The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1886-06-14

oil q keel'boat, and wherever he landed
would amuse the rough fellows he met By
: exhibitions OF skill with the rifle anC
tomahRVk, in the use Of both Of which
he was expert. In these exhibitions he
used lad who had been trained by him
for such ccssions-R. protege Bill
Carpenter, from whose head he was in the
habit Of shooting tin cup for the edifGa'
ton and delight Of the wondering natives
There was also W0mAn-R compagnon
du yoyage-Who accompanied him in his
various trips who also figured in these ex'
hibiGons. He would compel her to stand
on the bow OF his boat and hold tin cup
between her knees as q target for his rifle.
II happened that once while so engaged,
the woman lost her balance and fell over
board. A rush was made by number oil
bystanders to rescue her, but Fink raised
his rifle and threatened to kill the first
man who yentured to her assistance,
Cowed by his threats and fearful that he
would execute them she was left to her
fate and was carried away by the angry
current OF the river, This event occurred
At Pipe Creek on the Ohio side OF the
river, q few miles below the city OF Wheel.
ing. Charity leads US to believe that he
resented any interference in her behalf
because he believed she was capable Of
saving herself, and desired that It should
be accomplished by her own, and not
through the efforts Of others,
sHoRT.LVED Triumph,
On one occasion there vas IN oar maker
living in Marietta who had wrought q
beautiful steering oar, intended for keel.
boat purposes, but in inishing 1t had
found deCayed place in the wood where
the hole was mortified for the insertion Of
the oar-pin. Upon discovering this, the
deceitiul maker had cut out the decayed
wood and filled the cavity with blue mud,
and painted the oar, 80 that the fraud
praCtissd was not apparent. The beauti.
tul finish and general completeness Of the
oar attracted the attention Of Fink, who,
on one ofhis downward trips purchased 1t,
Now it 80 happsud that all Of the in.
habltants had turned out to see Mikes
boat take her departure, and as she grace
fully swung out into the current he made
a vigorous sweep with his newly bought
oar to bring her head around, when the
oar suddenly snapped IN the middle like a
pipe stem, and the "bully OF the boat.
men" went overheard, head. foremost. On
recovering himself and regaining his
"quarter deck" he lost no time in etfeCting
a landing and seeking after the fraudulent
oar.maker, but who fortunately for him
could nowhere be found. Fink, however,
determined that he would not be depriv.
ed OF his revenge; so keeping his own
counsel he procured another oar to take
the place Of the broken one, and again
took his departure. On reaching a few
miles below the town he ran his boat into
the shore and made landing and on the
following day made his appearance In
Marietta, finding the oar.maker in great
glee over the event and relating with a
glib tongue TO an idle crowd Of loungeIs
at a grocery all the circumstances as they
had occurred anddwelling with gustou upon
the CleVerness OF the trick he had played
upon Mike. AZ Mike approached he rec.
ognized him and fled, with the former In
swift pursuit. The race continued all over
the town until Fink, whose powers OF en-.
duranGe were greatest, finally captured his
man, whom he threw on the ground and
sitting astride OF him he drew his butcher
knife and deliberately hacked and gashed
the poor fellows head, whom he swore he
would scalp, until the townspeople inter-
lering prevented him from further NAL.
treating him.
End OF TNK's CAREER.
We have been led to dwell on these In
Cidents In the life OF Fink because the
memory Of the boatman is rapidly fading
out and but few Of the present generation
know much II anything concerning the
race. Mike Fink was q typical character
OF his day and OF class Of men who in
their way contributed much to the develop.
ment Of the western portion OF our Coun-
try. Very few, indeed, Of them now re.
main and In little while not one will be
left to tell the tale Of the past,
In this connection II may be interesting
to learn the end Of Mike Fink. One day
he was amusing crowd OF idlers by
shooting the cup of the head OF his pro-
tege, Bill Carpenter when his usually
trusted ride made "long fire." and
the bullet went crashing into the head Of
poor "Bill," who fell dead in his tracks.
A bystander made the remark: "Fink,
why did you shoot that boyW Mike, In
the act Of rammlng abullet down his rifle,
replied, "Wait until my gun is loaded and
I'll do you the same way" But the man
did not wait, for on the instant he drew
pocket pistol and shot him to death. Thus
persisted Mike Fink, the "bully OF the
boatmen." He Is connected with the his.
tory OF Wheeling, for 1t was here that he
commenced bis career % a boGtman.
AS the keel.boat Is vessel which has
now passed almost entirely out Of use by
reason Of the introduction Of steam on our
rivers and navigable streams, a description
Of its equipments and the manner Of It's
propulsion may be Of interest TO your
readers.
PROPULSION or KEEL-IoATs.
The keelB were shallow and their capa.
city was anywhere from fifty to one humid
red tons. They were housed or covered
for the protection Of the cargo and this
housing or cover recsded towards the
top; while on the outside narrow deck
or runway enCircled the boat on which
strips Of wood at right angles to the side
were fastened giving footing to the crew
engaged in navigating the boat. The
Ell -