He faced the possibility of getting drafted for the civil war, so he left for Canada for two years as his brothers had previously done the same as well. There he worked for several months in a factory, then was temporarily blinded because of a factory accident that had taken place while he was working there. He rested until he could see again, then planned to walk a thousand miles to Mexico (The Gulf) from Indiana, but he only managed to make it to Florida because he was stricken by severe fever which was induced by malaria and was sick for 3 months. While he was sick he found a brochure for Yosemite and decided to go there after he got better. The brochure inspired him to set foot in Yosemite and continue staying there. As he descended into Yosemite valley, he claimed that it was " By far the grandest of all special temples of mother nature I was ever permitted to enter."