![]() Where these tales originated is unknown, but, they were passed down from one generation of lumbermen to another for years dating well back into the early days of lumbering in the northeast. Perhaps he was a “real” man who worked as a swamper, shacker or lumberjack more skillful and more clever than average, about whose exploits grew.Īfter his death, his fame probably spread from camp to camp, more tales were added to those told about him, and thus, gradually, he became, in time, an exaggerated type of the lumberjack, and the hero of more exploits than he could possibly have carried out in his lifetime. His supposed grave is even marked in Kelliher, Minnesota. Some of the older men even claimed to have known him or members of his crew. ![]() His exploits, which revolved around the tall tales of his superhuman labors, were told by the fires of bunkhouses in the northern camps from Wisconsin to Maine, from Minnesota to Oregon, to Washington and California for decades.Ĭustomarily accompanied by Babe, the Blue Ox, his character originated in the oral traditions of North American loggers, and at one time, all lumberjacks believed or pretended to believe, that this great man really lived and was the pioneer in the lumber country. Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack in American folklore who has long been the hero of the American logging camps. St Ignace, MI – Castle Rock Paul Bunyan BlueOx
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