Introduction 



go into Louisiana at all, either because he 

 learned that no south-bound ship was avail- 

 able at the mouth of the Mississippi, or because 

 the unexpected appearance of the Island Belle 

 in the harbor of Cedar Keys caused him to 

 change his plans* 



In later years Mr. Muir himself strongly 

 disparaged the wisdom of his plans with respect 

 to South America, as may be seen in the chap- 

 ter that deals with his Cuban sojourn. The 

 judgment there expressed was lead-penciled 

 into his journal during a reading of it long after- 

 wards. Nevertheless the Andes and the South 

 American forests continued to fascinate his 

 imagination, as his letters show, for many years 

 after he came to California. When the long de- 

 ferred journey to South America was finally 

 made in 191 1, forty-four years after the first 

 attempt, he whimsically spoke of it as the ful- 

 fillment of those youthful dreams that moved 

 him to undertake his thousand-mile walk to 

 the Gulf. 



Mr. Muir always recalled with gratitude the 

 [ xxii ] 



