Travel Thru History

Historical and cultural travel experiences

The Tall Tale of Paul Bunyan

statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the ox

Bemidji, Minnesota

by Norman A. Rubin

The story of Paul Bunyan, together with Babe the Blue Ox richly rooted in history and tradition, is now considered to be one of America’s greatest folk tales; and so be it. This legendary superman and woodsman, hero of the early logging days, was born in Bemidji, Minnesota. The actual site of his birth is marked today by giant statues of Paul Bunyan and his Blue Ox, Babe, standing on the shoreline of Lake Bemidji.

statue of Paul BunyanA ‘tall tale’ is one that exaggerates, and the Paul Bunyan tales are among the tallest. Paul was the imaginary hero of the strong men who felled trees, the lumberjacks of the North Woods of America. Tales told how he used whole pine trees to comb his grizzled hair and dark beard. The griddle for his pancakes was as large as Lake Bemidji (Minnesota), which resembles Paul’s giant footprint; lumberjacks greased it by skating over it with strips of bacon strapped to their feet. And it took two acres of brush fire to heat the griddle..

Paul Bunyan liked to work with big men, mainly lumberjacks. The most famous of them all were his seven axe men. They were all called with the same name of Elmer, so when he called they all came running. Each of these men was over six feet tall sitting down and weighed over 300 pounds – believe it or not. No grindstone was large enough to grind the axes so they sharpened them by holding them against large stones rolling down hill.

Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway highway signBabe the Blue Ox was Paul’s best friend. According to legends Babe was found during the winter of the Blue snow, the year that it was blue with cold. He was measured forty-two ax handles and plug of tobacco between the horns; he lived in harmony with his mate Bessie, the Yaller cow. Legend has it that Babe together with Paul Bunyan had footprints were so large that they created Minnesota’s ten thousand lakes. Babe when thirsty could even drink a river dry.

The wild and humors legends of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox may have begun with tales told around the hot stoves of lumber camps of the Northern woods in the 1800s. Some of the legends, myths and stories appeared in the newspapers as early at the 1900s; at a later date those tales have been published in different books and in varied languages. The legends of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox continue to be presented in films, books, cartoons and other media forms.

If You Go:

Bemidji , Minnesota, home to the legend of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, is a charming and progressive city, the first city on the Mississippi River. Bemidji takes its name for an Ojibwe Indian word meaning “lake with cross waters” – referring to the crossing of the Mississippi River with Lake Bemidji. You can visit the statues of these two large than life legendary characters (constructed 1937) on the shores of the lake during your visit to Northern Minnesota.

Along with a visit to the site of statues of Paul Bunyan and the Babe the Blue Ox There’s plenty to do and see in and around the area of Bemidji.. Hunting, fishing, boating, snowmobiling, birding and skiing are just a few of the past times you and your family will enjoy when you visit this area of Northern Minnesota. With over 400 lakes in a 25-mile radius, the Bemidji Area also has some of the best outdoor recreation opportunities in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. Tourist accommodations include 15 motels with a total of 561 rooms. Of special significance are Lake Bemidji and Lake Bemidji State Park for nature adventures.

For information on tourist facilities contact:
Bemidji Tourist Information Center
Bemidji Chamber of Commerce
300 Bemidji Ave. Bemidji, MN 56601
For inquiries call 218-444-3541 or 800-458-2223 or e-mail chamber@paulbunyan.net.

Another popular pastime is the Paul Bunyan Trail, one of the most popular trails in the state. Today, at 210 miles, the Paul Bunyan (Bemidji to International Falls) Trails form one of the longest and one of the most scenic. It is easy to understand the appeal of the Paul Bunyan Trail. Its 100 miles wind around the shores of 21 lakes and over 9 rivers or streams. Very little of the trail crosses open fields or immediately borders highways; most of the route snakes through gently rolling landscape covered in stately pine forests and populated by an abundance of diverse flora and fauna. Towns with good lodging and amenities are situated at comfortable 8-10 mile intervals, with state parks at both the north and south ends of the trail. The Paul Bunyan Trail intersects with several planned or proposed connecting trail routes, including a network of over 1,200 miles of snowmobile trails. For route information and maps contact Paul Bunyan Trail – Minnesota Department of Natural Resources ‘paulbunyantrail.com‘.

You can travel by car around Paul Bunyan Scenic Highway to the lakes and lands that helped give life to the Great Northwoods, and to the Legend of Paul Bunyan.- The Paul Bunyan National Scenic Byway is located on 54 miles of county roads in north Crow Wing County and into Pine River in Cass County. It is and area of breathtaking scenic beauty around lakes and streams, natural forests with nature’s wonders, historic and many more tourist attractions. It is an excellent place for a stopover for a night even for a week where you can enjoy comfortable lodging, fine restaurants. Boating, fishing, golf and swimming, even strolling around the lakes and forest are the many activities along the highway.

For further information contact:
Paul Bunyan Scenic Byway
P.O.Box 401
Pequot Lakes, MN 56472
Email info@paulbunyanscenicbyway.org.

Varied activities await you at the world of Paul Bunyan. From state parks to sporting events, you will find the activity that meets your needs, indoors or outdoors – try one of the state’s many trails to hike, bike, snowmobile or ski, rent a canoe, golf, bowl, dine on excellent cuisine, stroll in leisure , fish or just sail away on the beautiful lakes.

Minnesota Tourism
♦ www.tourminnesota.org – Minnesota Office of Tourism
♦ www.exploreminnesota.com – for information on destinations, lodging/camping, events, helpful links and sites and other activities and attractions in the state.

