hardly
objected to being placed in this precarious situation. It is even said
that his wife, that is, his _Mississippi_ wife, was accustomed to stand
the fire; this feat was always performed for a wager of a quart of
spirits, made by some stranger, and was a source of obtaining the
necessary supplies. One day the wager was made as usual, and a man with
whom Mike had at one time been at variance (although the feud was now
supposed to have been forgotten) was the party who consented that the
pot should be placed on his head. Whether it was that Mike was not
quite sober, or that he retained his ill-will towards the man, certain
it is, that in this instance, instead of his hitting the mark, his
bullet went below it and through the brain of the man, who instantly
fell dead; but his brother, who was standing by, and probably suspecting
treachery, had his loaded rifle in his hand, levelled, fired, and in a
second the soul of Mike was despatched after that of his victim.

Here ended the history of Mike Fink, Esq.

The invention of the steam-engine, and its application to nautical
purposes, deprived the boatmen of employment; they were again thrown
upon their own resources, and as it may be supposed, did not much assist
in the amelioration of Mississippi society. The country gradually
increased its population, but as a majority of those who migrated were
of the worst description, being composed of those who had fled from the
more settled States to escape the punishment due to their crimes, it may
be said, that so far from improving, the morals of the Mississippi
became worse, as the mean and paltry knave, the swindler, and the forger
were now mingled up with the more daring spirits, producing a more
complicated and varied class of crime than before. The steam-boats were
soon crowded by a description of people who were termed gamblers, as
such was their ostensible profession, although they were ready for any
crime which might offer an advantage to them, [see note 1] and the
increase of commerce and constant inpouring of populations daily offer
to them some new dupe for their villainy. The state of society was much
worse than before--the knife was substituted for the rifle, and the
river buried many a secret of atrocious murder. To prove the extent to
which these deeds of horror were perpetrated, I shall give to the
English reader, in as succinct a form as I can, the history of John
Murel, the land pirate, as he was termed