The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-10
MIKE FINK, THE FLATBOATMAN.
A BOrder Character Bn the Early
Days of Western River Navigation.
From the Louisville Dispatch.


dotes were related, He was born near
Pittsburg. In his youth the desire to be-
come a boatman was the ruling passion,
and he gratified 1t as soon as he became
a man. He worked on the Ohio and the
Mississippi till thrown out of employment
by the use of steamboats,. When the Ohio
was too low for navigation he spent much
of his time at shooting matches in the
neighborhood of fittsburg. and became
famous as the best shot in the country.
On that account he was called Bang AL
and was frequently excluded from partio-
ipating in the matches for beef. When
this occurred he claimed for his forbear-
ance the fifth quarter of the beef, as the
hide and tallow were called. His usual
practice was to sell his portion to the tav-
ern keeper for whisky. with which ne lib
orally treated all around him. He was
very fond of strong drink and became so
accustomed to it that he could drink a
gallon of whisky in twenty-fOur hours
without any effect being seen.
Mixes hight was feet 8 inches; weight
about 1870 pounds; form broad of hercu-
lean strength and great activity. His
countenance was open and his skin was
tanned by sune and rain Mikes lam
guage was of the half horse and half
alligator dialect used by the boatmen.
He was also a wit and on that account
gained the admiration and excited the
fears of all around him. for he forced his
jokes with sound thrashing If any one
was so rude as to fail to laugh at them.
He said that he cracked jokes to have
them laughed at and would have no man
make light of them. AS a consequence.
Mike always had around him a chosen
band of laughing philosophers. An eye
bunged up, or dliapidated nose or ear
was sure to win his sympathy. I'm
Salt river roarer" he would proclaim.
I'm chuck full of fight, and 1 love the
women" He had a sweetheart in every
port. Among his chosen friends who
would fight to death for him were Car
penter and Talbot. Each was a match
for the other in a fight or in skill at shoot
ing, having been under Mixes diligent
training.
Mike once had a wife, and his ideas of
conjugal discipline were rigorous. One
day in the autumn, q year after the war
with England in 1872, several keelboats
landed near the mouth of the Muskingum
to lay up for the night. Among them was
Mixes. After making fast Mike was OBJ
served just under the bank scraping into
a pile the dried beach-leayes blown there
during the day. To all questions as to
what he was doing he returned no an
swer, but kept on working till the pile
was as high as his head. He then shap-
ed 1t into an oblong ring, in which he
lay down as if to see whether it made
good bed. Getting up, he went on board,
hunted up his rifle, and after making great
preparations about the printing called to
Peg, his wife, to follow him. They pro-
ceeded to the pile of leaves, Peg badly
scared, for she feared Mike greatly when
he was angry.
in Ito 49,
command to Peg, emphasized with some
of Mikes choicest oaths. Peg hesitated
and endeavored to eXpostulate.
Get in there and lie down, or I'll shoot
you" shouted Mike, drawing his rifle to
his shoulder. Poor Peg obeyed, and Mike
covered her carefully with leaves. He
then took a fiour-baFrel and split it into
fine splinters, which he lighted at the fire
on the boat, all the time Watching the
pile of leaves and swearing he would
shoot Peg if she moved. When his spln-
tiers blazed brightly he set fire to the
pile in four different places. In an in
slant, the whole mess was ablaZe aided
by a fresh wind which was blowing at
the time. Mike stood still, enjoying the
fun. Peg through fear of Mike, stood
tho heat as long as she could but, when
it became too hot she made a run for
the river her hair and clothing on fire
She plunged in, reioiced to find that she
.fng made no move toward firing. There"
said Mike. as he helped the woman to
climb on board "thatll 'larn you not to
be winkin' at them fellers on tother
boat"
Mike spent some time in st. Louis in
1914 One day while on his boat he saw
negro standing on the river bank looking
in wonder at the numerous boats below.
Mike took up his rife and shot off the poor
fellows heel. For this offense he was ar
rested and fined. In justification Mike
pleaded that the negro's heel had project
ed so far behind as to prevent his wear,
ing a decent boot, and that he wished to
correct the fault. Once when ascending
the Mississippi above the Ohio he saw
sow with four pigs about thirty yards dis
tant on the shore. He declared that he
wanted a pig, and picked up his rifle 10
shoot one, but was requested not to do so.
However, he raised his rifle, and as the
boat glided along under easy sail he suc~
cesslvely shot off the tail of each close to
the rump without doing them any other
injury. His particular friend, Carpenter,
was also a famous shot. The two used
to fill a tin cup with whisky and place it
by turns on the others head, firing alter
nately at a distance of seventy yards. II
was always bored through without in
jury to either This feat was often per-
formed Mike and Carpenter liking 1t be-
cause il showed their confidence in each
other
In 1922 Mike and his friends, Carpenter
and Talbot. were engaged by Henry &
Ashley of st. Louis to go up the Missouri
in the threefold capacity of boatmen,
trappers and hunters. The first year
company of about sixty men assembled as
high as the mouth of the Yellowstone rv-
err where they built a fort for security.
From this place detachments of 10 or u
were sent out TO hunt and trap. When
winter set in Mike and his company did
not go into the fort, but dug a cave in the
river bank, where they were well shell
tered against the cold, and remained there
till spring. Here Mike and Carpenter had
a bitter quarrel supposed to have origin
ated in rivalry for the good graces of
squaw. 1t was for while smothered by
the inlerpostion of friends. On the return
of spring the party went back to the fort,
where Mike and Carpenter revived their
quarrel, but made treaty of peace which
was to be solemnized by their usual trial
of shooting the cup of whisky off each
others heads To determine who should
have first shot, Mike proposed that they
A HOUSEHOLD REMEDY,
And it never fails to cure rheumatism.
catarrh pimples blotches and ALI disea Sos