s of the Lake States as the
"Mother" of Paul Bunyan. It is certain that he developed to the zenith
of his powers in that region during the '80s and '90s."

Professor Fenska points out that Paul was a "Northerner" for when the
virgin forests of the Lake States began to wane and the lumberjack
shifted to the Southern Yellow Pine region, little was heard of him for
nearly a decade. Noting his reappearance on the Pacific Coast, this
authority discounts the rumors that Paul has gone to Alaska and
expresses the opinion that his greatest exploits will take place in the
vast forests of the west.

Esther Shepherd, Department of English, Reed College, Portland, Oregon
has traced the Paul Bunyan legend back to Maine but finds evidence of
beginnings that antedate the Maine epoch and is still carrying on her
painstaking search for the ultimate source. Writing in the _Pacific
Review_, Mrs. Shepherd relates this one about Paul's babyhood.

"Paul Bunyan was born in Maine. When three weeks old he rolled around so
much in his sleep that he destroyed four square miles of standing
timber. Then they built a floating cradle for him and anchored it off
Eastport. When Paul rocked in his cradle it caused a seventy-five foot
tide in the Bay of Fundy and several villages were washed away. He
couldn't be wakened, however, until the British Navy was called out and
fired broadsides for seven hours. When Paul stepped out of his cradle he
sank seven warships and the British government seized his cradle and
used the timber to build seven more. That saved Nova Scotia from
becoming an island, but the tides in the Bay of Fundy haven't subsided
yet."

"Seeing that this North American Continent has only one myth that is
entirely it's own" J. M. Leever of the Pacific Lumber Company writes in
a San Francisco paper, "It is a pity that it should have been in danger
of being forgotten." After paying tribute to the work of Prof. Fenska
and the University of Oregon Mr. Leever continues, "Where the tradition
of this Davy Crockett of the axe, this superman of the camps originated,
nobody can tell exactly. But it is probable that the stories of his
courage and impossible feats started on the St. Lawrence among the
French Canadians and filtered into the woods of the Adirondacks,
Michigan and Wisconsin. Although at times very human, Paul Bunyan in his
bigger moments far surpassed any of the figures of classical
Scandinavian or Celtic legend. For the sake of the you