Mike Fink
Fink, Mike, 1770?-1823?, American border hero, whose exploits have been so elaborated in legend that the actual facts of his life are difficult to discover. He was born probably at the frontier post of Pittsburgh, took part in the wars against the Native Americans of the Ohio region, and subsequently became a keelboatman on the flatboats of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. He later turned to trapping. He accompanied the first Ashley expedition (1822) up the Missouri and was killed in a shooting scrape somewhere near the mouth of the Yellowstone River. He was noted as a marksman, fighter, and teller of tall stories of his exploits. Stories of flatboat life are associated with his name in a manner similar to the Paul Bunyan stories of the lumber camps.
Title: Mike Fink by Stephen Krensky, illustrated by Jeni Reeves, 2006
Description: Relates the deeds of the frontiersman who became the King of the Keelboatmen on the Mississippi River.
Ages: 0-8
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Description: Relates the deeds of the frontiersman who became the King of the Keelboatmen on the Mississippi River.
Ages: 0-8
*information from NoveList Plus
Title: Mike Fink: a Tall Tale by Steven Kellog, 1992
Description: Relates the extraordinary deeds of the frontiersman who became King of the Keelboatmen on the Mississippi River.
Ages: 9-12
Revew: A tall-tale introduction to the "King of the Keelboatmen," from the time he ran away from home at the age of two clays to his literally explosive confrontation with steamboat captain Hilton B. Blathersby. The historical Fink was a cruel man who came to a violent end, but Kellogg depicts him as a friendly-looking, fun-loving youth; indeed, nearly all of the keelboatmen here--black, white, old, and young--are smiling, clean-cut types, rather at odds with their usual roughneck image. Though Fink spends much of his time wrestling men or bears, Kellogg's description of him seems bland in comparison to his glowing, energetic illustrations, and less heroic than his other legendary figures. (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 1992)
*information from NoveList Plus
Description: Relates the extraordinary deeds of the frontiersman who became King of the Keelboatmen on the Mississippi River.
Ages: 9-12
Revew: A tall-tale introduction to the "King of the Keelboatmen," from the time he ran away from home at the age of two clays to his literally explosive confrontation with steamboat captain Hilton B. Blathersby. The historical Fink was a cruel man who came to a violent end, but Kellogg depicts him as a friendly-looking, fun-loving youth; indeed, nearly all of the keelboatmen here--black, white, old, and young--are smiling, clean-cut types, rather at odds with their usual roughneck image. Though Fink spends much of his time wrestling men or bears, Kellogg's description of him seems bland in comparison to his glowing, energetic illustrations, and less heroic than his other legendary figures. (Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 1992)
*information from NoveList Plus
