Castor Willow was the Assameister and on his frail shoulders rested the secret of the conversion process, and the maintenance of the mighty copper colored boilers which filled this vast cavern. He was not rich like the merchant burghers, or powerful like the Damm Warriors, but he alone carried the burden for the survival of Gastown. He alone defeated winter and allowed heat to triumph over cold. He was a mighty man in a feeble body. He was also dying.