DIARY Of The Cajun Mountain Man

Lisa Hale Gallagher Presents...The Works Of James W. Hale (The Cajun Mountain Man). James Hale, a native Louisianian, known for his photographs of the Atchafalaya Basin. Despite having Macular Degeneration, takes spectacular photographs of a mountain wilderness in Polebridge, Montana. Where wild predators far outnumber people, streams run crystal clear. And trees split like rifle fire as the mercury plunges to 40 F below zero. James Hale has had progressive macular degeneration since he was a kid. His form of macular degeneration is rare and untreatable. Inherited from his fathers before him. And passed on to his son Kevin Hale. Who always says "We see better than people with normal eyesight. While your eyes focus on what is right in front of you. Our eyes were taught to focus on our peripheral vision. And see the larger picture". But they can all still "shoot a flea off a dog while it's chasing a chicken" with extreme accuracy. In this book James Hale's daughter, places his photos along with his diary to tell the story of "The Cajun Mountain Man" In the words of James W Hale... Have you ever had a dream - just to get away from it all? - to find a place somewhere back in the woods - to stay for a while? Well, I had such a dream. In the spring of 1981, I set out to make these dreams come true. I took a leave of absence from my work, packed my clothes and headed for the remote wilderness of Montana's northernmost mountains - home of the grizzly bear, the gray wolf, the American bald eagle, and as tales tell it, even Sasquatch. Some 20 miles from the Canadian border, on a high bluff overlooking a wild and scenic river. I found a spot. Here, with little more than a hand saw, a hatchet, and an 80 year old draw knife, I built my first log cabin - and for a year I became a mountain man. I lived my dream.