Thoreau writes in his journal:
The chief incidents in [George] Minott’s life must be more distinct and interesting to him now than immediately after they occurred, for he has recalled and related them so often that they are stereotyped in his mind. Never having travelled far from his hillside, he does not suspect himself, but tell his stories with fidelity and gusto to the minutest details,—as much as Herodotus his histories . . .
