The last inhabitant of these woods before me was an Irishman, Hugh
Quoil (if I have spelt his name with coil enough), who occupied Wyman's tenement -- Col.
One of his first encounters there was with Hugh Quoil, an Irishman who had fought at Waterloo.
Collins, Field, Quoil: the houses of the three Irish families serve as an alternative version of his own experiment, past, present, and future, in a history of failure.
When Hugh Quoil dies in the road, it is little wonder that Thoreau surveys his deserted shack with such fascination.