INTRODUCTORY NOTE The Maine Woods was the second volume col- lected from his writings after Thoreau's death. Of the material which composed it, the first two divisions were already in print. Ktaadn and the Maine Woods was the title of a paper print- ed in 1848 in iTie Union Magazine, and Che- suncooh was published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1858. The book was edited by his friend, William Ellery Channing. ^ It was during his second summer at Walden that Thoreau made his first visit to the Maine woods. It was probably in response to a re- quest from Horace Grreeley that he wrote out the narrative from his journal, for Mr. Grreeley had shown himself eager to help Thoreau in putting his wares on the market. In a letter to Emer- son, January 12, 1848, Thoreau writes: " I read a part of the story of my excursion to Ktaadn to quite a large audience of men and boys, the other night, whom it interested. It contains many facts and some poetry." He offered the
