Paul Bunyan S to Ry

Paul BunyanS to ry in Print

INTRODUCTION

BY MARY JANE HENNIGAR

Reason a log rolls? 'Cause she's round Pervidinof course that she's perfec'ly sound. If you want a good dog-get a hound!

This verse servedas the epigraphfor a Paul Bunyantale, first of a long and ever-broadeningstream of Bunyananec-

2,' . ; . t'':.=?,' ...... '"'dotes. And here follows the story of that first printed tale: In 1906 the twin towns of Oscoda and Au Sable, Michi- gan, planned to hold their first homecoming to celebrate ...... their origins in the lumberingof the nineteenthcentury and to call home many who had worked in the woods, on the river, and in allied industriesof those years. The two towns "fell to" with gusto and planned a fine and variedprogram of entertainment.The local weekly, the Oscoda Press, ran lists of homecomers;results of events; and addresses,pictures, and biographiesof the dignitaries who would be attending. A booklet, made up of galleys from the weekly, was printed and sold or given to persons in attendance. The editor of the paper, William McGillivray, had also been named secretary of the homecoming. At least one ex-resident who wrote later about the week of festivities thought that Will "more than any person" should receive the "credit for the consummationof our home gathering."'

1. The author of this praise, C. R. Henry, was a lawyer living in Alpena, Michigan, and had served as vice-president of the event. His account, "Home Coming a Success," appeared in the Oscoda Press for 10 August 1906.

This huge statue of Paul Bunyan is one example of the way the stories once told in logging camps became part of tourist attrac- tions in the mid-twentieth century,starting a debate among folk- lorists over whether Paul Bunyan was authentic "folklore"or really commercialized "fakelore."FHS collection.

