The Maine Woods The Maine Woods h e n r y d . t h o r e a u a f u l l y a n n o t a t e d e d i t i o n edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer yale university Press new haven and london Copyright © 2009 by Yale University. All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers. Designed by Sonia Shannon. Set in Adobe Garamond type by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Printed in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication-Data Thoreau, Henry David, 1817–1862. The Maine woods : a fully annotated edition / Henry D. Thoreau ; edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-300-12283-1 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Piscataquis County (Me.)—Description and travel. 2. Maine—Description and travel. 3. Thoreau, Henry David, 1817–1862—Travel—Maine. 4. Authors, American—19th century—Biography. I. Cramer, Jeffrey S., 1955–. II. Title. f27.p5t43 2009 917.4'1043—dc22 2009015161 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This paper meets the requirements of Ansi/nisO Z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Greg Joly often on bare rocky carries the trail was so indistinct that i repeatedly lost it, but when i walked behind him i observed that he could keep it almost like a hound, and rarely hesitated, or, if he paused a moment on a bare rock, his eye immediately detected some sign which would have escaped me. —“the allegash and east Branch” Contents Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Permissions xiii Introduction xv the mAine wOOds Ktaadn 1 Chesuncook 76 The Allegash and East Branch 146 Appendix 278 Supplement 305 Choice of Copy Text 307 Textual Notes and Emendations 309 Bibliography 343 Index 351 Preface My purpose in editing The Maine Woods: A Fully Annotated Edi- tion has been twofold: to examine the text of The Maine Woods in light of the research and commentary that has appeared in the 135 years since it was first published, and to present a reliable text with a comprehensive series of annotations. While paying tribute to and honoring the work that has come before, I have tried to correct errors and omissions of previous editions without creating new ones. Preface ix