Bill Guppy. King of the Woodsmen. Life Long Friend and Tutor of "Grey Owl". With a new Introduction by Hugh Stewart. Profusely Illustrated with phonographs, line sketches, and maps

Ottawa. McGahern Stewart Publishing; in co operation with Temagami Community Foundation. 2016. Soft cover. New. 8vo, 23cm, xvi,296p., illustrated wraps over boards, hardcover, new. Much of the social history of the Temagami region is recorded in bits and pieces in obscure places. A frequently referenced document is King of the Woodsmen by Hal Pink about a legendary Temagami character, Bill Guppy. The book, originally published in 1940, is extremely rare. McGahern Stewart Publishing, in collaboration with the Temagami Community Foundation, is reprinting it as part of the "Forgotten Northern Classics" series. ~ Bill Guppy was an intriguing character who had a good sense of history, was an astute observer of human nature, and could spin a wonderful tale. His humourous account of training the moose and bear mascots for the Algonquin Regiment in WWI illustrates once again that truth can be more interesting than fiction. Guppy describes the types of people, some desirable and some less so, that he encountered in his time guiding sportsmen and canoeists. His observations ring sharp and true 85 years later. ~ For anyone interested in the story of Grey Owl and his connection to Temagami, King of the Woodsmen is required reading. The book's full title "Bill Guppy: King of the Woodsmen, Life Long Friend and Tutor of Grey Owl'", was clearly an attempt to use Guppy's association with Grey Owl to market the book. Guppy gives an unembellished account of his time with the young Archie Belaney before he was transformed into Grey Owl. ~ The frontier, wherever it is, draws many characters; honest people trying to get ahead, opportunists and scammers of all shades, the skilled and the unskilled. Guppy describes them all. There are few places where the panorama of the early days of Temagami are so richly drawn. Every resident or regular visitor to Temagami will want to have this book.