

 struck southward through the State of Ken- 

 tucky. A letter written a week later "among 

 the hills of Bear Creek, seven miles southeast 

 of Burkesville, Kentucky," shows that he had 

 covered about twenty-five miles a day. "I 

 walked from Louisville," he says, "a distance 

 of one hundred and seventy miles, and my feet 

 are sore. But, oh! I am paid for all my toil a 

 thousand times over. I am in the woods on a 

 [ xviii ] 



