The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1934-01-19

the larger tributaries of the Ohio-the Licking
the Hooking, the Scioto, the Muskingum. the
Miami and the Wabash. 1t could be easily
steered as it foated down these streams into
the Ohio, then into the Mississippi and so on
to New Orleans. Such trip, of course, was not
without its dangers The steersman had to know
the channel, as well as the later steamboat cap
tains had to know 1t, to avoid being hung up on
a sandbar. Then, too, he had to watch out for
planters" (big trees still standing upright in
the midst of the swirling waters), "sawyers"
(huge branches which bobbed up and down in
the currents, partly hidden partly revealed) and
snags Of all kinds. Added to these dangers were
those of white outlaws in their famous strong
hold of Cave-in-Rock and rowing Indians every
where along the banks of the two rivers.
The return trip from New Orleans had it's
hardshps and it's dangers too The keelboats
had to be warped" "cordelled," "bushwhacked,"
poled and sailed against the strong current all
the way to Pittsburgh To handle such boats
required men of Drawn, men with ''the strength
Of an OK, the courage of lion, hide of ALI
gator toughness to shed rain, snow, bullets and
Indian arrows and an interior of castiron to
digest a diet consisting mostly Of salt pork and
whisky"
More than that, the keelboatman had to be a
handy man with his fists, for he was constantly
thrown into contact with tough men and his fell
low keelboatmen were just about the toughest
of the lot. Their fights among themselves and
with others equally tough would make modern
prize fight seem like the spanking you give
bad child. "No natural weapon was barred; fists
flew at faces, feet kicked wherever they could
find a target; knees bucked at unprotected
crotches; teeth sank wherever there was flesh;
fingers clutched at throats and thumbs seemed
to gouge out eyes from their sockets. Noses
were battered, teeth splintered and blood plenti-
fully shed when boatmen squared off and shot
fists at one another"
From all of which It is clearly apparent that
the man who rose to leadership among them had
to be quite some" and such was Mike Fink,
bully boy of the Ohio and king of the Mississippi
keelboatmen.
But Mike Fink's historical Importance is more
than the fact that he was the typical keelboat-
man. For the keelboat era was comparatively
brief one and that craft was eclipsed by the
steamboat just it was reaching its heights
of usefulness. Mike lived on three distinct from
tiers and his career all three contributed to
the mass of legends which cling about his name
and helped make him American myth hero
He was born on the Pennsylvania border
shortly before the Revolution and grew up In
the crude settlement which clustered around Fort
Pitt. He was just about as tough youngster
as he later became tough man. He could out
wrestle, out-swim, out-run and out-swear all the
other boys Of the settlement. At the age OF thir-
teen he took his first Indian scalp and he seems
to have taken delight in killing the "red mig
gers" as the Indians were known among the
ruthless frontiersmen around Fort Pitt.
At the age of fifteen he was the champion
rife shot and after while, when the frontiers
men engaged in their favorite pastime of hold
ing shooting matches. Mike and his favorite
rife, "OP Bang-All," were excluded "For the
exclusion, asserted contemporary, Mike claimed