On the rugged coast of Maine, a violent windstorm drives Cal McNab ashore where he discovers a gigantic cradle containing a baby boy. The lumber-town quickly takes the infant in and names him Paul Bunyan. At Christmas, the town gifts him a double-bladed axe to help clear the forests, and his mighty work begins to reshape the land—opening space for new homes and a growing community, even as Paul realizes he’s grown too large to stay in the town he helped build and decides to head west.
Paul ventures into the Midwest, using his strength to clear land for farmers and new settlements. A brutal blizzard tests him, and in a remarkable rescue he saves a giant flash-frozen ox that has turned blue from the cold. He adopts the animal, naming him Babe, and the pair become an inseparable team. When spring arrives, their footprints in the snow fill with meltwater, giving birth to the playful legend of the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” The pair continue their work, clearing forests across vast stretches of North and South Dakota, digging the Missouri River to guide logs downstream to the sawmills, and even carving Pike’s Peak as a lookout. As they roam, Paul also shapes the land—creating the Grand Tetons during rough-and-tumble games with Babe and turning Yellowstone Falls into a dramatic, natural bath.
As their legend grows, Paul’s back-and-forth with progress hits a new frontier: commerce and modern machines. A slick salesman named Joe Muffaw arrives with a bold pitch to embrace steam-powered chainsaws and a steam train to haul timber, arguing that technology can outpace any living muscle. Paul, who cherishes the heart and soul he shares with Babe, finds his ideals challenged by Joe’s promise of speed and scale. The two men decide to settle the dispute with a tournament: a single contest to determine which approach—old-fashioned handwork with the ox or modern steam power—will reign supreme.
The competition unfolds with relentless effort as Paul and Babe cut down trees while Babe races the steam-powered train. When the clock runs out, the referee tallies the results: Paul Bunyan’s lumber pile stands at 240 feet, perfectly even, drawing cheers from the crowd. Joe Muffaw’s pile measures 240 feet and a quarter inch, giving him the victory by a razor-thin margin. Disappointed, Paul and Babe walk off toward the horizon, but their story is saved for posterity by a logger who records the legend for generations to come. Some say the two headed toward Alaska, and that the dazzling aurora borealis is really Paul and Babe playfully wrestling in the snow.
This enduring tale, told through vast landscapes and larger-than-life feats, captures the timeless appeal of frontier myth-making and the idea that legends can emerge wherever there are forests, rivers, and the dream of a wider, wilder world.
