> According to American folklore, who dug out the Grand Canyon?And the answer: Paul Bunyan.Carol M. Highsmith Archive/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.In American andCanadian folklore, Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero. Oftenaccompanied by Babe the Blue Ox, Bunyan's character originated in the oraltradition of North American loggers, and went on to be publicized by authorWilliam B. Laughead.As a story circulated for several decades before written recollection, it’sdifficult to pinpoint exactly where and how Paul Bunyan came to be. At theheight of Paul Bunyan’s circulation, the fabled "stories" known today werepresented in short fragments in the lumber camp bunkhouses, often with differentorigins and details. The first known reference of Paul Bunyan in print appearedin the March 17, 1893 issue of Gladwin County Record. Under the local newssection for the area of Beaverton it reads, "Paul Bunion is getting ready whilethe water is high to take his drive out." It wasn’t until 1916 that W.B. Laughead consolidated the stories to create thefolkloric image of Bunyan we know today. A series of pamphlets, released between1914–44, were used to publicize the products of the Red River Lumber Company.These influenced other authors such as Esther Shephard, who wrote of the mythichero in Paul Bunyan (1924). James Stevens, also a lumber publicist, mixedtradition and invention in his version of the story, Paul Bunyan (1925). Thesebooks restyled Paul’s image for a wide popular audience, as their humor centeredon Paul’s giganticness rather than on knowledge of lumbering techniques.Paul Bunyan remains an American folk hero even today. Listen to Disney tellBunyan's classic tale below.