"These are strange stories, but they well up out of the hearts of men, and in them are the issues of life. Men do not perish alone, unknown, forsaken, forgotten. The constitution of the universe forbids. The truth about them must leap out some time, and be written on the skies like the flashes of the midnight Aurora; somewhere it is to be known what they were, where they failed, wherein they made their conquests, - their treachery, their faithfulness - their cowardice, their courage - their shamelessness, their honor - but most of all and longest enduring, their better parts." Fannie Hardy EckstormTommy wrote, "The stories in this book represent an important part of Maine history and the people who made that history. Eckstorm knew this when she was writing, and she anticipated that documenting this way of life would be important before it was lost. She was correct and I am pleased to release this book for lovers of history and the great storytelling. The editing of this book has been the most challenging of my projects to date for releasing a Maine classic and I am sure you will enjoy the stories as much as I have enjoyed updating them."This book now includes stories about Jack Mann and John Ross, two of Maine's most famous rivermen. To this edition, Carbone has added an appendix that analyzes Eckstorm's journal notes, never before released, that tell more of the renegade poacher that threated to kill Fannie Hardy and her father, Manly.