PAUL BUNYAN 175 Both Will McGillivray and James MacGillivray (each brother spelled his name according to his own lights, and not alwaysconsistently even so) were talentedand honorable James MacGillivraythe Poet men. Will, in addition to being the publisherand editor of the local paper, served the district in the Michigan legisla- Like Douglas Malloch, who based his rhymedversion ture from 1916 to 1920, where he was a member of com- of "Round River" on James MacGillivray'sstory, Mac- mittees concerned with public lands and forestry interests Gillivray himself was a poet of no mean caliber. His and with state public schools. He also served his town as 1930 copyrightedpoem "A Tale of the Mackinac Trail" postmasterunder three administrations. set forth the history of an actual Michigan forest trail BrotherJames worked in lumber camps in his youth in undoubtedly Indian in origin-that meandered from Michigan and in other states and on various newspapers southeasternMichigan up throughthe state to the Straits across the country.as a writer. He also, upon returningto of Mackinac. The poem appeared in a booklet entitled Michigan, worked for the state'sConservation Department, OSCODA on the AuSable and Lake Huron, published as it was then called. He made early studies and movies of by the town of Oscoda in cooperationwith the State of beaver, the American bald eagle, and other animals. My Michigan Tourist Association in 1931.1 The pamphlet husband and I well remember pets of both these species was replete with promotional cuts of photos and draw- that he kept at his home for study. He also did early studies ings. The tale was about early followersof the trail from for the department on the Kirtland warbler. This small the nomad Indiansthrough missionaries, French, English, bird, an endangeredspecies, nests only in certainburnt-over and Americanoccupation. Through nine versesit brought forests of jack pine in Michigan. James MacGillivraywas the reader into the twentieth century, when the trail elected treasurerof Oscoda township in 1932-33; he was was paved for motorized travel.Its beginningand ending then elected supervisorof the township in 1934 and served stanzas were: in that capacity through 1939. In one of the homecoming issues of Will's paper, for Aye! Ponder this tale of the Mackinac Trail! Friday, 10 August 1906 (volume 13, number 34), which Of the wigwam and Sieur and bateau! features the above-mentionedlists and pictures and events, Of the moose in the veldt and the beaver'sdark pelt there appeared, on an inside page, an unfeaturedanecdote And the moccasin tracks in the snow with no byline. It was entitled simply, "Round River,"and For the moccasin trackssignaled packs on the backs has been reprintedexactly as it appearedin the 1906 paper Of those who came here long ago. (the complete versionfollows this introduction). Aye! Ponderthis tale of the Mackinac Trail This unsignedtale was undoubtedlyfirst published merely And the moccasin tracks in the snow! to amuse the lumberjacksand company owners with a story they had probably heard in the camps. Although Bunyan tales may have been printed before 1906 in other local newspapersin the timber regions, this is the earliest one to Amic still slaps his tail by the Mackinac Trail, come to light. As it was unsigned, it might never have As he dives to lodge portal below. claimed an author, but that was not to be. The otter still slides and the fox still derides In 1910, four years after the story's first appearancein Foiled trap. Gone are Sieur and bateau! his brother'shometown paper,James MacGillivrayrewrote Yet in pine colonnades are the shades of decades the tale with some minor changes and it was printed on Of those who came here long ago-- July 24, in the Detroit News Tribune where he was em- Those who won us the Grail of the Mackinac Trail ployed at that time. It was then titled "The Round River With their moccasin tracks in the snow! Drive."2 Douglas Malloch, a poet whose writings regularly appeared in other publications,including the American Lum- 1. Althoughthe bookletas printeddid not includea publication berman, had a much elongated, rhymingverse of the anec- date, it did includea copyrightdate of 1930 for the poem (p. 7) as well as an illustrationof a proposedlumberman's memorial, which dote published in the 25 April 1914 issue of the latter was actuallydedicated in 1932. journal. The author was not identified nor was any other credit given. Just two months after the Lumbermanpublication, the poem, complete with cartoons, was publishedon page 9 of the 5 June 1914 "Auld Lang Syne Number" of the Oscoda Coming Edition 1906. Transposed to verse by Douglas Press. In this version, for the first time, Will McGillivray Mallach [sic], assoc. editor, AmericanLumberman." stated, "From prose story by J. H. McGillivray, Home Given James MacGillivray'sachievements as a published author (see box), it would not be surprisingto find that he had, in fact, in 1914 encouraged his brother William to 2. Malcolm Rosholt gave James MacGillivray credit for the 1910 identify the 1906 story as the original versionof Malloch's story in his letter to the editors of the Wisconsin Magazine of History Bunyan poem. In addition, a number of references in the 65 (Autumn 1981): 37-38. Malloch poem hinted at a northeasternMichigan region.

176 JOURNAL OF FOREST HISTORY / OCTOBER 1986 Malloch started the loggers' journey as follows: "west by laborated,or at least corresponded,with Mallochon the north they made their way, one hundred miles." He then verse.McGillivray had in fact workedin lumbercamps on had the crew find their camp again, many years later, "west the Au Sable River'sNorth Branchin CrawfordCounty of Graylin'50 miles." Graylingis about 120 miles west and (whichsurrounds Grayling), where he mayhave heard the 15 miles north of Au Sable and Oscoda as the crow flies. "RoundRiver" tale told. Also, at the end of the poem, "For of the past we found a The charmof MacGillivray'soriginal story was that it trace, a peavey loggers know so well, a peavey with a Circle did not launchinto exaggerationimmediately, as did sub- L, which as you know, was Bunyan'smark." Circle L was sequentlypublished Paul Bunyan exploits. Instead, it built the H. M. Loud Sons' company mark, the longest con- on germsof truthto fostergullibility, not stretchingcredi- tinually runninglumber company on the Au Sable River in bility in an obvious way. MacGillivrayonly caught his this area. Malloch's own bailiwick was the western side of readerssmiling at theend, when they realized they had been Michigan, suggesting perhaps that MacGillivray had col- had, shaggy-dogstyle.

