Bill was a guide in his young years and after retirement. He was an engineer on the first surveys of the Minnesota-Ontario border, and he spent years living in the Canoe Country in all seasons and with all kinds of people, from CCC camp workers to weatlhy clients to Indians and loggers and trappers. Reading this book is like sitting around a campfire listening to an oldtimer. Bob Cary reminds the reader, "Do not be concerned if you have a difficult time trying to separate fact from fiction. Bill Magie never intended you should."