U.S. History: Biographies

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Further reading

Mike Fink

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Mike Fink 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.

Bibliography: See W. Blair and F. J. Meine, Mike Fink (1933) and Half Horse, Half Alligator (1956).

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Fink, Mike

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | Copyright

Fink, Mike (1770?–1823?), keelboatman on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, noted for tall tales of his exploits, which made him as fabulous as Paul Bunyan. Accounts of his adventures appeared as early as 1829, when tales derived from oral sources found their way into print. There are 11 versions of his death, and his daughter Sal is probably an entirely mythical creation. He figures in works by many writers, including Emerson Bennett, T.B. Thorpe, J.M. Field, and John Neihardt.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Fink, Mike." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Fink, Mike." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-FinkMike.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Fink, Mike." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-FinkMike.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Century 21, Laffey Associates Fine Homes & Estates: Mike... Magazine article from: Real Estate Weekly; 2/16/2005
	Mike Fink. Magazine article from: Childhood Education; 3/22/1993
	Boxing: Angry Mike Finks again.(Sport) Newspaper article from: The Mirror (London, England); 2/2/2001