Notes:

1) Many believe that the tales of Paul Bunyan were first told by French Canadian loggers, who called him Paul Bonjean, moniker as “Bonyenne”. His name through the years was anglicized and the stories and legends were eventually modified and added upon from storyteller to storyteller.

2) The earliest published versions of the myth of Paul Bunyan can be traced back to James MacGilvray, an itinerant newspaper reporter who wrote the first Paul Bunyan article for the Oscoda Press in 1906 and an expanded version of the same article for the Detroit News. He is alleged to have collected stories from lumberjacks, combined them with his own embellishments, and in July 24, 1910 he published the first of the legends of Paul Bunyan with the printing of ‘The Round River Drive’.

About the author:
Norman A. Rubin is a former correspondent for the Continental News Service (USA), now retired – busy writing articles and stories for Net sites and magazines worldwide. Google the author’s name for a review of his written work.

All photos are by Norman A. Rubin.

Northwest Company Fur Post – A Step Back In Time

Snake River fur post
Pine City, Minnesota

by Ronald D. Kness

Located along the Snake River, one and a half miles west of present-day Pine City in northern Minnesota, sits a recreated 1804 wintering fur post of the Northwest Company. During the early 1800s, the Northwest Company was expanding its number of fur posts to keep ahead of its competition, the XY Company. Both were in fierce competition to acquire trapped furs from the local Native American Ojibwe tribes.

The man selected by the company to operate the fur post was John Sayer – a wintering partner of the Company. Sayer left Fort St. Louis (near modern day Superior, WI) in the fall of 1804 with eight voyageurs. Paddling down the Brule River, portaging over land to the St. Croix River then down river and finally up the Snake River, the eight èngages and Sayer reached Cross Lake.

Cross Lake was Sayer’s original choice for the post, but after conferring with local Ojibwe leaders, he decided to move it two miles up river. By the time they arrived at the new location, it was late in the fall and their focus was building a post in earnest before winter set in.Six weeks later the post was completed. While the voyageurs were building the post, Sayer was busily trading with the Ojibwe for surplus wild rice and selling items to trappers on credit – credits to be paid back to the company in the spring with furs.

fur post sleeping quartersToday, the post is re-created down to the minute detail looking like the original 1804 post, but to go back in time, we must first go forward through the new Visitor Center.

The Visitor Center, gift shop and exhibits opened in 2003. Inside, a 30-foot tall stone fireplace and a 24-foot birch canoe are centerpieces of the 10,400 square-foot building.

Once inside the exhibit room, we explore the exhibits showing the global economy of the fur trade back then, the work lives of those involved and the cross-cultural communication between the Ojibwe and fur traders required to establish and carry on the business of acquiring furs. Now having a better understanding of the fur trade business, we move outside and start down the trail toward the post. After a short walk, a large fence made from wooden poles comes into view. We enter through the two open large wooden gates.

artifacts in fur post museumOnce inside the post, the prominent building is the reconstructed six-room row house, measuring 77 feet long by 18 feet wide. We learn from one of the period-costumed re-enactors that the wooden fence surrounding the row house is a palisade – a wall created from upright poles stuck in the ground, measuring 100 feet by 61 feet, with defensive bastions in the north and south corners.

The row house is divided into five sections. Starting at the far end, we enter the doorway to the company store. It is open and we browse through the items in the store and soon start to experience what it was like living at a fur post in the early 1800s. The storekeeper tells us the Ojibwe would trade furs in return for goods such as axes, beads, iron tools, kettles, wool blankets and other supplies they needed.

The next section is the office. It is here where Sayer worked and kept the post’s books for the company. Lying on the desk are the simple tools of his trade from that era – a quill pen, ink-well and a bound book used to record the transactions.

beaver pelt at fur post museumThe remaining three areas are divided into two sleeping quarters and one living area. Each sleeping quarter has multiple beds stacked bunk-bed style and a small fireplace. Clothes are hung on the wall. The living/eating area is a room containing a hewn table with benches around it and a larger fireplace used for cooking. Re-enactors go about carrying out the daily duties of that era by keeping the post operating, preparing hides for use and shipment, preparing meals and blacksmithing.

Outside the palisade, a small group of Ojibwe has an tepee encampment set up where they go about the daily work of scraping, stretching and drying furs in preparation for trade with the post.

As I walk back toward the Visitor Center, smelling the wood smoke, hearing the crackling of the fire and listening to sound of the activity happening, both in the Ojibwe camp and the post, it is easy for my mind to step back in time and suddenly, for an instant, I’m there – in 1804.


Historic Northeast Minneapolis Food Tour

If You Go:

Snake River Fur Post
Minnesota Historical Society
Northwest Journal – A Year in the Life of a Canoe Brigade

The Northwest Fur Post is operated by the Minnesota Historical Society and it makes a great day-trip from the Minneapolis-St.Paul area. Admission: $8 adults, $6 senior citizens, and $4 children ages 6-17. Free for children under age 6. School and group tours by reservation.

The hours of operation are: SUMMER (May 1 through Labor Day) 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. FALL (The day after Labor Day through Oct 31) Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.

Phone: 320-629-6356

Location: 1.5 miles west of I-35 at exit 169 (Pine County Hwy. 7) near the town of Pine City, Minnesota

About the author:
Ron Kness is a travel writer/photographer with articles and photos published in various house publications, in-flight magazines and other media sources. Ron is keenly interested in the United States history from after the Revolutionary War through the Civil War.

All photos are by Ron Kness.