Introduction 



of South America; but It will be only a hasty 

 walk. I am thankful, however, for so much. 

 My route will be through Kingston and Madi- 

 sonville, Tennessee, and through Blairsville 

 and Gainesville, Georgia. Please write me 

 at Gainesville. I am terribly letter-hungry. I 

 hardly dare to think of home and friends." 

 , In editing the journal I have endeavored, by 

 use of all the available evidence, to trail Mr. 

 Muir as closely as possible on maps of the sixties 

 as well as on the most recent state and topo- 

 graphical maps. The one used by him has not 

 been found, and probably is no longer in exist- 

 ence. Only about twenty-two towns and cities 

 are mentioned in his journal. This constitutes 

 a very small number when one considers the 

 distance he covered. Evidently he was so ab- 

 sorbed in the plant life of the region traversed 

 that he paid no heed to towns, and perhaps 

 avoided them wherever possible. 



The sickness which overtook him in Florida 

 was probably of a malarial kind, although he 

 describes it under different names. It was, no 



I XX] 



