Fink: Le Dernier Batelier

Mike Fink, King of the Keelboaters, was larger than life in both fact and legend. Brawler, drinker, practical joker, and crack shot, Fink the boatman, at nearly six feet and with muscles hardend by pushing the keelboat, was a formidable figure to both friend and foe. "I am a salt river roarer; I love the women and I'm chock-full of fight," so Fink was fond of announcing. Failure to find his jokes amusing would generally result in a drubbing, both orally and physically. It was said that he could out-cuss, out-fight, and out-drink any man on the river.