The Atlantic

The Swamp Lover

An excerpt from Thoreau’s May 1862 article “Walking”
Source: Lisel Jane Ashlock

A number of writings by Henry David Thoreau appeared in in its early years. The month after his death from tuberculosis in May 1862, the magazine published “,” which extols the virtues of “sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements,” and laments the inevitable expansion of private property into the wilderness. In this excerpt, from the November 2017 issue, Thoreau describes his special love of swamps.

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