THE BIRTH OF PAUL BUNYAN-IN PRINT

BY DANIEL HOFFMAN

It was serendipitous that I received a letter from Mr. Felton, Legends of Paul Bunyan (New York: Alfred A. Steve Bell, editor of the Bay City (Michigan) Times, just Knopf, 1947), pg. 335-41. before the new edition of my Paul Bunyan, Last of the Writingfor a Detroit newspaper,MacGillivray, evidently FrontierDemigods (first published in 1952) appeared.Mr. an experienced journalist, knew he could scarcely start in Bell sent me a feature from his issue of 6 February1983 medias res, as in his earlier text for a paper in the logging and a photocopy of the typescriptof the text now repro- country. Now he sets the scene by pretending to instruct duced in the Journal of Forest History. The Bay City Times Idaho woodmen in the lore of Paul Bunyan, known of and its editor informed me that "the member of the local course in "Maine or Michigan where they learned to do historical commission" who claimed this version to be the real drivin'." Establishing the time-"the winter of the first appearanceof Paul Bunyan in print had "misplaced black snow"-MacGillivray then names the crew: her sole surviving copy of the original; files of the Oscoda They was me, and DutchJake, and FredKlinard, and Pat Press were destroyed in a fire."1 No doubt the omission of O'Brien-P-O-B-and SaginawJoe, and the McDonalds the original printing led to a misdating, 20 August instead Angus, Roy, Archie,Black Jack, Big Jack, Red Jack, of 10 August 1906. RoryFrazer, Pete Perube-oh, we werethere some! There Lacking proof positive, I remaineda bit dubious, noting was threehundred men all told. that the alleged 1906 text was almost identical to James MacGillivray's "The Round River Drive" in the Detroit This roll call gives specificityto Bunyan'screw, but none of News-Tribune for 24 July 1910, minus its first nine para- these names recur in later versionsfrom other typewriters. graphsand final seventy-fivewords. Since the Oscoda Press Four years after the Detroit News-Tribune story, W. B. was owned by MacGillivray'sbrother, I inferredhis author- Laugheadproduced the first of his Bunyan pamphlets ad- ship. All that remained in doubt was the date of its vertising the Red River Lumber Company of Westwood, appearance. California, which played the major role in popularizing Now we do have conclusive proof-the photographs Paul Bunyan.It is notable that none of MacGillivray'sfour- reproduced with the accompanying article show the first teen tales mention Babe, the Blue Ox, who first appearsin page and the page containing the unsigned "Round River" Laughead's1914 pamphlet. (on page 1 is anotherfeature of interestto studentsof forest MacGillivray in 1910 added two folktale motifs to his folklore, "The BirlingMatch"). The 1906 text is differently original version:the stove so big it took two Negro cooks paragraphedfrom the latter version, and in a few places "skatin'round the stove with hams tied to theirfeet, greasin' slightly different language is used: "used to" in 1906 be- the lid for the hotcakes," and the explosion that occurred comes "use to" in 1910, along with a few other dialectal when a chore boy mistook gunpowder for baking powder changes. The main differences are in the added material. which blew "the coons" out of sight, not to be found until The 1910 text may be conveniently consulted in Howard the very end of "The Round River Drive." As I observedin 1952, quoting MacGillivray'syarn about the tree so big two teams sawed it from the opposite sides 1. Daniel Hoffman, Paul Bunyan, Last of the Frontier Demigods of the trunk for three days, neither knowing the other (Lincoln: University Nebraska Press, 1983 [1952]), p. viii. Continuedon page 180

