Joaquin Miller dedicated this book to "my dear little daughter...for whose pleasure and instruction I have many times dug up the most of these stories from out the days of my boyhood." In his preface he claims to prefer true stories to made-up ones. And he always defends bears, which he thinks have gotten an undeserved bad reputation from the general populous.

Miller strives here to pass on a respect for the variety and wisdom in the lives of real bears. But perhaps we should offer one caution: throughout his life Joaquin Miller gained a reputation for being a supreme liar! (summary by Bill Boerst)