The Marvelous Exploits of Paul Bunyan: As Told in the Camps of the White Pine Lumbermen for Generations During Which Time the Loggers Have Pioneered the Way Through the North Woods from Maine to California; Collected from Various Sources and Embellished for PublicationLaughead, William B.
General
The Marvelous Exploits of Paul Bunyan: As Told in the Camps of the White Pine Lumbermen for Generations During Which Time the Loggers Have Pioneered the Way Through the North Woods from Maine to California; Collected from Various Sources and Embellished for Publication
Laughead, William B.
Bunyan, Paul (Legendary character)
In the early days he rode on the back of Babe, the Big Blue Ox. This had
it's difficulties because he had to use a telescope to keep Babe's hind
legs in view and the hooves of the ox created such havoc that after the
settlements came into different parts of the country there were heavy
damage claims to settle every trip.
Snowshoes were useful in winter but one trip on the webs cured Paul of
depending upon them for transcontinental hikes. He started from
Minnesota for Westwood one Spring morning. There was still snow in the
woods so Paul wore his snowshoes. He soon ran out of the snow belt but
kept right on without reducing speed. Crossing the desert the heat
became oppressive, his mackinaws grew heavy and the snowshoes dragged
his feet but it was too late to turn back.
When he arrived in California he discovered that the sun and hot sand
had warped one of his shoes and pulled one foot out of line at every
step, so instead of travelling on a bee line and hitting Westwood
exactly, he came out at San Francisco. This made it necessary for him to
travel an extra three hundred miles north. It was late that night when
he pulled into Westwood and he had used up a whole day coming from
Minnesota.
Paul's fast foot work made him a "good man on the round stuff" and in
spite of his weight he had no trouble running around on the floating
logs, even the small ones. It was said that Paul could spin a log till
the bark came off and then run ashore on the bubbles. He once threw a
peavy handle into the Mississippi at St. Louis and standing on it, poled
up to Brainerd, Minnesota. Paul was a "white water bucko" and rode water
so rough it would tear an ordinary man in two to drink out of the river.
* * * * *
JOHNNY Inkslinger was Paul's headquarters clerk. He invented bookkeeping
about the time Paul invented logging. He was something of a genius and
perfected his own office appliances to increase efficiency. His fountain
pen was made by running a hose from a barrel of ink and with it he could
"daub out a walk" quicker than the recipient of the pay-off could tie
the knot in his tussick rope.
[Illustration]
One winter Johnny left off crossing the "t's" and dotting the "i's" and
saved nine barrels of ink. The lumberjacks accused him of using a split
pencil to charge up the tobacco and socks they bought at the wanagan but
this was just bunkshanty talk (is this the origin of the classic term
"the bunk"?) for Johnny never cheated anyone.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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