PAUL BUNYAN 177 Continuedfrom page 177 ings from the Libraryof Congress of Alan Lomax's field- was there, "This seems fairly close to the way the tales work with Michigan lumberjacks.3Edith Fowke's recent were actually told by the lumberjacks.... [T]he narrator article "In Defence of Paul Bunyan"4 buttressesthe case for is a participant in the action, and he does not scruple the authenticity of the early reports of Paul Bunyan as to use such terms peculiar to the logging industry as 'the genuine folklore. Having been first set down in 1906, the fellin' cut' and 'cross-cutsbrazed together'."2 When popu- motifs must havebeen in oral traditionfor some time before larizers retold Bunyan yarns for a general audience such that. In my study of the legend I cite many earlierinstances bits of loggers' lingo were replaced by less colorful terms of the motifs in folk and literarytradition prior to their that readers unacquainted with woodsmen's ways would localizationin Paul Bunyan'scamp. understand. Perhaps the present publication of MacGillivray'sfirst It is not only from such internal evidence that we may versionwill set to rest the question, when was Paul Bunyan credit the genuinenessof MacGillivray'syarns. They are of first seen in print? a piece with the other early records of Bunyan tales from oral tradition which I gathered for my study: Edward 0. 3. Edward0. Taborand StithThompson, "Paul Bunyan in 1910," Tabor and Stith Thompson's recollectionsof "Paul Bunyan Journalof AmericanFolklore, 59 (April-June1946): 134-35. Lomax's in 1910"; the fieldnotes of the folklorist Herbert Halpert's interviewswith one storyteller,Perry Allen, are preserved on Libraryof Congressrecordings 2265-B2 and 2266-B2. The bibliographyin Hoff- interviews from 1941-49 with six old-time lumberjacks man,Paul Bunyan, lists Halpert'sinterviews with six informants,along rememberingtheir youthful days in the camps; and record- with someof Halpert'spublished work (seepp. 54-55, 193, 198). 4. EdithFowke, "In Defence of PaulBunyan," New YorkFolklore S 2. Ibid., p. 4. (Summer1979): 43-51.

THE FALSE ISSUE OF FOLKLORE VS. "FAKELORE": WAS PAUL BUNYAN A HOAX?

BY ELLENJ. STEKERT

If there ever was a "real" Paul Bunyan, I think he would Eventhough some scholarsrecognized that works by "popu- have had a long and rowdy laugh over how the question of larizers"of Americanfolk traditionneed not be regardedas his "authenticity"has caused many a miniscule scholar to illegal, sinful, or fattening, many haveagreed with Dorson's dance on the head of a pin. From the 1950s through the stance.Jan Brunvandexpunged Paul Bunyanfrom his list of early 1980s Paul Bunyan became the focal point for aca- genuine Americanfolk heroes in both editions of his widely demics to argue over who was, or was not, a bona fide folk used text on folklore, where he refersto the hero as "fake- hero. RichardM. Dorson, infused with a zeal to protect the lore.... [the] writers'contrived invention." 2 public from itself and determinedto show the importance Even Daniel Hoffman, after carefully dealing with the of true folklore scholarship,went so far as to coin the word complex sorting out of verifiable tradition from changes "fakelore" for material written by "money writers" who made by the popularizers,seemed to assign all popularizers "falsified, abused and exploited . . . the [deluded] public to the nether-world to be punished for aesthetic indiscre- with Paul Bunyan nonsense and claptrap collections."1 tion. He argued,as RichardDorson did, that "popularizers" "Fakelore,"the catchy term Dorson coined in 1950, was today create for a public "that does not directly contribute widely used among folkloristsuntil recentlywhen, it seems, to their [the works'] creation."He continued, "The author's they recognized that the word confused the intent of the intention in writing popular literatureis primarilyto satisfy "popularizers"with both the content and worth of their the demandsof a public; as esthetic considerationsare often products. hindmost, the devil usually takes them."3 But the question "Fakelore," according to Dorson, was what money- of popularization is not so simple. Is not public "demand" minded popularizers of folk materials produced. He felt a direct influence on what is produced?And do not "art" that such writers were greedy and insincere. In short, he writers know the needs and understandingsof their audi- assumed that he understood the intent of these writers. 2. Jan Brunvand, The Study of American Folklore (New York: W. W. Norton, 1978), p. 2. 1. Richard M. Dorson, American Folklore and the Historian (Chi- 3. Daniel Hoffman, Paul Bunyan: Last of the Frontier Demigods cago: University of Chicago Press, 1971), p. 8. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983 [1952]), p. 63.

