2. When America was a young country, many strong men drove keelboats down the rivers carrying cargo. When America was a young country, many strong men drove keelboats down the rivers carrying cargo.

3. Mike Fink was the most famous keelboat man of all ► As an infant, he leaped out of his crib and spotted keelboats and knew his destiny ► He got in shape by wrestling grizzlies ► He became a keelboat man after proving his strength by kicking up tidal waves and toppling trees

4. Wearing a red feather identified you as the strongest man on board during this time. Many people challenged Fink to water races and sports on land to win Mike’s feather, but no one got the best of him.

5. Rumor has it that one time Mike Fink shot the scalp lock from the head of an Indian

6. While Fink was unloading his cargo one day, a steamboat arrived. They demanded his removal. He refused, and the steamboat charged him. Fink’s boat was overwhelmed by water and he died.

7. Resources ► Mike Fink by Steven Kellogg ► http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Fink ► http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/gal/steamboat.jpg ► docsouth.unc.edu ► http://library.syr.edu ► www.answers.com ► www.Myspace.com