FINK, MIKE


Meaning of FINK, MIKE in English

born 1770/80, Fort Pitt, Pa.

died 1823, Fort Henry? [North Dakota]

U.S. keelboatman.

He won fame in his youth as a local marksman and Indian scout. Later, when keelboats became the chief vessels of commerce on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, he was known as "king of the keelboatmen." Renowned as a marksman, roisterer, and champion rough-and-tumble fighter, he became a legendary hero of the American tall tale; even in his own time, his name was synonymous with the braggadocio of Western frontiersmen. He was shot and killed on a fur-trapping expedition to the upper Missouri River.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.