180 JOURNAL OF FOREST HISTORY / OCTOBER 1986 ence,which inevitably influence what and when they write? Beyond the chicken-and-egg question of the popular Many authorstoday who are "popular"have also had the written versionsand the oral tales, however,the popularizers worthof theirart attestedto by the "elite." whom some have abhorredhave transplantedthe tradition If popularizersare responding to publicneed in a manner of Paul Bunyan;a new traditionhas taken root in the minds (if not medium)similar to peoplewho workin oral tradi- of urban Americans. The concept of Paul Bunyan, and tion, how can we call theirproducts "fake"? Popularizers many of the ideas in those "fakelore" stories, may now maymake claims that are not "correct,"and this is impor- constitutethe authenticfolklore of anothergroup, the urban tant to know, but does that meanwe mustbecome public or urban-influencedAmericans. Go to Bemidji, Minnesota, censorsand use a valueword to describetheir products? If and see how the population will react if you suggest taking popularizedmaterial is not purefolklore, does this imply away Paul Bunyan from them! And if the "folk" idea that that we shouldnot studyits appealor how it reshapesthe urban people have of loggers does not square with the unprintedkind of folklore?To do as Dorsonand many "facts" about loggers, who are we to tell people what to othershave done, to equate"popularization" of folklore believe?Is this not new and fertile soil in which the scholar materialswith greed,knowingly false representation,and can work, just as he or she has worked with the image of necessaryaesthetic inferiority (and then call the product the cowboy, so interestingly"distorted" by "popularizers"? "fakelore"),is hardlya clarification.It muddlesan already Why shouldn't we allow anyoneto do whatevershe or he complexquestion and only adds one more value-laden word wishes with folk traditions without calling them nasty for "not nice"to our vocabulary.Where Dorson meant to names? Why, instead, can't we look to see why people feel describea processhe endedup judgingit. the need to rewrite and publish material scholars might In the first place, the claim that Paul Bunyanstories (correctly)feel not to be authentic?Does not this very fact resultedfrom a figmentof the dollarsign in the mind of tell us something about our own culture?Richard Dorson some evil popularizeris basedon assumptionswhich are even seemed to agree, thus contradictingthe value judgment not only illogical,but erroneous.Paul Bunyan could easily implicit in the very term he created. After lambasting the haveexisted both in tales and as generalknowledge well folklore "popularizers,"and calling Paul Bunyana "pseudo beforethe first knownprinted source of the material.He folk hero of twentieth-century[American] mass culture"in mighthave been muchlike Kilroywas to the fightingmen one chapterof his book AmericanFolklore,' he devoted the of WorldWar II. I havecollected stories from lumbermen very next chapterto "Modern Folklore,"proclaiming (cor- who knewthe "idea"of PaulBunyan when they worked in rectly) that "American [folklore] owes much to the mass lumbercamps before the turnof the century.Paul was one media of radio, television,and journalism.... The folk can of those free-floatingfolk beliefs from which ever-new on occasion feed the mass media, and equally the media can storiescould be createdby an ingenioustale telleror joker feed back into oral lore.... [F]olk and mass culturecoexist as the situationpresented itself. Also, thereis goodevidence peaceablyand on friendly terms."6 that an oral traditionof narrativesdid exist before the So print, popularizers, and pinheads aside, we can be earliestknown printed sources. Edith Fowke has recently proud to have MacGillivray's "first" version about Paul shownthat there was a PaulBunyan narrative tradition well Bunyanin print. Paul would be pleased, I think, to find yet beforethe first"popularizers." 4 another aspect of him reaching out (again) to us "literate folk." A

S. RichardM. Dorson,American Folklore (Chicago: University of 4. EdithFowke, "In Defenceof PaulBunyan," New YorkFolklore ChicagoPress, 1959), p. 225. (Summer1979): 43-51. 6. Ibid., pp. 246-47.

PAUL BUNYAN 181