James Stevens wrote a book called "Paul Bunyan" in 1925. This book said that French Canadians people made up the Paul Bunyan stories during the Papineau Rebellion of 1837, when they were fighting against England. This would explain why Paul Bunyan's last name is "Bunyan", because "Bunyan" sounds like the French-Canadian slang word "Bonyenne", which is something that they might say when they are surprised, like how people who speak English might say "Good Grief" or "My Goodness". People told other people stories about Bunyan, and the stories would change a little bit as they spread from person to person. Often, Paul Bunyan is shown in pictures with a giant blue ox named Babe. Historians think that Babe was not created until the 20th century for advertising. Other theories is that the Paul Bunyan was based on the legendry "Big Joe Mufferaw" [aka French-Canadian lumberjack Joseph Montferrand [1802-1864]. or on a French-Canadain lumberjack in Michigan named Fabian "Joe" Fournier [1845-1875]