nd I was
still several hundred miles from my parents in Michigan. So my journey
farther east was delayed until spring. The hunting season was over, and
when I came into Mineral Point without a gun, and wore good clothes,
making a better appearance than I used to, they seemed to think I must
be rich and showed me marked attention, and made many inquiries about
their neighbors who started for California about the same time I did.
The young ladies smiled pleasantly when near me, and put on their best
white aprons, looking very tidy and bright, far superior to any of the
ladies I had seen in my crooked route from San Francisco through
Acapulco, Panama, the West Indies and along the Mississippi.

After a few days in town I went out into the neighborhood where I used
to live and stopped with Mr. E.A. Hall, who used to be a neighbor of Mr.
Bennett, as he had invited me to stay with himself and wife, who were
the only occupants of a good house, and all was pleasant. But
notwithstanding all the comfort in which I was placed, I grew lonesome,
for the enforced idleness, on account of the stormy weather, was a new
feature in my life, and grew terribly monotonous.

After some delay I concluded to write to my parents in Michigan and give
them a long letter with something of a history of my travels, and to
refresh my memory I got out my memorandum I had kept through all my
journey.

As my letter was liable to be quite lengthy I bought a quantity of
foolscap paper and begun. I took my diary as my guide, and filled out
the ideas suggested in it so they would understand them. I soon ran
through with my paper and bought more, and kept on writing. The weather
was cold and stormy, and I found it the best occupation I could have to
prevent my being lonesome; so I worked away, day after day, for about a
month, and I was really quite tired of this sort of work before I had
all the facts recorded which I found noted down in my diary. My notes
began in March, 1849, in Wisconsin, and ended in February, 1852, on my
return to Mineral Point. I found, as the result of my elaboration, over
three hundred pages of closely written foolscap paper, and I felt very
much relieved when it was done. By the aid of my notes I could very
easily remember everything that had taken place during my absence, and
it was recorded in regular form, with day and date, not an incident of
any importance left out, and every word as true as gospel. I had neither
exaggerated