"I was a Western woodsman," states Stevens in his Preface. "In the foggy fir forests of the Pacific slope and in the glamorous pine lands of the Cascades I had heard the deeds of the king jack of all loggers recited for nigh on twenty-five years. By the time the down on my chest had grown into a harsh and tawny stubble I myself was fledging into a camp bard. In summer nights by the smudge fire and in winter nights by the bunkhouse heater I revised the tales of older bards, giving them whatever form the inspiration of the moment revealed."

In eighteen short stores, Stevens combines the original shanty-camp legends of Paul Bunyan with "forest-born inventions from the seeds of old lore." The mighty woodsman emerges as the unequaled hero of American folklore, taming the wilderness and ruling men with incomparable humanity.