Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers by Richard M Dorson

There aren't many books which mention the story of the McDonald boys. Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers by Richard M. Dorson, a book about the folklore of Michigan's upper peninsula, is one of the few. It is available from Amazon.com.
This book is an account of folklore in Michigan's upper peninsula. It was written in 1952 based on fieldwork by the author done in 1946.

My own copy of the book came from my late father who was a member of the Menominee County Historical Society. My interest in the book is in its account of the 1881 lynching of two Canadian born cousins known as the McDonald boys.

The author in his acknowledgments thanks a Charles Angoff for permission to reprint his 'The Lynching of the McDonald Boys' from the 'American Mercury'.

The story, which is in Chapter 8, is not a historical account but rather based on the oral tradition from the Menominee, Michigan area, and so some of the details are non-factual. In particular, the name of the priest who allegedly predicted that the lynch mob members would 'die with their boots on' was given as Father Menard, while my own research shows that Fr. Heliard would at the time have been the priest at the church in question, and writings by a local historian James Borski also give Fr. Heliard as the priest in question.

But as a study of local folklore the book serves its purpose, and is also a must-have for those researching the actual history of the McDonald boys lynching as it is one of the few books available that mention the event.