Wichita eagle., 1889-02-20
THE KING OF THE OHIO.
Interesting Narrative by an Old
F'latbOatman.
How He Became the Champion Fighter.
Wrestler. Runner and Rifle Shot! of the
Valley, and How He Made His
Claims Good.

Valley, and How He Made His
Claims Good.
Washington (Ky.) Cor. Philadelphia Times
This little town, whose quaint old houses
are fast falling into decay, and whose
broad, -fringed main street rarely
echoes with the wheels of trade, We once
the commercial metropolis of the great
West, and its merchants grew rich through
shrewd barters with the red men for furs
and equally sharp "dickers" with the
hardy frontiersmen, whose necessities IN
the way of manufactured goods they sup
piled. In those DAYS st. Louis was small
military outpost; where Chicago stands
was a wilderness, and Cincinnati was a
collection of rude huts and dismantled
hatboats drawn up on the river bank and
'.roofed over'' as a shelter for the Ohio
company's pioneers. Railroads we're the
undeveloped dream of a few enthusiasts,
and the only craft that parted the waters
of the muddy Ohio were unwieldy fiat
boats, which foated lazily down the river
or received increased impetus from the
long-sweep oars.
In one of the oldest, quaintest, and most
picturesque houses lives Uncle John Zeig
Ter. He is ninety years old, and every
morning, rain OF shine, he rises with the
lark, seizes his long hickory staff, and
trudges sturdily down the broad pike to
Maysville, returning before night falls.
He is q majestic physical wreck not yet
gone to pieces-six feet five inches in
height and still erect. Time has shrunken
and weakened his thews and sinews, but
In the days that l speak of no arm was so
strong, no eye SO keen, no courage so SUBJ
lime as his. He loves to tai K about the
past, and to a newspaper man his stories
are always interesting. He was the part
ner of Mike Fink, the skiing of the fiat
boatmen."
81 linked fortunes with Mike at his own
request" he said to me, land there's an
interesting little story connected with the
partnership"
He dropped his head forward, reflective
ly, and without disturbing his reverie L
pushed the bottle and glass toward him.
Mechanically he filed the latter, and for a
moment held it to the light, admiring the
warm, rich color OF the liquor. Then he
tossed the contents off at guIp.
at is good liquor" he said, smacking his
lips, ''and the taste carries me back to the
old days when l ran flatboat on the Ohio.
was good man then, a very good man,
and l had no fear. / used to winter at
Maysville, and one season. don't remem-
ber the date ran my boat into Limestone
Creek and made all snug for cold weather.
The les came early, and a great many
e. L.
Mike Fink's boat laid just below mine.
had heard of him, but we had never met.
We fatboatmen worked hard and made
money during the summer, and we spent
it right royalty when we laid off for the
winter. We had frolics every day and
dances every night. The seasons fun had
hardy begun when it came to my ears
that Nike Fink had boosted everywhere
that on his boat was the best rifle shot, the
best fist fighter, the best runner, and the
best wrestler in the Ohio Valley. 1t wasn't
long before chance was given me to par
TALLY test the truth of his challenge. met
his runner, his wrestler, and his fighter all
in one day, and | 'downed' the three This
made Mike pretty mad, and he arranged it
for US TO try our skill with the rife. About
a week afterward we met at a barn-rais-
ing out at Kenton's Station, and after the
work was finished we settled down to solid
sport. Finally Mike challenged me to
shoot with him. l accepted, and every
body gathered around to watch u.s. You
see, Mike didn't belong to Maysville, and
a great deal depended on the result. If ne
won it would diminish MaysviIle's glory,
and if l was successful (having already
defeated the champion fighter, wrestler
and runner) she could lay claim to the
proud distinction of owning as her son the
Rll-round champion.
mike had been drinking, but l knew
what was coming and hadn't touched a
drop. When l ste ped TO the mark-it
was my first shot-I was as cool as ice
and my muscles were under perfect con-
tral. l made two bull's-eyes out OF
possible three. When Mike stepped up
and raised his rife he tossed his head
scornfully, but the liquor had affected his
nerves and his first shot was a bad one.
He loaded his rifle nervo usly, and raising
it took a long, steady aim. When he
pulled the trigger a great shout went up
and everybody crowded around me- lie
had missed the buiPs-eye and l was the
champion. L was right proud of my
achievement, and celebrated the victory
by drinking more liquor than was good for
me. Mike felt his defeat keenly, and, ac-
companied by his friends, left for town.
When | returned | was told that he was
still unwilling to acknowledge that [ was
the champion. He admitted that | had
distanced his fleetest runner, thrown mis-
most expert wrestler, whipped his ablest
fighter, and fairly defeated him as a
uarksman.
"'He can beat me shooting he said,
but l can whip him with my fists
when l heard this you may depend
upon 1t was pretty mad. l would have
hunted him up and settled the matter that 1
very night, but my friends, knowing NV /
condition, revealed upon me to go home.
The IL xt morning was very cold. / came /
into town about ten O'Clock and went to a |
boatman's supply store, kept by a Jew. |
where felt pretty certain I'd find Mike. |
Sure enough, he was there with three |
of his mates-the three l had already |
They were seated around a
great big wood stove, and. entering the
store, locked the door behind me and put
the kew in my pocket. Fink and his
friends started to their feet. and l bowed
TO them very politely and wished them a
pleasant morning. Stepping 20 the coun-
ter | called for five gill bottles of rum,
and when the storekeeper set them out |
Invited the ex champions TO drink with
me- All came forward, and knocking the
neck off one of the bottles, | poured about
a thin, hi eful of rum into a glass and