Introduction 
In perusing this journal the reader will miss 
the literary finish which Mr. Muir was accus- 
tomed to give to his later writings. This fact 
calls for no excuse. Not only are we dealing 
here with the earliest product of his pen, but 
with impressions and observations written down 
hastily during pauses in his long march. He ap- 
parently intended to use this raw material at 
some time for another book. If the record, as 
it stands, lacks finish and adornment, it also 
possesses the immediacy and the freshness of 
first impressions. 
The sources which I have used in preparing 
this volume are threefold: (i) the original jour- 
nal, of which the first half contained many in- 
terlinear revisions and expansions, and a con- 
siderable number of rough pencil sketches of 
plants, trees, scenery, and notable adventures; 
(2) a wide-spaced, typewritten, rough copy of 
the journal, apparently in large part dictated 
to a stenographer; it is only slightly revised, 
and comparison with the original journal shows 
many significant omissions and additions; (3) 
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